I Saw The Room in a Live Theater
Happy Thursday! My apologies for not sending out the article for this week sooner. I’ve been scrambling to get work done before I’m out of town this weekend, so here we are. Time is going by faster than I hope; I suppose some of you can relate. I also plan on having this week’s paid-tier article tomorrow, so be on the lookout for that.
I hope you had an enjoyable Valentine’s Day. I had the pleasure of seeing The Room in a live theater with my partner Sydney for the hallmark holiday. If you don’t know, The Room is regarded by many as the Citizen Kane of bad movies.
Since its release in 2003, it’s developed into a cult classic due to its quirky and strange storytelling, technical and narrative issues, and off-kilter acting. As bad as the film is, few films are more enjoyable than The Room.
Written, produced, executive produced, directed, and starring Tommy Wiseau, The Room centers on a love triangle between Johnny (Wiseau), his fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle), and his best friend Mark (Greg Sestero).
Much of the film focuses on seemingly unrelated subplots—most of which involving a supporting character you know nothing about—and are left unresolved for no real explanation or reason.
If you have any interest in movies, you most likely have seen The Room at some point or are at the very least aware of its cult status. If you haven’t seen it, get a group of friends together and watch it immediately.
You’ll have a blast, and I’ve probably seen it five times or so prior to this theater experience. I vividly remember watching it for the first time with a group of friends when I was a teenager and couldn’t stop laughing or fully comprehend what I was viewing.
Not only was the experience enjoyable to witness it with a large audience—particularly the audience participation aspect—but Sydney never saw it before. For me, The Room is one of those films I love seeing the reaction of others when it’s their first time viewing it. She loved it, and now, we have a memory for the two of us that’ll never fade and one to look back on for years to come.
There are a lot of audience participation aspects of the film when you see it in a live theater—similar to movies like The Rocky Horror Picture Show—and this was my first time experiencing a movie in that way.
Some memorable moments include hurling plastic spoons across the theater whenever one appears on screen (nearly all of the artwork in the film features spoons because they never replaced the photos in the frames with real ones), repeating lines in unison with the characters, yelling Go Go Go Go to cheer on pointless tracking shots of a bridge, and so many others.
The experience reminded me how much I value movie theaters and the theater experience. Even though I’m the type to go during off-hours to have the place to myself, this was a truly magical experience with a full audience.
The local theater I went to is my favorite spot to watch a flick where I live, and the staff couldn’t have done a better job with the experience. They even showed trailers for Morbius (2022), All About Steve (2009), and Cool Cat Saves the Kids (2015) to get us in the right mindset for this experience.