Viewing “The Room” in a Theater Is a Necessary Experience

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Oh hi, Mark

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[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here are many different things that can make a film captivating to an audience. It may elicit feelings of despair that viewers find touching or even feelings of great happiness that leave viewers quoting lines from a film for the rest of their lives.

Then there is The Room, the masterpiece from madman Tommy Wiseau. If you have not already seen the film you may want to stop reading here, (and may also be confused on how the post starts), because the film must be seen without too many spoilers. There are many links to the film on the Internet, unless you are against piracy in which case I applaud your devotion to spending money at all costs (pun intended).

Haha what a story, Mark!

If you have seen The Room it is safe to say you have seen it multiple times. Once by yourself. Once with a friend. Once with another friend and so on. The film possesses you with a feeling to spread its message; its twisted, ambiguous message. Maybe I am the only one who feels this, but I am sure that I am not the only one who goes around saying, “OH HAI” to people I see. If so, then my life is a lie.

I recently attended a midnight viewing of The Room with a fellow Wiseauian disciple and I am (morally) inclined to tell of the experience.

I’m tired, I’m wasted, I love you darling

Going into the theater I did not have high expectations, but I very well should have. Those who go to special viewings of a movie make it an event, and rightly so. A monthly viewing of The Room is akin to a monthly viewing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the sense that the crowd loses their connection with our world and is a part of the world on the screen.

Fifteen minutes before the film began it appeared that a light crowd would be on hand; that is, me and just a handful of others. Then the crowd started to file in. (I have a terrible anxiety about missing a movie so I often arrive far too early. Every time I arrive twenty minutes early and see someone else I feel obligated to exchange the ever-friendly nod and let the other person know that they are not alone).

A group of four guys in suits came in and I knew it would be a great time. Did they have a football to throw around? Of course they did. When the ever-confusing scene of tuxedo football came in they got up and started to act out the scene taking place on the screen, and as much as I do not like obnoxious movie-goers, it was amazing.

There are two distinct types of movie-goers. There is the type, like me, who cannot stand the slightest noise during a movie. Texting in a theater is a cardinal sin for me, along with any sort of talking, chewing, or shuffling around. It may sound crazy, but it is a lifestyle. The other type of movie-goer is the one who feels their opinion must be heard because they either: A. Are lonely and want someone to hear their voice or B. Have no sense of what is proper social behavior. Type A and B were present at this theater and that was okay based on the type of viewing that was taking place, as much as I hate those Type A and B’s.

I got the results of the test back-I definitely have breast cancer

Midway through the viewing of the film on the big screen—which is way better than streaming on a computer—I was shocked when a spoon hit me in the face. I saw it coming from about twenty feet away and it was only a matter of time before the perfectly projected spoon hit me directly on the space containing my nose and forehead.

I had no idea about the spoon phenomenon in The Room until I read the tell-all book about the film by Mark himself, Greg Sestero. The book titled, The Disaster Artist, is an extremely entertaining and revealing story about how the film was made and about Tommy Wiseau himself. It explains, among many other things, how Tommy was fine with stock photos of spoons in the picture frames on set. It leads fans in theaters, as I found out, to launch an unheard of amount of spoons in the air and subsequently into the faces of fellow viewers. After the initially pain subsided it made for a great time. (They were plastic spoons, but pain resulted nonetheless).

The live experience also made clear other parts of the film that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. The “door is ajar” chants were deafening countless times throughout the film when the door was, in fact, ajar.

The theater experience gives viewers a chance to rejoice in the great horrific viewing experience that is The Room. The ridiculous lines are called out by the crowd, and the spoon throwing itself is enough to make it worth the money. (I know, spoon throwing sounds like the lamest, most not exciting thing of all time but it truly is not. Or so I think). The truth about seeing it in a theater is that you are among other people who are crazy about a crazy, nonsensical product. Enjoying a product that you love with others who have the same feelings is an amazing feeling, and one that appears in viewings of The Room. 

Talk about The Room could go on for days among the lonely and non-busy and it rightfully should! Just remember:

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Steve Kubitza grew up in Cleveland and is currently studying Sport Management at Bowling Green State University. He one day hopes to work in the basketball operations department, but in the meantime he will continue to write about the game from the comfort of his own home.

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