There are two kinds of great bad movies. The first kind is cheap crap turned out by a cynical director to make a quick buck. (That would be much of what Mystery Science Theater 3000 showed back in the ‘90s). The second is low-budget, too, but it’s also the ill-conceived “vision” of a would-be auteur who’s convinced that the movie is a sophisticated excursion into the human psyche. That would be 2003’s epic misfire The Room.
I haven’t seen writer-director-actor Tommy Wiseau’s indie train wreck of lust, revenge, and gratuitous shots of silverware. I know a couple of people who have, though, and they’ve assured me that this demented little flick about a bank executive (an overwrought Wiseau) betrayed by his fiance and his best friend is indeed artfully, engrossingly awful. Wiseau has for years now made a tidy profit traveling around the country hosting midnight screenings of The Room for ardent fans. He’ll stop by the Ridgmar Movie Tavern Friday April 1 (tonight) and Saturday April 2 to introduce 12:01am showings and give a q&a. Expect enthusiastic audience participation.
