The Disaster Artist

THE GIST: Tommy and Greg meet at an acting class and immediately become close friends. Tommy is very eccentric, with an ebullient personality and a brain full of ideas, but he inspires Greg, and the two move to Los Angeles to pursue their dreams. They audition, but fail to land roles, especially Tommy with his odd accent, crazy hair, and off-putting personality. Eventually, Tommy decides to write, star in, and direct his own movie, which becomes The Room, one of the most vilified films of all time and a total disaster.

The Disaster Artist is billed as a biography/comedy and it largely accomplishes what it sets out to do, as it successfully shows how this trainwreck of a "movie" got off the ground, only to unceremoniously come crashing down in a jiffy.

James Franco, a very talented artist, stars as Tommy and also directed, and he did a pretty good job.

His gorgeous brother Dave stars as Tommy's best friend Greg, together with Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Jacki Weaver, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, Megan Mullally, Jason Mantzoukas, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, and Bob Odenkirk.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Franco apparently didn't make the movie to poke fun at Wiseau, instead he had genuine respect for the guy and what he made. At any rate, this is a good comedy that doesn't (blessedly) require you to watch the movie it's about, even though it's easily elevated by the comparison.

Grade: 7