Film Appreciation - Two is great, but three is a crowd

OH HI, LIFE BETWEEN FRAMES! In this segment of Film Appreciation, Jay Burleson talks about the wonders of Tommy Wiseau's THE ROOM.


THE ROOM (2003) 
Starring:  Tommy Wiseau, Juliette Danielle, Greg Sestero, Philip Haldiman, and Carolyn Minnot
Directed by: Tommy Wiseau

Well, this is film appreciation, sometimes I may appreciate films for being well made, and other times maybe just for being enjoyable. When it comes to The Room, all I can really say is that the sheer amount of laughter and entertainment that comes from viewing this film (especially with a group of friends) makes it well worth watching, owning, and telling others about.

I've seen plenty of studio pictures that I could hardly sit through, stuff so bad and uninteresting that I can't think of one good thing to say about any of them. Then you have an independent film like The Room, which isn't good in terms of the film that the director intended to make, but still ends up being wonderfully enjoyable despite that.

The Room stars Tommy Wiseau as Johnny. He's just your everyday, average, American guy. He lives in San Francisco (fans of the Golden Gate Bridge, you'll get your fill of the Golden Gate beauty upon viewing this film!) and has an apartment with his soon-to-be-wife, Lisa. Johnny never knows when Lisa's mother, Claudette, will pop in for a visit, but he sure enjoys her company and Claudette is hellbent on Lisa's marriage to Johnny. After all, Johnny is Lisa's financial security! Johnny is also a mentor to a person by the name of Denny. I'm still not sure if Denny was intended to be 12 years old, 22 years old, or 32 years old and with some debilitating mental health issue. Our first introduction to young (or old) Denny is when he tries to come into the room before Johnny and Lisa make love. Johnny laughs his antics off and wisely tells young (or old) Denny that, "Two is great, but three is a crowd!"

Despite these random interruptions, it seems that Tommy is doing pretty good for himself, but we soon found out that Lisa is hooking up with Tommy's best friend, Mark.

That's The Room in a nutshell. Mark hooks up with Lisa, Denny is almost shot for selling drugs, Lisa and her mother Claudette (who definitely does have breast cancer, by the way) confront Denny about the type of drugs he has but Denny won't say. The guys play football a lot, even once in tuxedos for no other reason than just because it's what Americans do. Everyone says "Hi" a lot as you can see in this clip:



Tommy Wiseau is hilarious throughout the entire film. His accent, demeanor, and all of his expressions are simply priceless. He shot The Room on film and HD, I'm not sure why, but it's true that he did. The list of characters continues to grow throughout the film, as more random ones pop up even though they don't add anything else to the film and could have had their lines delivered by an already existing character. I enjoyed this a lot though, because it was fun to wait and see who would show up next and what they would say.

Lisa and Mark continue to hide their relationship from Johnny. Lisa goes as far as announcing to all of their friends that she is pregnant. Later she reveals that there is no baby and that she was only telling people this to make it exciting. The film is tremendously quotable. It could range from a simple "OH HI!" to a more devastating and well timed, "YOU'RE TEARING ME APART!" or perhaps a hilarious "LEAVE YOUR STUPID COMMENTS IN YOUR POCKET!"

Here are a few quotes and exchanges from the film that always bring a smile to my face:

Claudette: Johnny doesn't drink!

Johnny: I DID NAHT HIT HER! I DEED NAHT

Mark: How was work today?
Johnny: Oh pretty good. We got a new client------ at the bank. We make a lot of money.
Mark: What client?
Johnny: I can not tell you, it's confidential.
Mark: Oh come on. Why not?
Johnny: No I can't. Anyway, how is your sex life?

Johnny: DON'T TOUCH ME, MOTHAAAA-FAAACKA!!

Johnny: I'm tired, I'm wasted, I love you darling.

Lisa: Did you get your promotion?
Johnny: Nah.
Lisa: You didn't get it, did you?

Mark: I used to know a girl, she had a dozen guys. One of them found out about it... beat her up so bad she ended up at a hospital on Geurrero Street.
Johnny: HA HA HA! What a story, Mark.

Johnny: Anything for my princess!

Lisa: I still love you!
Johnny: You're the only one who does.... :(

The Room is best viewed with a group of friends who would enjoy such shenanigans. If it's your cup of tea then you are sure to appreciate the film just as much as I do. I know I'll be looking forward to whatever Wiseau does next, and I'm hoping that it's every bit as entertaining as The Room.