Review – The Room – ‘The worst movie ever made?’

Two nights ago, I went to a late-night screening of an independent film called The Room. This film was not given a general release – in fact, its initial run was limited to a two-week stint in Los Angeles – and has not yet been released on DVD in Britain. Despite this, however, the auditorium was packed with fans, many of whom – myself included – had already been to a previous screening only a couple of months before. In fact, the film is now screened monthly at the Sunset 5 Theater in Los Angeles, where it was first screened, with audiences enjoying occasional Q&A sessions with the film’s writer, director and star, Tommy Wiseau.

So, after an initial flop of a theatrical run ($1,900 versus a $6,000,000 budget), how did this film pick up what is now an international following of devoted fans, spawning screenings at various cinemas in Britain, America and Australia? Well, quite simply, the film has become a cult, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Big Lebowski, complete with various rituals of dress-up and audience participation. Unlike these two examples, however, the adoration fans have for The Room is perhaps not quite so sincere. The plot, for what it’s worth, centres on a love triangle between the protagonist, Johnny, his girlfriend, Lisa, and his best friend, Mark. Johnny is completely dedicated to Lisa, but over the course of the film, she inexplicably tires of him and seduces Mark. The action is peppered with numerous subplots which often bear little or no relevance to the central plot. These include Lisa’s mother revealing that she has cancer (which is never mentioned or alluded to again) and Johnny’s ‘ward’, Denny, having a run-in with a drug dealer, to whom he has some unexplained prior debt. The film builds to a climax when, at his own surprise birthday party, Johnny discovers the affair.

In technical terms, The Room is not good. The acting is eccentric at best, the dialogue reads like scripted madlibs and the script and cinematography obsessively pick holes in themselves. On paper, it sounds like a cinematic nightmare, and for some people I’m sure it is – many people did indeed walk out and request refunds during its initial release. This, however, depends on your sense of humour, and perhaps on that of Wiseau as well. Whether, despite, or because of its failings, more and more people are falling in love with the film as it gains notoriety. Taken seriously, the film fails spectacularly as a drama, despite Wiseau’s admirably impassioned performance. This perhaps explains its poor performance in its initial run. When approached as an interactive ‘event’, however, the film really comes into its own. At the late-night screenings, fans dress up as their favourite characters, throw plastic spoons at the screen and shout various derogatory remarks, making for a raucous, fun, Rocky-Horroresque experience, which brings the audience together far more than a standard cinema trip.

Whether this was Wiseau’s initial intention for The Room is debatable. On its initial release, the film’s marketing set it up as ‘a film with the passion of Tennessee Williams’. Since then, however, the focus has changed somewhat: ‘Experience this quirky new black comedy, it’s a riot!’. Regardless of whether or not Wiseau is simply trying to make the best of a bad situation, the point is that people enjoy the film and have a lot of fun attending screenings. In order to give a better picture of the experience as a whole, it might be worth documenting some of the rituals which take place during a screening. Perhaps the most well-known example concerns spoons. The flat in which the bulk of the action takes place is furnished with a variety of abstract artwork, including a variety of depictions of spoons. A seasoned audience shows up to a screening with a supply of plastic spoons, which are thrown at the screen whenever the aforementioned artworks appear. There are also numerous exterior establishing shots of San Francisco, which remind us of the setting. During these shots, audience members call ‘Meanwhile, in San Francisco’, mocking the superfluity of these reminders. Likewise, whenever Denny enters a scene, the audience out ‘Oh, hi Denny!’, mimicking Johnny’s overused but unique manner of greeting. There are many other rituals and there is no need to learn them beforehand, as audience members generally shout out whatever they want. While this may seem puerile to some, when taken in context outside of the usual viewing experience, it makes for a hugely entertaining ‘party’ event, which is both interactive and inclusive.

Lists of the various rituals can easily be found online, and it is perhaps due to the internet that The Room has not simply fizzed out. Contrary to other cult films – whose followings are admittedly less ironic – The Room did not receive exposure from the usual sources. It had no studio backing or distribution and, given its severely limited release, its initial run was not given coverage in film magazines. It was only through word of mouth and online posts that awareness of the film was disseminated. Likewise, while the rituals surrounding the film will undoubtedly vary from location to location, it is largely through the internet that much of the audience participation has been able to flourish and become such an important part of the experience.

Having been to two screenings of The Room at the Cameo Cinema, I can say I am truly addicted. With no UK DVD release (yet), I am giving serious consideration to buying an import copy from America, so I can arrange my own private screenings and introduce friends to the film. In the meantime, though, it’s highly likely that the Cameo will schedule more screenings in the near future, given their success so far. When that happens, whether out of academic curiosity, or just for entertainment, I would advise you get yourself some tickets and plastic spoons and go in with an open mind.

Win tickets to see The Room at the Cameo on July 31st