The Room (2003)
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A melodramatic love triangle in San Francisco becomes a cult sensation due to its bizarre storytelling and production flaws.
The story
Set in San Francisco, the film centers on a melodramatic love triangle involving a successful banker named Johnny, his deceptive fiancée Lisa, and his conflicted best friend Mark. The story begins as Lisa becomes disenchanted with her relationship and begins a secret affair with Mark. After a series of personal and professional setbacks, including a failed promotion for Johnny, the tension between the three main characters escalates. The narrative explores their complex interpersonal dynamics and the consequences of betrayal within their close-knit circle of friends and acquaintances.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Johnny, a successful banker in San Francisco, lives with his fiancée Lisa, who begins a secret affair with his best friend, Mark. After a failed promotion, the trio's tensions peak. They rescue a student, Denny, from a drug dealer, Chris-R, and Denny confesses his feelings for Lisa to Johnny. When Lisa falsely claims abuse, Johnny seeks advice from Mark and a psychologist, Peter. Later, Johnny records Lisa's phone calls to uncover her infidelity. At a birthday party, a friend catches Lisa and Mark kissing; Lisa lies about a pregnancy to distract him. Following a physical altercation, Johnny discovers the truth via a tape recorder, suffers a breakdown, and commits suicide. Lisa tells Mark they are free, but he rejects her due to her manipulation. They wait with Denny for the police.
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 99
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tommy Wiseau
- Writers
- Tommy Wiseau · writer
- Cast and characters
- Tommy Wiseau · Johnny; Greg Sestero · Mark; Juliette Danielle · Lisa
- Genres
- romantic drama; black comedy
- Themes
- trust; fear; truth
- Tone and mood
- melodramatic; black comedy
- Premise and plot tags
- semi-autobiographical; infidelity; suicide
- Source material / true-story basis
- A stage play
- Reception
- The film is widely considered one of the worst ever made, yet it achieved significant cult status due to its bizarre storytelling and technical issues.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 9 · scale: 100 · review count: 5
- Awards and nominations
- Best Non-Fiction · National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards · win
- Production trivia
- The title refers to the potential of a room to be the site of both good and bad events.; The film was marketed with a poster of Wiseau's face called 'Evil Man'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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