Hah hah hah, what a story! It has been over two and a half years since I went to a special screening of Tommy Wiseau`s The Room in my hometown of Tilburg. Even though I had read some of the internet legends about this “so bad it’s good” movie, I went in without any expectations. And, oh boy, I was not prepared for this movie’s cult following.
By Cengizhan Can (member of the film committee)
It was the first of June, 2015, and me and my friends were waiting at the entrance of the cinema. The people from the organization offered us a weird drink called “Scotchka” - an alcoholic beverage consisting of equal parts scotch whiskey and vodka – and they gave us a bunch of plastic spoons. At this point, I was already pretty confused and the movie had not even started yet.
We went inside and found a nice spot. After some waiting, someone from the organization, a true The Room fan, gave a short speech outlining the rules of this event. The most important one? Throw the spoons towards the movie screen whenever you see a framed picture of a spoon. Okay. Sure. I think? The confusion grew with each minute.
When the lights were turned off it suddenly felt like going to a regular cinema. However, this sensation did not last for very long. People in this room, obviously loved The Room. People that were already familiar with the movie, were laughing hysterically and quoting scenes of this disastrous movie. And the spoon thing? Apparently the creators of the movie forgot to replace the stock photo image that came with the frame.
It was a bad movie. No discussions about that. Bad acting, bad storyline, bad everything. Actors that get replaced mid-movie without any explanation. Characters that introduce a storyline out of the blue. Weird cuts. The list goes on and on.
And yet this event was absolutely wonderful to attend. Other than the confusion that I had left for the movie’s storyline, most of my confusion got replaced by joy very quickly. I had a blast watching this movie with other people and experiencing the The Room cult like this.
This movie is one of the reasons why I love joining activities that I normally would not join. I can highly recommend you do the same. At our university we have a plethora of wonderful, odd activities. And who knows? Maybe you will find yourself at an event that will be, in a very weird way, sincerely inspiring.
The Disaster Artist, chronicling the making of Tommy Wiseau's The Room, will screen at Filmhuis De Zwarte Doos on Monday 26, Tuesday 27, and Wednesdat 28 March. On Wednesday we will also show The Room (after the Disaster Artist). This showing will start at 22.15. You can reserve a seat for this showing by sending an e-mail to studium.generale@tue.nl (max 4 people per e-mail).