I have read so much about this film that I am overwhelmed. The backstory about the people who made this film and the film itself is far more interesting than the movie. I am going to try and talk about both here and so this may be a very long review.
The movie focuses on Johnny (Tommy Wiseau), a man who works at a bank who apparently makes very good money. He has a girlfriend named Lisa (Juliette Daniels) and a lot of friends. His girlfriend is bored with him as he buys her everything she wants, keeps a roof over her head and tries to make her happy. Yep this girl isn't happy.
She decides to have an affair with Johnny's best friend Mark (Greg Sestero) to get some excitement out of life. Johnny slowly comes to realize that the two are having an affair and it begins to tear him apart as well as the entire circle of friends.
As I was watching this I began thinking of the erotic thrillers that used to be churned out by the thousands on VHS and for Cinemax back in the 90's, for this is what it reminded me of slightly. Yes, I have nothing against the leading lady Juliette Daniels, but I kept pining for Shannon Tweed.
There are a lot of plot holes including the infamous drug dealer scene, Lisa's mother having breast cancer and the biggest one is who is Denny, the teenage neighbor whom Johnny is taking care of. He walks into Johnny's apartment at random and wants to watch Johnny and Lisa have sex!! Why? Who knows. I read somewhere that he role was probably supposed to be played by a house cat, but got changed.
Well, needless to say all ends in disaster for everyone in what is supposed to be a film noir like ending. Wiseau wrote, produced, directed and stars in this totally one of a kind trip to another film making world.
Not much is known about Wiseau except that he has a lot of money and can pretty much do what he wants. A movie called "The Disaster Artist" has already been made which is a film about the making of this film. When released in 2003, the movie tanked after playing in only 2 theaters, but over the last few years it has garnered a huge cult following.
Wiseau has an untold personal fortune that seems endless and he even paid for a billboard advertising the film. He kept the billboard up for five years at the cost of $5000 per month which is a total of $360,000. Incredible!!
This has enabled Wiseau to reap millions off of this film and live his dream. The movie will forever stick in my mind and not because it's "the worst film ever made" which it isn't. It will stick there because of the bizarre dialogue and set pieces in this film.
Johnny utters lines like "I feel like I'm sitting on an A bomb waiting to go off", "You're tearing me apart, Lisa" which Wiseau utters in his beast James Dean impersonation. People say things like "I don't want to talk about it" whenever a plot hole is reached. Johnny says "hi" way too much and a couple of characters make "cheeping" noises at one another. You also have four guys playing football in Tuxedos!!
Other key points to look for when watching this movie...Denny is a wimp of the first order...when Mark and Lisa have sex there is way too much grunting and groaning and we learn that women are confusing, but then I already know this as I am sure many of you do as well.
The party fight scene between Mark and Johnny is also one for the ages, but probably closer to real life than typical movie fight scenes. I have also read that this is somewhat of an autobiographical script that Wiseau wrote. It could be..we all know women like this, which bring me to another point.
Juliette Daniels is a nice looking young woman and really doesn't fit the part she is playing. You can tell she is somewhat uncomfortable in playing a double crossing bitch and her part is more suited to old daytime television soap operas than this movie. She does get one of the best moments in the film when she and Mark are talking and Mark says "I want your body" and she replies "You got it". Jesus, that is the stuff of pure cinematic gold.
In some scenes we can see that Juliette, who was only 20 when this was made, transform from bitch to sex goddess in a matter of seconds. This is due to her inexperience in the movie business, but she does give it a shot, and that is what counts.
Ever since I saw this movie it has been stuck in my head and it simply will not leave. As I mentioned earlier, there is a ton of information about this film all over the internet and it makes for very good reading. I recommend you see the film before going into all of the backstory about it.
Needless to say, it's not the worst film ever made by far, but it is indeed one of the most bizarre trips down movie lane you will ever take. Do I recommend this film....HELL YES. The film cost 6 million to make but looks much cheaper than that due to the fact that the movie was double shot, meaning that it was shot on 35MM film and an HD camera. Wiseau discarded the HD footage for some reason and all that remained was the 35MM footage. One final note, this film was made with absolutely NO studio involvement, which I have to admire Wiseau for. That is rare these days....very rare.
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