The Disaster Artist (2017)

My first encounter with "The Room" came from a Nostalgia Critic review. I laughed because the review was funny, but the clips from the itself were unbelievably bad. I did not think something that bad could exist and yet there it was. I found the full movie on YouTube and of course had to watch it. Yes it is one of the worst things ever put on film.

"The Disaster Artist" is directed by and stars James Franco as Tommy Wiseau, the man behind the worst film ever made. The film is of course, hilarious, but touching all the same. You have to admire someone who believes in their project so much regardless of what the rest of the world thinks.

The film focuses on the friendship between Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sister (Dave Franco). James Franco made the right choice in casting his younger brother in the role of Wiseau's best friend as they have undeniable chemistry. The two play off of each other well making the film that much more enjoyable.

Greg and Tommy meet in 1998 in an acting class. Greg is wowed by Wiseau's fearlessness in making a choice and committing to it no matter how odd it may seem to everyone else. Melanie Griffith plays the acting teacher and keep your eyes peeled as there are many more cameos where that came from.

James Franco is great as Tommy Wiseau. He embraces the character whole heartedly. After watching this film, Tommy is not someone I would like to work for (or with), but you can understand for the most part why he does the things he does.

Greg become good friends and eventually roommates with the only condition of their friendship being that Greg never talk about Tommy to anyone else.

After their move to LA brings about more rejections and disappointments, Tommy decides to make his own film. Tommy's film follows the all-American hero Johnny (played by Wiseau) as he discovers that his girlfriend Lisa (played in "The Disaster Artist" by Ari Graynor) has cheated on him and unintentional hilarity ensues.

Wiseau spends millions on the film's production while cast and crew of the film are bewildered by the man they are working with. When the film premieres the audience is at first shocked, then taken by fits of laughter by what they see on the screen. The film itself has garnered a cult following and repeatedly sells out midnight showings around the world. If there is something we can all learn from Wiseau it is to follow your dreams no matter what.

Before the credits start rolling audiences are treated to side by side comparisons of the original scenes from "The Room" with ones filmed for "The Disaster Artist". They are almost perfect mirror images of each other and speaks to the dedication of everyone involved in this film. Alls well that ends well as Tommy Wiseau himself has a cameo in the film. Definitely check out the original "The Room" as it is something you have to see to believe and watch "The Disaster Artist". Although you don't need to see "The Room" to appreciate "The Disaster Artist", it makes it all the more better.

Who's Holiday!

Cindy Lou Who is all grown up in this raunchy romp by Matthew Lombardo. The last time we saw Cindy Lou she was two, wearing a onesie and watching the Grinch steal her family's Christmas tree. Now she's middle aged and living quite an unexpected life.

Cindy Lou Who is now a middle aged woman living on a trailer on Mt. Crumpit.

If you have read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" then you know Mt. Crumpit is where the Grinch used to live. Here he is nowhere in sight, but Cindy Lou Who is here to tell the audience what happened to him (and to her) in the years since the events in the book took place.

Once Cindy Lou turned eighteen she and the Grinch got together. This is completely unexpected, and slightly uncomfortable especially the way it is written.

The show is 75 minutes long and Cindy Lou Who just out of jail has a lot to tell the audience and Lesli Margherita in the role of Cindy Lou Who handles it incredibly well.

Margherita has to carry the entire show on her shoulders, but she is absolutely brilliant. She is hilarious and riffs off of the audience really well. When the show does have serious moments she transitions easily and pulls at the heartstrings. She also sings and raps and does both greatly.

The show is directed by Carl Andress and he does a great job of balancing the comedic with the dramatic while keeping the spirit of Christmas.

It took a while for me to get fully invested in the show as the beginning is not really my kind of humor, but once the Grinch was out of the picture I was interested in Cindy Lou Who's story and was drawn into the life she was now leading.

Cruel Intentions: The Musical

I went into this production blind. I have heard of the film, but have never seen it as it came out when I was at an age where I would not be allowed to watch such a thing. As I grew up it was not a film I was determined to watch. All I knew was that this was a scandalous film (at least in the eyes of my family).

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this received the musical treatment as everything these days seems to be turned into a musical, still I was unsure of how I felt about its existence.

The musical was adapted for the stage by Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin (also in the role of director), and Roger Kumble (the film's director). It is currently playing at Le Poisson Rouge which is not a traditional theatre space by any means. There are minimal props and set pieces and the band rocks out onstage visible to the audience as the cast sings different 90s hits to tell the story.

Having never seen the film, I can only go off the musical which at times felt rushed causing different plot points to come across as convoluted.

The story follows step siblings Kathryn Merteuil (Lauren Zakrin) and Sebastian Valmont (Constantine Rousouli) as they play mind games with each other. Everything changes when Sebastian falls for Annette Hargrove (Carrie St. Louis).

Most of the time the transitions into the musical numbers felt clunky, but the actual performances were great.

The stand out performances of the night came from Alex Boniello (Blaine) and Jessie Shelton (Cecile).

Anytime these two were onstage you knew you were in for a laugh. The musical numbers between Blaine and Greg (Brian Muller) were also incredibly hilarious.

"Cruel Intentions: The Musical" was fun while the musical numbers were occurring. When they were not, things felt rushed and not fully fleshed out.