(Movie) Oh hi [insert character name here.] A look at the Room.

This is not what I had in mind for my first movie review.

In any case, here it goes.

According to Oprah Winfrey (and I wholeheartedly agree with her in this case,) the word No is a complete sentence.

Now, while I could sum this review up with said word, I find it would be unprofessional of me to do so.

With this in mind, here are the different aspects of movie that I look for before giving the final verdict.

Story/Dialogue: For those of you who have not witnessed the Room, the story goes like this - Johnny is a banker who lives with his fiancée Lisa in San Francisco. Over the period of the movie, Lisa cheats on Johnny with his best friend Mark as she is no longer satisfied with Johnny. The story is filled in with unrelated subplots, like Lisa's mother having breast cancer or Denny taking drugs. The movie slowly spirals out of control until Lisa leaves Johnny and Johnny kills himself.

In terms of dialogue the Room tends to tell rather than show a lot of its content. Additionally, the dialogue is filled with unrelated topics and things people would never even think to say,

For example:
Mark: Who's your client?
Johnny: I can't tell you that, it's confidential.
Mark: Come on, just tell me.
Johnny: Never mind that. How's your sex life?

(Whether I want it to or not, this exchange will always stick with me.)

Cinematography: Visually, this movie isn't all that much to look at. Most of the sets were built rather than being shot on location and the lighting was average at best. The movie also contained a lot of unnecessary stock footage. Seriously though, why would you include Alcatraz for any other reason other than to show that the setting was in San Francisco? Was it to show that the Room was just a prison? A prison of the mind?

Sound: Sound was consistent in the picking up of dialogue, except for the cafe scene. The backing tracks for the sex scenes were terrible, in that they were set higher than necessary. It took away from those scenes (Not that there was anything great about them. Let's be real, Johnny looked as though he was penetrating Lisa's stomach. This is why sex education is important.)

One final note: What is up with dubbing people's lines? The voices didn't match up to a lot of the character's lips.


Overall: This movie is a prime example of the overreach of ambition. The final budget was around 6 million dollars and was self funded (allegedly.) The movie was shot in both 35mm and High Definition and both cameras were set up on a rig that required two crews.

One Star. However, if you are an aspiring film maker, screenwriter or even a novelist, (This was originally a 500 page book before it was adapted for film. Even as a script it allegedly had worse dialogue that some of the actors claimed was 'unsayable.') I would suggest watching it as a study of, 'What not to do when it comes to making movies.'