By now, odds are that you’ve heard about The Room. Endearingly referred to as “the best worst movie ever made”, the decade-old film recently inspired the James Franco-directed, Golden Globe nominated movie, “The Disaster Artist.”
However, given that the response I recently received when asking someone if they had seen it was, “What room?”, I am going to assume that some have mistakenly not carved out an hour and forty minutes of your precious schedule to watch it yet.
If you want to truly be inspired, to be shocked and excited by a movie in a way that you have never experienced, and to be consumed simultaneously by laughter, confusion, and repulsion for 100 minutes straight- it’s about time you sit down, buckle up, and make your way over to the Spanish subtitle version on YouTube.
I would be worried about spoiling it for you, but absolutely nothing I say can prepare you for what you are going to see: A love triangle in which two men fight over arguably the worst female on the planet. Plot lines disappearing into thin air. New characters first appearing in the final minutes. Footballs being thrown so badly that it was probably more difficult to use that technique than to actually just learn how to throw a football. Panoramic views of The Golden Gate Bridge- lots of them. Violence, deceit, the most cringey romance you have ever seen- it’s all there.
Not a fan of low-budget movies? Good, because this movie cost over $6 million dollars to make. Not a fan of knowing what’s going to happen in a movie before it even happens? Fantastic, because the movie truly makes so little sense that you will always be completely lost.
Overall, the most rewarding part of The Room is the sense of camaraderie you get when you watch it with others. At its core, it is more than a movie – it’s a social event. It is almost like an interactive game, or a crazy and questionable situation that you and your friends are getting yourselves into. Seeing the way that everyone reacts to one of the most uncomfortable and outrageous creations of all time is truly an experience.
You find yourself laughing at the simple words “Oh, hi Mark.” When engaged in an argument, you find yourself screaming “You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!” When your girlfriend thanks you for the Starbucks you brought her, you find yourself leaning back and saying “I’d do anything for my princess,” prompting her to look at you in disgust.
If you have not seen the movie, it is killing me that you did not understand any of the last paragraph; that I can’t joke about the whole movie and all of its nuances with you, make fun of every character with you, question every plot hole with you. It’s killing me and I don’t even know you; that means it is definitely killing your friends who actually care about you.
You’re missing out on a whole new level of friendship with them, and your failure to watch it is probably causing you guys to slowly drift your separate ways, which will inevitably end in awkward glances and half-hearted waves when you run into each other at the Ferg.
You have no excuses. Movie theaters are expensive, yet this is free. Spring semester just started, you’re not busy. “The Disaster Artist” is great, but it is not a replacement. I am not by any means telling you that you’re going to come away from this movie in awe of its artistry and story. It really is the worst movie ever made. However, it is also inadvertently the most hilarious, so please, gather some buddies and torture yourselves.
Megan Friend is a freshman majoring in marketing. Her column runs biweekly.
