Oh Hai Mark: James Franco's 91%-Rated Comedy Quietly Lands on Netflix

Summary:

• 2003's The Room was absolutely destroyed by everyone upon its release, but has become a cult classic over the years
• What was meant to be a romantic drama became a hilarious comedy for all the wrong reasons
• In 2013, the story of its creation was turned into a book, which in 2017 received a film adaptation directed by and starring James Franco.

Most of the time, a bad movie is just, well, bad, with few to no redeeming qualities that would make it worth your time.

But on rare occasions, a movie turns out to be so outrageously and unapologetically bad that it actually becomes good for all the wrong reasons, and may even gain a cult following that elevates its notoriety to the next level.

2003's The Room may be the most famous case of a "so bad it's good" movie becoming a cult classic, as after being a complete flop in every way upon its release, the film has over the years gained more fame than its creators could have ever dreamed of.

The Room Was Atrocious in Every Way

Directed by Tommy Wiseau, it was supposed to be a serious romantic drama, but the atrocious writing, hilariously bad acting and nonsensical story turned it into a pure comedy with countless endlessly quotable lines and hysterical moments.

Given the filmmaker's extremely extravagant personality, it is no wonder that the creation of "the worst movie ever made," as it was later referred to by many film critics, was quite bizarre and difficult for everyone else involved.

A decade after the release of the infamous film, the chronicle of all the behind-the-scenes chaos that followed its creation has been turned into a non-fiction book, The Disaster Artist, written by Greg Sestero, one of the film's stars, in collaboration with Tom Bissell.

The Book Was Even Made Into a Movie

However, if you prefer movies to reading books, but still want to check out the story of how The Room came to be, James Franco, who befriended Wiseau, released a film adaptation of the same name in 2017.

The movie received an exceptionally warm reception from critics and fans, as it did a wonderful job of recreating The Room's most iconic moments while also staying true to the story of its creation.

Franco, in particular, delivered an outstanding portrayal of Tommy Wiseau, perfectly capturing all of the quirky filmmaker's mannerisms and making it just as, if not more, entertaining than the original film.

That being said, if you want to see the insane story of the movie's creation firsthand, The Disaster Artist became available for streaming on Netflix on March 1, 2024.