Freeze Frame: “The Disaster Artist,” “The Room”

From “8 1/2” to “Day for Night” to “Ed Wood,” some very entertaining movies are movies about making movies. You can add “The Disaster Artist” to that distinguished list. James Franco directs and stars in “The Disaster Artist,” a behind-the-scenes film about the making of one of the worst movies of all time, the 2003 drama, “The Room.”

Franco gives perhaps the best performance of the year as Tommy Wiseau, a bizarre, enigmatic character who wrote, produced, directed and starred in “The Room,” which is an incoherent dramatic mess.

Franco gonzo performance is sure to garner an Oscar nomination, but he’s abetted by a terrific supporting cast that includes his brother Dave Franco, Seth Rogan, Zac Efron, Josh Hutcherson, Alison Brie and a number of stars who play themselves.

While “The Disaster Artist” is a very funny look at “The Room” and its oddball cast, it is also a loving, empathetic portrait of a person who pursued his dream in spite of having no talent.

And that brings us to “The Room,” which has become a cult favorite at local theaters. Tommy Wiseau’s movie is supposed to be a drama about a banker with an unfaithful girlfriend, but is unintentionally funny. Like “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” people dress up as the characters, hoot at the screen and quote the awful dialogue along with characters in the movie.

So, don’t watch “The Room” at home alone. If you do, it’s just bad. I’d suggest seeing it at one of the local screenings so that you can get the full effect of audience participation

Also opening this week, “Just Getting Started” is a senior citizen comedy starring Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones and Rene Russo. It was written and directed by Ron Shelton of “Bull Durham” and “White Men Can’t Jump” fame. “Tom of Finland” is a drama about a gay artist plying his trade post WWII. “Another Wolfcop” is a horror comedy about a werewolf policeman.

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