Tommy Wiseau set out to make his dream movie in 2002. He was determined to be an actor, writer, director and producer in Hollywood but no one would hire him due to his innate abilities to do any of these things. Wiseau decided that he and his roommate Greg would make their own movie. This is how “The Room” was born. “The Disaster Artist” is the tale of how “The Room”, dubbed the Citizen Kane of bad movies, was made and its effects on the crew involved in making it.

The film follows Greg Sestero, played by Dave Franco, a young actor who is trying to make it big in the film industry. During one of his acting classes he meets Tommy Wiseau, played by James Franco, an eccentric man with a mysterious accent and a seemingly endless amount of money. The pair becomes friends in a short time and move from San Francisco to Los Angeles together to try to make it into movies and television. When they both discover that it is not as easy as they think, they decide to make their own movie.

James Franco is the best part of this movie. He is immersed in the role of Tommy and is barely recognizable. Dave Franco was decent in the movie, he basically just played himself but with a beard. It would have been easy for Franco and crew to make a movie making fun of the original but The Disaster Artist delves into the psyche of Tommy Wiseau. It makes a man who audience may think is a bumbling idiot into someone who is sympathetic.

The weakest part of the film for me is the subplot about Sestero’s girlfriend, played by Allison Brie. She appears in only a couple of scenes, contributes very little to the story and is never mentioned again outside of a line or two.

The Disaster Artist is a funny, engaging film about two friends making a movie that did not turn out the way they wanted it to. In a way, it makes Wiseau seem like an inspiration and spreads a positive message to follow your dreams.