Documentary Short Film Review “Room Tone: The Sound of “The Room”” Lights! camera! Pandemonium!! A comedic insider’s look at a truly horrible film
WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW:
First, the Recap:
So you want to be a part of “The Biz”, eh? You envision the Hollywood sign, the glitz and glamour of L.A., the potent influence of celebrity, the Walk of Fame, Mann’s Chinese Theater. It’s quite a draw when you’re striving to make your life the film business. You’ve readied yourself, at least as best as possible, and then just earn your way, hoping to find that first “bigger”, and PAID, chance to shine. And then…..the opportunity arises. The name of the film…..”The Room”. What could go wrong? Right?
Next, my Mind:
Well, apparently, QUITE A LOT!! For any cinephile out there who has had the dubious “pleasure” of watching arguably one of the WORST films ever made, then this IS the documentary for you! What does strike me, though, is that even in spite of “The Room” BEING one of the worst films to ever “grace” the silver screen, it’s ALSO become another example of how you just never know what kinds of success might sill manifest from such insanity. Indeed, the film went on to become, somewhat, a HIGHLY avant-garde cult classic BECAUSE of just HOW bad it was. Now, thanks to director/producer/editor Josh Folan, plus co-directors Ted Garvey and Jonathan Mann (who handled the illustrations and animations respectively here), we are entreated to a true insiders perspective of what it was like to be in the midst of absolute, all-encompassing on-set CHAOS. And it is one hilariously enjoyable ride!!
HOW precisely do we get this viewpoint? Well, it arrives courtesy of an equally raucous (quietly so, but still), insightful, and wholly entertaining tandem conversation/interview with the production sound mixer Zsolt Magyar and boom operator Tim D. Lloyd, both of whom managed to weather the storm, survive, and now share a tale of woes…but via engaging whimsey and, frankly, baffled disbelief at what they encountered. Being that this was back in 2002, the pair were just getting started overall, with Lloyd the less-experienced between them. Sharing a bit about their educational roads and what lead them to this opportunity (if we wish to call it that! Maybe more like an unanticipated invitation to H@*$??), they soon expound on what it was to endure when so many others around them in the production crew did NOT remotely last the shoot.
From Day 1, the literal absence and/or constant late arrivals to set of writer/director/lead actor Tommy Wiseau alone spelled a recipe for disaster, even as the entire rest of the crew had NO CLUE what was happening, much less what to do. From there, Magyar and Lloyd lay out a landscape of anger, yelling, impatience, awful dialogue, random nonsense, awkward nudity, and simply total anarchy that Wiseau represented from start to finish on location. Of course, there were all the tech-related issues for both men to confront, as Wiseau’s ideas about which format he wished to shoot (camera or video, claiming one but then choosing the other) and the crazy sound equipment he wished to utilize, his desire to ADR everything, shooting scenes WITHOUT SOUND which had to be re-shot because of it, it ALL adds up to magnitudes of frustration for Magyar and Lloyd, yet THEY are the ones who seem the safest in their jobs relative to the rest of the abused crew.
Clashes with veteran crew members, paycheck mayhem, Magyar’s actual phone number getting published to the world, and an ultimate exercise in patience and perseverance is still only scratching the surface here as opposed to the sheer joy we have as the viewer listening to these two men deliver their plight to us, again with conspicuous humor and genuinely dumbfounded attitudes. Now, here’s the OTHER facet of this film that is pure genius as far as this critic is concerned….the animated illustrations that accompany the interview. Taking a wonderfully purposeful jab at both a phrase Wiseau apparently said on set (“Let’s shoot this pig!”) and a classic fairy tale, the notion of The Big Bad Wolf and the Pigs gets a RIOTOUS interpretation that makes this documentary just as visually appealing and comical as it is to listen to, the provided imagery making the story Magyar and Lloyd share all the more real and witty FUN!
Pacing here is also king, with a briskly executed 27-minute runtime that just picks you up, throws you into the zaniness, and doesn’t let up the entire time. I’ve said many a time that subject matter is also key for a documentary film to hold attention spans, and not only does this film succeed in that, but does so in just the right amount of time so as not to drag anything out or allow fore “slow” spots to emerge. The finale is a bit of a surprise, in the best way though, with Magyar choosing to share two particular post-shoot stories that actually paint such an opposite portrait of Wiseau and who he is compared to what it had been like to see him on set for “The Room”. But, perhaps this in itself remains a lesson that you really cannot judge a book by its cover, at least not always, and that there’s more to someone than you might think if given a chance to SEE that other side come out.
So, in total, “Room Tone: The Sound of “The Room”” is one fantastically constructed documentary film that gives is that unique behind-the-scenes look at what CAN happen on a movie set, even if in this case it is an EXTREME example, and hopefully NOT the norm! It’s also a tale of the world that is independent cinema, the eccentricities of those involved, and funny enough, having the passion to MAKE a film happen….even if in the most unorthodox, misguided, hysterically bonkers, and really never-should-have-been-made ways. Hooray for Hollywood, folks. For your own safety, please keep all arms and legs securely inside your car at all times, because this rollercoaster is going WAY off track!
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
