this is the room. arguably the worst film ever made. you are lying, i never hit you. you are tearing me apart, lisa! thousands of people have willingly paidmoney to watch this, often many times.
where to watch films online, which begs the question: why? this is tom bissell. he literally co-wrote the book on this movie. the room is about a perfect american namedjohnny
who does an amazing job at his bankand is constantly saving them money. did you tell them how much you save them? of course, what do you think? they already put my ideas into practice. and he lives with his future wife, after all, she’s my future wife. lisa’s your future wife. and he thinks he has a great life with themtogether, but she’s secretly sleeping with his best friend, mark.
oh, hi, mark. i’ve seen the room more than 100 timesand less than 150 times. it is like a movie made by an alienwho has never seen a movie but has had movies thoroughly explained tohim. a lot of the dialogue makes no sense. characters say and do things thatnever really line up with how actual humans behave. -how much is it? -that’ll be $18.
-here you go. keep the change. hi, doggy. -you’re my favorite customer. -thanks a lot, bye! and there’s a table full of framed photographsof spoons for some reason. there’s not often that a work of film has every creative decision that’s madein it on a moment-by-moment basis
seemingly be the wrong one. it’s a famously incoherent piece of americancinema that’s established a rabid cult following, a celebrity fan base, i’ve had tommy wiseau up here. tell me everything. i remember i saw it with jonah hill, actually,randomly. and then, and, like, we became obsessed withit. and there are still sold-out monthly midnightscreenings
in countries across the globe, even 14 years after its release. why is a movie that’s so incoherent andso critically panned still so popular? the room falls into a category that some call“paracinema,†which comprises all forms of cinema outsideof the mainstream. including, the room is more specifically referred toas a “trash film,†a genre of films that are
it may seem like only people with bad tastewould like movies that are literally categorized as trash, but studies show that a taste for trash cinemamight actually indicate higher levels of intelligence. researchers at the max planck institute forempirical aesthetics asked people who regularly watchtrash films about what attracts them to the genre. they found that one of the main factors thatdraws people to trash cinema is its transgressive nature and its subversionof the standards of mainstream filmmaking. which are often the same reasons peopleare drawn to avant-garde art cinema.
if you look on amazon the movies that peoplebought in addition to the room is a solid mix between trash classics likebirdemic and troll 2 and arthouse films like the holy mountainand dancer in the dark. one of the other reasons that peopleare drawn to trash cinema is an ironic viewing stance, which is also called “camp.†susan sontag once wrote that ironic enjoyment of bad entertainmentcan be a powerful social tool
that can strengthen bonds between people. just look at rebecca black’s viral sensation“friday.†it’s friday, friday, gotta get down on friday. despite having almost universally bad reviews,this video has a 108 million views and counting. it’s hard to deny that many of us like tocollectively bask in the warm glow of campy entertainment. fun, fun, fun, fun. looking forward to the weekend. fans of cult films like the room are no different.
they establish what sociologist pierre bourdieutermed “cultural capital,†which is a form of social currency thatdictates one's position within a group. people at the screenings who know the mostlines by heart and participate in all the inside jokes aredeemed room veterans. and the screenings are a sight to see. the mood ranges from people throw plastic spoons,
wear costumes, and yell call-and-responselines at the screen. go! the fan interaction is similar to other cultclassics like rocky horror picture show. the room, to me, shatters the distinctionbetween good and bad. do i think it’s a good movie? no.
do i think it’s a strong movie that movesme on the level that art usually moves me? absolutely not. but i can’t say it’s bad because it’sso watchable. it’s so fun. it’s brought me so much joy. how can something that’s bad do thosethings for me?
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