Book Review: The Disaster Artist

I have two confessions to make. The first confession is that I do not usually read non-fiction books; I have always been more of a fiction reader, meaning that my picking up The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell is a little out of the ordinary for me. The second confession is that I have not watched Tommy Wiseau’s movie “The Room” in its entirety, though I know and have seen enough to understand the things detailed within the book.
 
Greg Sestero’s account of his time as one of the key actors of “The Room” and his friendship with the movie director Tommy Wiseau is a fascinating read. While Greg is the narrator and point-of-view character, this book is as much of Tommy’s story as it is Greg’s, shedding some light on a man whose origins remain a mystery even to this day. Each chapter alternates between Greg and Tommy in the early stages of their friendship and the filming of “The Room” itself, transitioning quite seamlessly. The structure of the narrative makes it a very easy read, perfect for when you are relaxing.
 
The book also offers a very interesting new perspective to the movie “The Room.” We laugh at the hilariously bad movies, but how often do we think about the process of making the hilariously bad movie? How often do we think about the problems that would inevitably occur, especially when the one in charge is as eccentric as Tommy Wiseau? The book details all sorts of problems such as Tommy blowing off several thousand dollars on unnecessary scenes yet refusing to pay $80 to replace an actor’s boots, refusing to get air conditioning and lying to others about how there were no air conditioners for sale, causing a lot of grief to other staff members due to his prima donna attitude, forgetting his lines despite writing the script, and many other things. Such a perspective may make certain scenes funnier (the infamous “I did not hit her scene” took three hours to make…and lasts less than thirty seconds) or painful (an actor kept blinking in one scene because he was acting with a concussion).
 
However, while Tommy Wiseau has done some pretty despicable things, the book actually goes a very long way to humanize him as well. While Tommy doesn’t really show that many good points, Greg does a fantastic job in emphasizing any good points that show up, whether it be Tommy’s writing a telegram wishing Greg a merry Christmas while also encouraging him to never give up his dream, or providing emotional support to Greg when the latter loses a movie role he thought he had nailed down. The book shows that there is much more to Tommy than the strangely accented vampire-like person that one might perceive him as at first glance (or the second glance, or every glance afterwards…). The book shows him as someone who, despite being hampered by his lack of social skills and quirks, still manages to finish his movie and see his dream of becoming a movie star come true…even if the fame he achieves differs greatly from the fame he desires.
 
The tone of the book helps greatly as well. Greg’s tone is not that of a man bitter by the horrible trials put upon him by a person whose mannerisms seem like they belong on a spoon-shaped planet; instead, it is a mix between annoyance at being made to say things like “Keep your stupid comments in your pocket!”, fondness at the genuinely fun times he had hanging out with Tommy, bewilderment at some of Tommy’s antics, and even some fondness of the times interacting with others in the production even if Tommy’s attitude made things unbearable at times. It is not a book dedicated to ranting about how “The Room” ruined his life and more like someone sitting down near a campfire and saying “You wouldn’t believe this happened to me, but…” It is a very honest voice and the humor scattered throughout the pages only adds to the experience of reading it.
 
The Disaster Artist is definitely a book that anyone who has ever seen “The Room” (or even those who know of the plot) to read. It provides not only an interesting look at what happens behind-the-scenes when a bad movie is made, but it is also the account of a man who got to witness firsthand another man’s biggest dream of making it to the silver screen. It is a book that is utterly hilarious, a little cringe-inducing at times (mostly, unsurprisingly, because of Tommy Wiseau), and also a little heartwarming all at once. It also provides one of the biggest questions undoubtedly asked by “The Room” audience members: “What the hell were the people in this movie doing?!”

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