I finally got around to watching The Disaster Artist. Took me long enough. As an avid fan of all things Tommy Wiseau, there is no excuse for how much time has elapsed since the film’s release and my viewing. I make no excuses for my shortcomings. I am grievously in error.
But I did finally watch it, and it conjured in me several thoughts and musings. I don’t want to talk too much about the film itself because that’s only what prompted these thoughts, but I’ll butcher an attempt at an oversimplified summary of the story here:
Two friends, Tommy and Greg, set off to LA to find stardom and make a movie, but Tommy is an enigmatic loose cannon and things go off the rails.
If you know anything about Tommy Wiseau’s film, The Room, you basically know how this story ends. Tommy and Greg complete their movie and it becomes a cult classic, widely regarded as the best terrible film ever made.
(Also, if this matters to you, there may or may not be spoilers for The Disaster Artist in what follows. Read on at your own peril if you haven’t seen the film and want to. If you have seen the film, or don’t care, by all means, keep reading.)
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Throughout the film, Tommy is obsessed with stardom. He wants to make it big. He wants to be famous. He wants to prove all his haters wrong. He wants to show the world how great he is. He needs everyone to understand his genius.
This obsession leads him to right into the arms of jealousy. He’s threatened by the success and potential of others and his erratic and neurotic behavior increases in direct proportion to how he perceives himself as compared to others.
Tommy strives to prove his worth as a dramatic writer/director/actor/producer/etc. and his performances, as well as those he demands of his costars, are best described as non sequitur melodrama. So ultimately, when The Roomis finished and is seen by the public, it’s met with laughter at its absurd nature.
Initially, Tommy is upset by this development. He leaves the theater and Greg has to talk him down, coaxing him back into the screening. The people love his film. They have tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. They cheer and applaud the tragically terrible masterpiece, that is, The Room.
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At the end of the day (and the film), Tommy gets everything he wanted. He doesn’t get it in the way he expected, or even hoped, it would happen, but he gets to be a star. His film, for all its god awful grandeur, is still viewed religiously by tons of people to this day. Just the mention of the name “Tommy Wiseau” will bring a smile to anyone who’s had their life brightened by The Roomand that’s something that can’t be said of many people. Today, we seem to view Tommy as that batshit crazy uncle you just can’t help but love.
And this is what struck me. Tommy could have resented the nature of his film’s success, such as it is (and perhaps the real Tommy does, but that’s not the case in the film). But instead of finding his film embarrassing and trying to mitigate the damage it will do to his artistic reputation, he leans into it. This comedy gold is what he was going for all along.
Is this disingenuous? Perhaps. One could argue that he’s simply spinning a negative into a positive much like a politician looking for votes. But even if that’s the case, what does it matter?
The audience for The Roomis not a serious one. No one looking for a great drama will find what they seek in The Room. But if you’re hoping to laugh your ass off for 99 minutes, look no further.
I think to times in my life when my intentions and expectations are DOA. Maybe I’ve definitely started writing things in the past that ended up becoming something I didn’t want them to be. I’ve had multiple reactions to this. Sometimes I’ll lean in and rework everything I can to fit the new reality. Sometimes I’ll push back and try to hone in on my original intention with the hope of better execution. Sometimes I’ll abandon the work entirely and start something else.
I don’t think any of these reactions is right or wrong. They’re all just reactions. And that’s the only thing we really have any control over, right? Even if I plan everything to the finest detail and perfectly fulfill all my expectations along the way, I’m still at the mercy of the uncertain future. Things seldom turn out how we plan. And even when they do, there will still be elements we can’t possibly expect.
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I suppose all I’m really trying to say with this is that expectations are ultimately futile. They only serve us insofar as they allow for confidence and action, but they certainly don’t have too much bearing on outcome. In any endeavor, the results will be what the results will be. We do the best we can, but when it’s all said and done, all we really have is our reaction.