He Wanted Me To Be His Lisa
Sunshine Cinema, New York City, January 12th, 2018. As much as I didn’t want to buy into the nonsense that is The Room, Tommy Wiseau’s ode to fame is an enigma of the film industry that is more than worth the cinematic adventure. What an outlandish juncture to see this cult classic film in a theater with dozens of people who know when to throw spoons and shout phrases like, “Meanwhile, in San Francisco…!” And what’s more, Tommy Wiseau himself presents the films and answers the audience’s questions after he meets anyone that buys some type of merch. What you see is what you get, and he truly is as proud as James Franco boasted playing him in The Disaster Artist, which is how my interest in all of this came about. Once you watch both, you simply cannot hate it. It’s too much fun. Weird. Makes no sense. But so much fun.
It must’ve been my blonde hair that caught his attention, because Tommy had found his Lisa for the evening. I met him first out my group, and every time he saw I was waiting for someone, he asked if they knew me and would wave me over and shout, “Get in the shot!” I ended up with three pictures compared to everyone else’s single photo. What can he say, he has a type, after all he did cast Lisa himself as his dream girl. I wasn’t wearing my red dress, but I am that classic all-American girl. If you know anything about The Room, there is an obsession for all things all-American, like football, which is probably passed around a lot more than it’s played.
It may not be the original vision he had of why The Room would be so big, but if you can sell out a viewing of a 15 year old movie that only gets bigger with time and have to add show times and extend the run dates, that in itself is the American dream for whatever it’s worth. We all want to leave our mark and be known for something, and not every movie is lucky enough to be re-released in theaters with audience goers giving full on performances like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Unknowingly at the film’s inception, Tommy Wiseau mastered the art of escapism taking you on an unclear journey that you want more of. It has proved true of his follow up projects Best F(r)iends parts 1 and 2. The storylines were more streamlined than that of The Room, but similarly, there is nothing predictable and they’re intriguing enough to keep watching. Though The Room will leave you full of questions, you’ll be equally as fulfilled saying, “What did I just watch?” And then you’ll want to watch it again. And then again with all your friends until you’re all saying the famous movie lines.
