We already covered the 11pm screening of THE ROOM Thursday June 24th at The Skyview Drive-in in Belleville (5700 N Belt W, Belleville, IL 62226), HERE. Now the Skyview folks have added two more films to that night’s program to make it an evening of (relatively recent) Cult Classics! The Facebook invite for this memorable night can be found HERE. The Skyview site can be found HERE
THE DISASTER ARTIST on screen 1 starts at 9pm (read my review of THE DISASTER ARTIST HERE)
“I got the results of the test back – I definitely have breast cancer.”
The St. Louis movie event of the summer! Tommy Wiseau in THE ROOM plays at The Skyview Drive-in in Belleville (5700 N Belt W, Belleville, IL 62226), at 11pm Thursday June 24th.A Facebook invite can be found HERE. Tickets will only be sold at box office on June 24th. The Skyview’s site can be found HERE
There are different types of ‘Bad Movies’. It’s become sport to poke fun at bloated star vehicles such as ISHTAR, GLITTER, or GIGLI but those films are usually miserable experiences to actually sit through. There are films that are intentionally bad such as those from Troma studios (TOXIC AVENGER, POULTRYGEIST) but Troma knows its audience and anyone seeing a Troma film knows what they are getting into. Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM belongs with the group of movies that are so bad that they can transform their own awfulness into a “comedy of errors”. Unlike more mundane bad films, these films develop an ardent following of fans who love them because of their poor quality, because normally, the errors (technical or artistic) or wildly contrived plots are unlikely to be seen elsewhere and they become great entertainment in spite of themselves. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is the most famous film in this category but its director, Ed Wood, made his films while cloaked in an alcoholic haze (and bra) while convinced he was making great art. I’m not sure what Tommy Wiseau’s excuse is.
THE ROOM is an independently-made, self-distributed movie Wiseau wrote, directed, and starred in back in 2003 that would have been quickly forgotten if it hadn’t found new life after being discovered by some courageous Los Angeles movie fans. It’s been playing midnights in larger cities for a couple of years now, complete with prop-throwing, dialog-heckling, and the audience acting out scenes (think ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW without the bustiers). I’ve seen THE ROOM many times (the first was from Netflix, when I watched it twice because I thought I had dreamed what I watched the first time) and can’t wait to see it again with a live interactive audience so I too can shout out “Lisa, you’re tearing me apart!” I won’t bother reviewing THE ROOM because there’s no real way of adequately describing the film’s amusements in standard critique but I will say that it really does live up (or in this case down) to its reputation.
A most uncomplicated love story, THE ROOM stars Wiseau as Johnny, a long-haired banker whose trampy girlfriend Lisa (Juliette Danielle) is having an affair with his best friend Mark (Greg Sestero). Johnny gets upset. The End. To be sure, THE ROOM is a craptacular train wreck that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter because of its stupidity, but it is so transcendent in its dreadfulness that it actually becomes a thing of beauty. All of THE ROOMS’s cult achievement rests squarely on the awkward shoulders of Tommy Wiseau, the creepiest leading man ever to grace the big screen. Wiseau looks like Gene Simmons’ squat, constipated brother and has an incredibly uncomfortable screen presence. Speaking in a vague Eastern European accent (he claims he’s originally from France. He also claims to study psychology ‘as a hobby’), his every line is mumbled in the same phonetic, euro-sleaze inflection and concluded with a forced, strangled giggle. Wiseu directs himself in three long soft-core sex scenes, each one accompanied by an excruciating song and while Wiseu could have hired as his leading lady an unattractive actress who could act or a beauty who couldn’t, Juliette Danielle is both homely and untalented. I hate to be cruel but with her bad teeth, folds of fat that pop out of her lingerie, and nervous tick neck-twitch, she actually outdoes Wiseu in the lack-of-charisma department (at I first suspected she must be Wiseau’s girlfriend until I read an interview where he claims to have discovered her the day before shooting began when he spotted her stepping off a bus!).
It’s hard to explain the appeal of THE ROOM to someone who hasn’t seen it. I could describe the craziness that abounds such as the scene when the guys go outside and toss a football around from about three feet apart while reciting wretched dialog, or mention that a main character announces she has cancer halfway through, a development never again revisited, but there’s no way my descriptions can do THE ROOM’s unintentional delights justice. After all the anti-acclaim the film has received, Wiseau has backpedaled and now claims he was making a spoof, or dark comedy all along. I’m not buying it. I’ve read and seen too many interviews with Wiseau. I’ve interviewed him myself (he called me and said “You have twenty minutes of my time!”….an hour later I said to him “Dude, I have to go – gotta to make dinner for my kids!”). I’m convinced he really was trying to make a serious drama with THE ROOM. Watch the extras on the THE ROOM DVD and you’ll observe a man who just isn’t all there. I’ve never seen someone with such a complete lack of self-awareness and oblivious narcissism. Sorry Tommy, we’re not laughing with you, we’re laughing at you. I don’t mean to begrudge the guy, as I understand it takes a lot of hard work to get a feature film made and he should just be glad he’s managed to turn himself into something of a cult figure. Wiseau says THE ROOM was based on his unpublished novel and never-performed play (!). Wiseau also claims the film’s budget was 6 million dollars but I’m sure 95% of that went to pay for the billboards he posted along Sunset Boulevard for four straight years promoting THE ROOM that show a huge close-up of his foul mug and the purchase of a full page “for your Oscar consideration” ad in Variety. Wiseau’s film failed to receive any nominations but he has self-published a glossy commemorative hardback book on the making of THE ROOM. I must have that book! It doesn’t get worse than THE ROOM, and that’s a good thing.
THE ROOM will be available on VOD, Digital HD, DVD & Blu-ray July 21st. Check out this shocking trailer:
When Kate and Matt leave the city to move into an old house, they discover a secret hidden room that has the extraordinary power to materialize anything they wish for. Their new life becomes a true fairytale. Yet beneath this apparent state of bliss, something darker lurks: some wishes can have dire consequences.
Now you can win the Win the DVD of THE ROOM. We Are Movie Geeks has two copies to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite movie with the word ‘Room’ in the title. (mine’s THE GREEN ROOM. It’s so easy!)
1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES. NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.
2. WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.
I got the results of the test back – I definitely have breast cancer!”
The wait is almost over! The St. Louis movie event of the summer is this weekend! THE ROOM screens Midnights This Weekend (June 14th and 15th) at the Tivoli – with Tommy Wiseau in Person (!!!) as part of the Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight Series. It’s his ‘Love Is Blind’ Tour! (I’m not sure what that means and I doubt he does either! All seats $20.00, no passes. A Faceboook invite for this event can be found HERE
There will be thousands of plastic spoons flying through the air in the Tivoli’s main screen this weekend. Grown men in tuxedoes will be throwing footballs three feet away from each other in the Tivoli’s lobby. What’s going on and who will that strange man with the sunglasses, odd accent and black stringy hair be that everyone will be crowded around?
Our city is bracing itself for the arrival of the one and only Tommy Wiseau! St. Louis-area fans of THE ROOM will have the opportunity to meet the film’s talented, handsome, and charismatic star, writer and director when he comes to Landmark’s Tivoli Theater here (6350 Delmar in The Loop) for midnight shows of his film this weekend (August 25th and 26th). His big box of THE ROOM T-Shirts, DVD’s, posters, ‘Johnny’ bobbleheads will be sitting at the Tiv, ready to sign for his legion of adoring fans. THE DISASTER ARTIST, a movie about the making of THE ROOM and starring James Franco as Tommy, opens in December.
Tommy will set up in the Tivoli’s lobby around 10:30pm for the autograph session. This will be followed by a Q&A, an audience interactive game, and a midnight showing of THE ROOM. It’s the cultural event of the St. Louis summer!
Tickets can be purchased in advance, or just show up. The Tiv seats 420 souls and is located at 6350 Delmar in The Loop.
There are different types of “Bad Movies”. It’s become sport to poke fun at bloated star vehicles such as ISHTAR, GLITTER, or GIGLI but those films are usually miserable experiences to actually sit through. There are films that are intentionally bad such as those from Troma studios (TOXIC AVENGER, POULTRYGEIST) but Troma knows its audience and anyone seeing a Troma film knows what they are getting into. Writer/director Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM belongs with the group of movies that are so bad that they can transform their own awfulness into a “comedy of errors”. Unlike more mundane bad films, these films develop an ardent following of fans who love them because of their poor quality, because normally, the errors (technical or artistic) or wildly contrived plots are unlikely to be seen elsewhere and they become great entertainment in spite of themselves. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is the most famous film in this category but its director, Ed Wood, made his films while cloaked in an alcoholic haze (and bra) while convinced he was making great art. I’m not sure what Tommy Wiseau’s excuse is but St. Louis-area fans of THE ROOM will have the opportunity to ask him this weekend when he comes to Landmark’s Tivoli Theater here (6350 Delmar in The Loop) for midnight shows of his film the weekend of June 14th and 15th
THE ROOM is an independently-made, self-distributed movie Wiseau wrote, directed, and starred in back in 2003 that would have been quickly forgotten if it hadn’t found new life after being discovered by some courageous Los Angeles movie fans.It began playing midnights all across the country, complete with prop-throwing, dialog-heckling, and the audience acting out scenes and dialog like “Lisa, you’re tearing me apart!(think ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW without the bustiers). There’s no real way of adequately describing the film’s amusements in standard critique but I will say that it really does live up (or in this case down) to its reputation. A most uncomplicated love story, THE ROOM stars Wiseau as Johnny, a long-haired banker whose trampy girlfriend Lisa (Juliette Danielle) is having an affair with his best friend Mark (Greg Sestero). Johnny gets upset. The End. To be sure, THE ROOM is a craptacular train wreck that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter because of its stupidity, but it is so transcendent in its dreadfulness that it actually becomes a thing of beauty. All of THE ROOMS’s cult achievement rests squarely on the awkward shoulders of Tommy Wiseau, the unlikeliest leading man ever to grace the big screen. Wiseau looks like Gene Simmons’ squat, constipated brother and has an incredibly uncomfortable screen presence. Speaking in a vague Eastern European accent (he claims he’s originally from France. He also claims to study psychology ‘as a hobby’), his every line is mumbled in the same phonetic, euro-sleaze inflection and concluded with a forced, strangled giggle. Wiseu directs himself in three long soft-core sex scenes, each one accompanied by an excruciating song and while Wiseu could have hired as his leading lady an unattractive actress who could act or a beauty who couldn’t, Juliette Danielle is both homely and untalented. I hate to be cruel but with her bad teeth, folds of fat that pop out of her lingerie, and nervous tick neck-twitch, she actually outdoes Wiseu in the lack-of-charisma department (at I first suspected she must be Wiseau’s girlfriend until I read an interview where he claims to have discovered her the day before shooting began when he spotted her stepping off a bus!).
It’s hard to explain the appeal of THE ROOM to someone who hasn’t seen it. I could describe the craziness that abounds such as the scene when the guys go outside and toss a football around from about three feet apart while reciting wretched dialog, or mention that a main character announces she has cancer halfway through, a development never again revisited, but there’s no way my descriptions can do THE ROOM’s unintentional delights justice. After all the anti-acclaim the film has received, Wiseau has backpedaled and now claims he was making a spoof. Was he? Ask him this summer when he appears at the Tivoli to sign his book on THE ROOM, sign autographs, and answer questions. Tickets are $15 each. Look for more coverage of this major upcoming cultural event here at We Are Movie Geeks.com, It doesn’t get worse than THE ROOM, and that’s a good thing.
Don’t miss THE ROOM and your chance to meet Tommy Wiseau this weekend!
Here’s the Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight schedule for the next month:
June 21-22 THE SHINING New 4K Digital Restoration!
Another brilliant lineup of midnight movies for the ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ to end the 2018 season. It’s an especially good variety of titles that will draw the late night movie buff crowd with several retro surprises. The Midnight Movie experience has always catered to a college-age crowd and that’s the way it should be. The oldest film this time is MONTY PYTON AND TH E HOLY GRAIL fom ’76. from 1975 and the most recent is HEREDITY from last year. There’s a Miyazaki this schedule PRINCESS MONONOKE which always bring s in the crowds ,A couple of standards including THE SHINING and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD are on the schedule. I’ve been hosting the midnight show at The Tivoli for ten years now This is a great line-up,
Here’s the Line-up:
Here’s the lineup for the rest of the Spring’s Tivoli Reel Late shows:
May 24-25 MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
May 31-June 1 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS
June 7-8 PRINCESS MONONOKE – Subtitled at midnight Friday and Saturday, plus 11:30am Saturday matinee in English
June 14-15 THE ROOM – with Tommy Wiseau in person, all tickets $20 (no passes) – 2019 Love Is Blind Tour
June 21-22 THE SHINING New 4K Digital Restoration!
“I got the results of the test back – I definitely have breast cancer.”
THE ROOM plays this weekend (September 28th and 29th) at the Tivoli. THE DISASTER ARTIST, the film about the making of THE ROOM opened this past weekend to spectacular reviews (read my review HERE).
There are different types of ‘Bad Movies’. It’s become sport to poke fun at bloated star vehicles such as ISHTAR, GLITTER, or GIGLI but those films are usually miserable experiences to actually sit through. There are films that are intentionally bad such as those from Troma studios (TOXIC AVENGER, POULTRYGEIST) but Troma knows its audience and anyone seeing a Troma film knows what they are getting into. Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM belongs with the group of movies that are so bad that they can transform their own awfulness into a “comedy of errors”. Unlike more mundane bad films, these films develop an ardent following of fans who love them because of their poor quality, because normally, the errors (technical or artistic) or wildly contrived plots are unlikely to be seen elsewhere and they become great entertainment in spite of themselves. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is the most famous film in this category but its director, Ed Wood, made his films while cloaked in an alcoholic haze (and bra) while convinced he was making great art. I’m not sure what Tommy Wiseau’s excuse is.
Fans of bad cinema who live in the St. Louis area have something to celebrate this weekend. Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM, crowned as ‘the Worst Movie Ever Made’ by pretty much everyone who has seen it, will be playing midnights this Friday and Saturday (September 28th and 29th) at the Tivoli. Last summer we had Tommy Wiseau’s triumphant return to the Tivoli to host several screenings of THE ROOM .
THE ROOM is an independently-made, self-distributed movie Wiseau wrote, directed, and starred in back in 2003 that would have been quickly forgotten if it hadn’t found new life after being discovered by some courageous Los Angeles movie fans. It’s been playing midnights in larger cities for a couple of years now, complete with prop-throwing, dialog-heckling, and the audience acting out scenes (think ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW without the bustiers). I’ve seen THE ROOM many times (the first was from Netflix, when I watched it twice because I thought I had dreamed what I watched the first time) and can’t wait to see it again with a live interactive audience so I too can shout out “Lisa, you’re tearing me apart!” I won’t bother reviewing THE ROOM because there’s no real way of adequately describing the film’s amusements in standard critique but I will say that it really does live up (or in this case down) to its reputation.
A most uncomplicated love story, THE ROOM stars Wiseau as Johnny, a long-haired banker whose trampy girlfriend Lisa (Juliette Danielle) is having an affair with his best friend Mark (Greg Sestero). Johnny gets upset. The End. To be sure, THE ROOM is a craptacular train wreck that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter because of its stupidity, but it is so transcendent in its dreadfulness that it actually becomes a thing of beauty. All of THE ROOMS’s cult achievement rests squarely on the awkward shoulders of Tommy Wiseau, the creepiest leading man ever to grace the big screen. Wiseau looks like Gene Simmons’ squat, constipated brother and has an incredibly uncomfortable screen presence. Speaking in a vague Eastern European accent (he claims he’s originally from France. He also claims to study psychology ‘as a hobby’), his every line is mumbled in the same phonetic, euro-sleaze inflection and concluded with a forced, strangled giggle. Wiseu directs himself in three long soft-core sex scenes, each one accompanied by an excruciating song and while Wiseu could have hired as his leading lady an unattractive actress who could act or a beauty who couldn’t, Juliette Danielle is both homely and untalented. I hate to be cruel but with her bad teeth, folds of fat that pop out of her lingerie, and nervous tick neck-twitch, she actually outdoes Wiseu in the lack-of-charisma department (at I first suspected she must be Wiseau’s girlfriend until I read an interview where he claims to have discovered her the day before shooting began when he spotted her stepping off a bus!).
It’s hard to explain the appeal of THE ROOM to someone who hasn’t seen it. I could describe the craziness that abounds such as the scene when the guys go outside and toss a football around from about three feet apart while reciting wretched dialog, or mention that a main character announces she has cancer halfway through, a development never again revisited, but there’s no way my descriptions can do THE ROOM’s unintentional delights justice. After all the anti-acclaim the film has received, Wiseau has backpedaled and now claims he was making a spoof, or dark comedy all along. I’m not buying it. I’ve read and seen too many interviews with Wiseau. I’ve interviewed him myself (he called me and said “You have twenty minutes of my time!”….an hour later I said to him “Dude, I have to go – gotta to make dinner for my kids!”). I’m convinced he really was trying to make a serious drama with THE ROOM. Watch the extras on the THE ROOM DVD and you’ll observe a man who just isn’t all there. I’ve never seen someone with such a complete lack of self-awareness and oblivious narcissism. Sorry Tommy, we’re not laughing with you, we’re laughing at you. I don’t mean to begrudge the guy, as I understand it takes a lot of hard work to get a feature film made and he should just be glad he’s managed to turn himself into something of a cult figure. Wiseau says THE ROOM was based on his unpublished novel and never-performed play (!). Wiseau also claims the film’s budget was 6 million dollars but I’m sure 95% of that went to pay for the billboards he posted along Sunset Boulevard for four straight years promoting THE ROOM that show a huge close-up of his foul mug and the purchase of a full page “for your Oscar consideration” ad in Variety. Wiseau’s film failed to receive any nominations but he has self-published a glossy commemorative hardback book on the making of THE ROOM. I must have that book! It doesn’t get worse than THE ROOM, and that’s a good thing.
Now you can find out what all the fuss is about when THE ROOM plays on the big screen this weekend (September 28th and 29th) at the Tivoli.
A Facebook invite for this weeknd can be found HERE
Another brilliant lineup of midnight movies for the ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ to end the 2018 season. It’s an especially good variety of titles that will draw the late night movie buff crowd with several retro surprises. The Midnight Movie experience has always catered to a college-age crowd and that’s the way it should be. The oldest film this time is 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY from 1968 and the most recent is THE ROOM (again!). There’s no Miyazaki this schedule (a first in a long time!) but a couple of standards including BEETLEJUICE. I’ve been hosting the midnight show at The Tivoli for ten years now and I think HALLOWEEN may be new to the Tivoli midnight roster. I it will draw a good crowd.
Tickets are $8 (except for ROCKY HORROR).
Here’s the line-up:
Sept. 21 & 22 – 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY
Sept.28-29 – THE ROOM
Oct. 5 &6 – BEETLEJUICE
Oct 12 & 13 – HALLOWEEN (1978)
Oct 19 &20 and Oct. 26 & 27 – ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with live shadow cast, Samurai Electricians!
All tickets $10
“I got the results of the test back – I definitely have breast cancer.”
THE ROOM plays this weekend (May 18th and 19th) at the Tivoli. THE DISASTER ARTIST, the film about the making of THE ROOM opened this past weekend to spectacular reviews (read my review HERE).
There are different types of ‘Bad Movies’. It’s become sport to poke fun at bloated star vehicles such as ISHTAR, GLITTER, or GIGLI but those films are usually miserable experiences to actually sit through. There are films that are intentionally bad such as those from Troma studios (TOXIC AVENGER, POULTRYGEIST) but Troma knows its audience and anyone seeing a Troma film knows what they are getting into. Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM belongs with the group of movies that are so bad that they can transform their own awfulness into a “comedy of errors”. Unlike more mundane bad films, these films develop an ardent following of fans who love them because of their poor quality, because normally, the errors (technical or artistic) or wildly contrived plots are unlikely to be seen elsewhere and they become great entertainment in spite of themselves. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is the most famous film in this category but its director, Ed Wood, made his films while cloaked in an alcoholic haze (and bra) while convinced he was making great art. I’m not sure what Tommy Wiseau’s excuse is.
Fans of bad cinema who live in the St. Louis area have something to celebrate this weekend. Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM, crowned as ‘the Worst Movie Ever Made’ by pretty much everyone who has seen it, will be playing midnights this Friday and Saturday (February 23rd and 24th) at the Tivoli. Last summer we had Tommy Wiseau’s triumphant return to the Tivoli to host two screenings of THE ROOM .
THE ROOM is an independently-made, self-distributed movie Wiseau wrote, directed, and starred in back in 2003 that would have been quickly forgotten if it hadn’t found new life after being discovered by some courageous Los Angeles movie fans. It’s been playing midnights in larger cities for a couple of years now, complete with prop-throwing, dialog-heckling, and the audience acting out scenes (think ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW without the bustiers). I’ve seen THE ROOM many times (the first was from Netflix, when I watched it twice because I thought I had dreamed what I watched the first time) and can’t wait to see it again with a live interactive audience so I too can shout out “Lisa, you’re tearing me apart!” I won’t bother reviewing THE ROOM because there’s no real way of adequately describing the film’s amusements in standard critique but I will say that it really does live up (or in this case down) to its reputation.
A most uncomplicated love story, THE ROOM stars Wiseau as Johnny, a long-haired banker whose trampy girlfriend Lisa (Juliette Danielle) is having an affair with his best friend Mark (Greg Sestero). Johnny gets upset. The End. To be sure, THE ROOM is a craptacular train wreck that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter because of its stupidity, but it is so transcendent in its dreadfulness that it actually becomes a thing of beauty. All of THE ROOMS’s cult achievement rests squarely on the awkward shoulders of Tommy Wiseau, the creepiest leading man ever to grace the big screen. Wiseau looks like Gene Simmons’ squat, constipated brother and has an incredibly uncomfortable screen presence. Speaking in a vague Eastern European accent (he claims he’s originally from France. He also claims to study psychology ‘as a hobby’), his every line is mumbled in the same phonetic, euro-sleaze inflection and concluded with a forced, strangled giggle. Wiseu directs himself in three long soft-core sex scenes, each one accompanied by an excruciating song and while Wiseu could have hired as his leading lady an unattractive actress who could act or a beauty who couldn’t, Juliette Danielle is both homely and untalented. I hate to be cruel but with her bad teeth, folds of fat that pop out of her lingerie, and nervous tick neck-twitch, she actually outdoes Wiseu in the lack-of-charisma department (at I first suspected she must be Wiseau’s girlfriend until I read an interview where he claims to have discovered her the day before shooting began when he spotted her stepping off a bus!).
It’s hard to explain the appeal of THE ROOM to someone who hasn’t seen it. I could describe the craziness that abounds such as the scene when the guys go outside and toss a football around from about three feet apart while reciting wretched dialog, or mention that a main character announces she has cancer halfway through, a development never again revisited, but there’s no way my descriptions can do THE ROOM’s unintentional delights justice. After all the anti-acclaim the film has received, Wiseau has backpedaled and now claims he was making a spoof, or dark comedy all along. I’m not buying it. I’ve read and seen too many interviews with Wiseau. I’ve interviewed him myself (he called me and said “You have twenty minutes of my time!”….an hour later I said to him “Dude, I have to go – gotta to make dinner for my kids!”). I’m convinced he really was trying to make a serious drama with THE ROOM. Watch the extras on the THE ROOM DVD and you’ll observe a man who just isn’t all there. I’ve never seen someone with such a complete lack of self-awareness and oblivious narcissism. Sorry Tommy, we’re not laughing with you, we’re laughing at you. I don’t mean to begrudge the guy, as I understand it takes a lot of hard work to get a feature film made and he should just be glad he’s managed to turn himself into something of a cult figure. Wiseau says THE ROOM was based on his unpublished novel and never-performed play (!). Wiseau also claims the film’s budget was 6 million dollars but I’m sure 95% of that went to pay for the billboards he posted along Sunset Boulevard for four straight years promoting THE ROOM that show a huge close-up of his foul mug and the purchase of a full page “for your Oscar consideration” ad in Variety. Wiseau’s film failed to receive any nominations but he has self-published a glossy commemorative hardback book on the making of THE ROOM. I must have that book! It doesn’t get worse than THE ROOM, and that’s a good thing.
Now you can find out what all the fuss is about when THE ROOM plays on the big screen this weekend (May 18th and 19th) at the Tivoli.
The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!
“Greetings from The Humungus! The Lord Humungus! The Warrior of the Wasteland! The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla!”
Another terrific lineup of midnight movies for the ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ to kick off the 2018 season. It’s a typically good variety of titles that should draw the late night movie buff crowd with a couple of retro surprises. The Midnight Movie experience has always catered to a college-age crowd and that’s the way it should be. ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with live shadow cast with the Samurai Electricians ends the new schedule on April 6th and 7th . The oldest film this time isDario Argento’s DEEP RED (1976)while the most recent is GET OUT from last year. There’s a Miyazaki (HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE) thrown in there for attendance insurance (theses always pack ‘em in), some standards including THE ROOM and WAYNE’S WORLD. I believe ROAD WARRIOR, DEEP RED, and AMELIE are new to the Tivoli midnight roster, and I suspect they will draw good crowds.
I’m there every Friday night with free swag, movie trivia, and prizes!
Tickets are $8 (except for ROCKY HORROR). Here’s the line-up:
April 6-7ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with live shadow cast, Samurai Electricians!
All tickets $10
April 13-14GET OUT
April 20-21 WAYNE’S WORLD
April 27-28 ROAD WARRIOR
May 4-5 AMELIE
May 11-12DEEP RED
May 18-19 THE ROOM
May 25-26 HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO.
“I got the results of the test back – I definitely have breast cancer.”
THE ROOM plays this weekend (February 23rd and 24th) at the Tivoli. THE DISASTER ARTIST, the film about the making of THE ROOM opened this past weekend to spectacular reviews (read my review HERE).
There are different types of ‘Bad Movies’. It’s become sport to poke fun at bloated star vehicles such as ISHTAR, GLITTER, or GIGLI but those films are usually miserable experiences to actually sit through. There are films that are intentionally bad such as those from Troma studios (TOXIC AVENGER, POULTRYGEIST) but Troma knows its audience and anyone seeing a Troma film knows what they are getting into. Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM belongs with the group of movies that are so bad that they can transform their own awfulness into a “comedy of errors”. Unlike more mundane bad films, these films develop an ardent following of fans who love them because of their poor quality, because normally, the errors (technical or artistic) or wildly contrived plots are unlikely to be seen elsewhere and they become great entertainment in spite of themselves. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is the most famous film in this category but its director, Ed Wood, made his films while cloaked in an alcoholic haze (and bra) while convinced he was making great art. I’m not sure what Tommy Wiseau’s excuse is.
Fans of bad cinema who live in the St. Louis area have something to celebrate this weekend. Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM, crowned as ‘the Worst Movie Ever Made’ by pretty much everyone who has seen it, will be playing midnights this Friday and Saturday (February 23rd and 24th) at the Tivoli. Last summer we had Tommy Wiseau’s triumphant return to the Tivoli to host two screenings of THE ROOM .
THE ROOM is an independently-made, self-distributed movie Wiseau wrote, directed, and starred in back in 2003 that would have been quickly forgotten if it hadn’t found new life after being discovered by some courageous Los Angeles movie fans. It’s been playing midnights in larger cities for a couple of years now, complete with prop-throwing, dialog-heckling, and the audience acting out scenes (think ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW without the bustiers). I’ve seen THE ROOM many times (the first was from Netflix, when I watched it twice because I thought I had dreamed what I watched the first time) and can’t wait to see it again with a live interactive audience so I too can shout out “Lisa, you’re tearing me apart!” I won’t bother reviewing THE ROOM because there’s no real way of adequately describing the film’s amusements in standard critique but I will say that it really does live up (or in this case down) to its reputation.
A most uncomplicated love story, THE ROOM stars Wiseau as Johnny, a long-haired banker whose trampy girlfriend Lisa (Juliette Danielle) is having an affair with his best friend Mark (Greg Sestero). Johnny gets upset. The End. To be sure, THE ROOM is a craptacular train wreck that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter because of its stupidity, but it is so transcendent in its dreadfulness that it actually becomes a thing of beauty. All of THE ROOMS’s cult achievement rests squarely on the awkward shoulders of Tommy Wiseau, the creepiest leading man ever to grace the big screen. Wiseau looks like Gene Simmons’ squat, constipated brother and has an incredibly uncomfortable screen presence. Speaking in a vague Eastern European accent (he claims he’s originally from France. He also claims to study psychology ‘as a hobby’), his every line is mumbled in the same phonetic, euro-sleaze inflection and concluded with a forced, strangled giggle. Wiseu directs himself in three long soft-core sex scenes, each one accompanied by an excruciating song and while Wiseu could have hired as his leading lady an unattractive actress who could act or a beauty who couldn’t, Juliette Danielle is both homely and untalented. I hate to be cruel but with her bad teeth, folds of fat that pop out of her lingerie, and nervous tick neck-twitch, she actually outdoes Wiseu in the lack-of-charisma department (at I first suspected she must be Wiseau’s girlfriend until I read an interview where he claims to have discovered her the day before shooting began when he spotted her stepping off a bus!).
It’s hard to explain the appeal of THE ROOM to someone who hasn’t seen it. I could describe the craziness that abounds such as the scene when the guys go outside and toss a football around from about three feet apart while reciting wretched dialog, or mention that a main character announces she has cancer halfway through, a development never again revisited, but there’s no way my descriptions can do THE ROOM’s unintentional delights justice. After all the anti-acclaim the film has received, Wiseau has backpedaled and now claims he was making a spoof, or dark comedy all along. I’m not buying it. I’ve read and seen too many interviews with Wiseau. I’ve interviewed him myself (he called me and said “You have twenty minutes of my time!”….an hour later I said to him “Dude, I have to go – gotta to make dinner for my kids!”). I’m convinced he really was trying to make a serious drama with THE ROOM. Watch the extras on the THE ROOM DVD and you’ll observe a man who just isn’t all there. I’ve never seen someone with such a complete lack of self-awareness and oblivious narcissism. Sorry Tommy, we’re not laughing with you, we’re laughing at you. I don’t mean to begrudge the guy, as I understand it takes a lot of hard work to get a feature film made and he should just be glad he’s managed to turn himself into something of a cult figure. Wiseau says THE ROOM was based on his unpublished novel and never-performed play (!). Wiseau also claims the film’s budget was 6 million dollars but I’m sure 95% of that went to pay for the billboards he posted along Sunset Boulevard for four straight years promoting THE ROOM that show a huge close-up of his foul mug and the purchase of a full page “for your Oscar consideration” ad in Variety. Wiseau’s film failed to receive any nominations but he has self-published a glossy commemorative hardback book on the making of THE ROOM. I must have that book! It doesn’t get worse than THE ROOM, and that’s a good thing.
Now you can find out what all the fuss is about when THE ROOM plays on the big screen this weekend (February 23rd and 24th) at the Tivoli.
The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!
