The Disaster Artist – Bros Can't Hang

While you were sleeping, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the nominees for the best in film 2017. The most notable awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress, and Best Actor, are always hotly debated every year. This discussion only gets more heated once we learn those who were snubbed from the list of nominations. The nominees, along with the snubs, are:

Best Picture:

“Call Me by Your Name”

“Darkest Hour”

“Dunkirk”

“Get Out”

“Lady Bird”

“Phantom Thread”

“The Post”

“The Shape of Water”

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Snubs: “Wonder Woman”, “I, Tonya”

For the most part, the academy got the nominations here right. All of the films listed above opened to rave reviews, and have had relatively healthy box office longevity. It is curious, however, in the wake of the #MeeToo and Time’s Up movements that Wonder Woman, the 3rd highest grossing film of the year, wasn’t nominated. Maybe it’s more proof the Academy isn’t ready to acknowledge super-hero movies as the best films (*see The Dark Knight and The Avengers), but considering the current times, acknowledging Wonder Woman as one of the best films of 2017 should’ve been a no-brainer. On top of that, I, Tonya has received critical acclaim due to its performances, yet didn’t crack the “Best Picture” list.

Best Actress:

Frances McDormand in “*Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.*“

Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”

Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”

Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Meryl Streep, “The Post”

Snubs: Michelle Williams, “All the Money in the World”, Jessica Chastain, “Molly’s Game”

All of the nominees are deserving of a nomination here, and maybe there just weren’t enough slots to go around. Michelle Williams has been a force throughout the years during awards season, but her exclusion from this category is questionable considering her great performance in All the Money in the World. Jessica Chastain has also received accolades for her powerhouse performance in Molly’s Game, but also got left off the list due to the number of great performances this year.

Best Actor:

Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”

Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”

Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”

Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”

Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel Esquire”

Snubs: Tom Hanks, “The Post”, James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

James Franco in “*The Disaster Artist*.”

The biggest surprise here is Washington’s nomination for a so-so movie. He’s the best thing in it, but it’s the only nomination Roman J. Israel Esquire received. Maybe it was a toss-up between Washington and Hanks, who while doesn’t give a memorable performance, has now not been nominated since 2000’s Cast Away. More egregious was the snubbing of James Franco, who won the Golden Globe for his role as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist. Maybe his recent sexual assault allegations had something to do with it, but Franco was most certainly overlooked for some reason.

Best Director:

Guillermo del Toro, director of “*The Shape of Water*.”

Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”

Jordan Peele, “Get Out”

Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”

Paul Thomas Anderson, “Phantom Thread”

Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”

Snub: Steven Spielberg, “The Post”

Merly Streep, director Steven Spielberg, and Tom Hanks on the set of “*The Post*.”

Once again, not many surprises in this category. The biggest omission, however, is Steven Spielberg. Spielberg is a stalwart in Hollywood, and his film about the importance of the news media is quite topical. Personally, I didn’t find The Post to be extraordinary, but there had to have been some way to include him in this list.

Best Supporting Actor

Sam Rockwell in “*Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*.”

Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”

Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”

Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”

Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Snub: Armie Hammer, “Call Me by Your Name”

Armie Hammer in “*Call Me by Your Name*.”

The biggest surprise in this list is the inclusion of Woody Harrelson. His Three Billboards co-star, Sam Rockwell, is considered the favorite, and it’s a curious decision as to why both men were included in the list of nominees. This led to the exclusion of Armie Hammer, who received universal acclaim for his role as an older, same-sex lover in Call Me by Your Name. Maybe he’s still paying for the sins of The Lone Ranger, but leaving Hammer off this list seems like an error.

Best Supporting Actress:

Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”

Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”

Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”

Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”

Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

Snubs: Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick”, Tiffany Haddish, “Girls Trip”

Most of the nominees here were expected, but you’d have to believe the nomination of Lesley Manville, who hadn’t received much attention until now, cost Holly Hunter a nomination for her career renaissance role in indie darling The Big Sick. And while she was a presenter of the nominees and comedies typically don’t get love from the Academy, one could make an argument for Tiffany Haddish in Girls Trip. In a year in which diversity is at the forefront, why not recognize one of the funniest performances from a predominantly African-American film?

No, this is not a Funny or Die sketch.

The Room is widely heralded as one of the worst films ever made. Written, directed, and starring the quirky and mysterious Tommy Wiseau, the film was released in June of 2003 to universally negative reaction. In the following years, however, The Room has gained a cult following, with dozens of midnight screenings attended and merchandise sold that has since made the film profitable and turned Tommy Wiseau into a beloved figure. A book chronicling the making of the film written by Wiseau’s co-star and friend, Greg Sestero, called “The Disaster Artist: The Greatest Bad Movie Ever” was released in 2013 to universal acclaim, and caught the attention of one of Wiseau’s biggest fans, actor James Franco. Franco has taken it upon himself to tell the story of Wiseau’s attempt to make it in Hollywood by directing and starring in an adaptation of Sestero’s memoir, The Disaster Artist.

The Disaster Artist sees Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) struggling to achieve his dream of becoming an actor due to his lack of confidence. He then meets Tommy Wiseau (James Franco), a classmate of his in an acting class in San Francisco, and is mesmerized by his vulnerability on-stage. The two begin an unlikely friendship, which sees them move together to Los Angeles with the goal of becoming matinée idols. When the two are rejected by Hollywood, Wiseau decides to make his own movie, entitled The Room, in the hopes of finally achieving success and a Hollywood ending.

When the trailer for the film first appeared online, many, including myself, thought it was a Funny or Die sketch. That no one was actually making a movie about the making of arguably the worst movie to ever grace the silver screen. And while many now adore The Room and categorize it as a film that is “so bad, it’s good”, I am not one of those people. The Room is a bad film made by an amateur who had enough money to do it. Nothing more, nothing less.

While there is no doubt hero-worship occurring, James Franco is tremendous as Tommy Wiseau. Sure, there are times where it feels as if he is parodying Wiseau, but he is able to portray Wiseau as a sympathetic figure you root for and an off-putting on-set monster all at the same time with the careful dexterity we have come to know James Franco by. Dave Franco also showcases his acting chops finally with his performance as Greg Sestero, and shows he’s capable of delivering good character actor work. The two share many scenes together in the film, and their impeccable chemistry makes their friendship and semi-homoerotic relationship shine on-screen.

James Franco as Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist.”

The film’s final two acts are nothing short of fascinating, as they focus mainly on the making of The Room. While I am not one of the members of the film’s cult, it is fascinating to see just how in the world the film got made. Scenes showing The Room‘s troubled production and the difficulty of working with Wiseau will no doubt add to The Room‘s and Wiseau’s legend, and deliver some of the funniest scenes in the entire movie.

Much like The Room, The Disaster Artist does have somewhat of an amateurish feel about it. This is due to the fact that its director, James Franco, is not very experienced in this field. There are scene transitions that come across as clunky, and would have fared better perhaps if the film were in the hands of more skillful director. And while much praise should be given towards the Franco brothers for their seamless chemistry, there’s a point when the two decide to move to Los Angeles where I felt myself groaning at their over-excitement over them taking this next step, as it is clear by this point the two have developed a special bond that does not require more showing, but instead more telling.

As stated earlier, I am not a person who has a love for The Room. One of the problems that hinders The Disaster Artist is the film’s over reliance on people loving and praising The Room. The film opens with celebrities applauding the film and Wiseau, and as a person who only admires Wiseau for his gumption to make his own movie and not the movie itself, the opening felt like an unnecessary add-on. The film also closes with a side-by-side comparison of The Room‘s most iconic scenes and those scenes being re-enacted by the actors in The Disaster Artist. Had the film cut-off just five minutes earlier, I wouldn’t have left with the feeling of over-adoration for a film that I do not share the same feelings for, which somewhat left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

The Disaster Artist is still a fine adaptation that does its subject matter justice and further illuminates the mystery of Wiseau and his beloved creation. While fans of The Room are no doubt in for a treat, non-fans may grow wary of the film’s unnecessary over-adoration of its topic. However, The Disaster Artist succeeds due to its terrific lead performances and admittingly compelling story, and will more than likely find itself as an awards contender since it is a movie about making a movie. Hollywood loves to tell such stories and pat themselves on the back for telling them, even though the end result could potentially be hypocritical considering Hollywood rejected The Disaster Artist‘s subject many years earlier.

Rating: 3/4 Stars. Pay Matinée Price.

The Disaster Artist stars James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutchinson, Jacki Weaver, Zac Efron, Jason Mantzoukas, Hannibal Buress, Melanie Griffith, Paul Scheer, and Sharon Stone. It is in theaters December 1st.

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Bro-Reviews: The Disaster Artist

No, this is not a Funny or Die sketch.