By Sean Ambruster

October 22, 2009

For the last 82 years, the Academy Awards have annually bestowed one movie with the prestigious Best Picture award. In 2004, this award was mistakenly given away to Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” while Tommy Wiseau’s cinematic masterpiece “The Room” went unnoticed. Garnering some reviews as the “Citizen Kane of bad movies,” (by Entertainment Weekly), “The Room” became the train wreck that no one could look away from. Six years later, Wiseau’s film has a full-blown cult phenomenon a la “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

The Music Box Theatre in Chicago (located near Clark Street and Southport Avenue in the Wrigleyville neighborhood) hosts a monthly midnight screening of “The Room.” With ample free parking nearby, a modest $10 ticket price, and a suggested purchase of a $5 box of 250 plastic spoons, the midnight screening at Music Box makes for a cheap night of laughs in the city.

Some Elmhurst College students were adventurous enough to suffer through the bowels of modern cinema until two in the morning this weekend, attending the Music Box Theatre’s monthly screening of “The Room.”

Sophomore Jon Rosenthal went to the September 28 midnight showing and had heard of the movie’s cult following beforehand. Expecting to just see bad movie and get a few laughs in, Rosenthal said he “left a new man.” Rosenthal said he didn’t anticipate the ridiculous chant-alongs and spoon-throwing mania that is part of “The Room” experience.

A perfect storm of everything one could do wrong in a movie happens in “The Room.” Actor/Writer/Producer/Director Tommy Wiseau stars as “Johnny,” the “future husband” (normal people call this a fiancée) of the slutty sociopath “Lisa.” As the film’s plot unravels, the viewer will be transported through a whirlwind of garbage.

“There are just so many things that make it awful,” said Rosenthal. The onslaught of bad dialogue, useless San Francisco panorama, public-access-worthy green screens, awkward love scenes (complete with recycled footage), and probably the worst cast of actors on the planet earth is relentless.

While the entire cast may be abominable, none are more mysteriously terrible than Tommy Wiseau himself. The awkward semi-French accent and ratty black hair make every line the man delivers laughable. This is pure gold for a cult movie.

The pinnacle of Wiseau’s liens in the film is the poignant “You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!” which the whole Music Box Theatre audience shouts at the top of their lungs. Every time the man is onscreen, the audience is guaranteed a hilarious moment.

“My life would be better if everyone around me acted like Tommy Wiseau,” sophomore Marissa Collier joked.

Collier attended the midnight showing of “The Room” with no prior knowledge of the film’s reputation. The experience she had at the Music Box Theatre was enough to convince her to return and spread the word.

While both attending students liked the loud and involved interaction and spoon-throwing mayhem, Collier found the overall experience to be less engaging than the famously interactive “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Collier thought that the costuming, sing-alongs, and structure of the “Rocky” experience as a whole is more engaging than the free-for-all mayhem of “The Room.”

Rosenthal said a big distraction was a group of attendees in the front right of the theatre who tried to draw more attention to themselves than to the movie. “There’s some sort of etiquette in watching a movie like that.”

Despite all the distractions, both students found that the film’s thin plot didn’t really require strict attention to the dialogue.

The Music Box Theatre holds a monthly midnight showing of “The Room” the last Friday or Saturday of every month. Be warned, however, that the film may sell out before that night.

As its reputation continues to spread, past attendees such as the EC students plan to return with more friends. If you’re looking for a good way to spend a mere $10-15 for a night in the city (and you have a good sense of humor), Tommy Wiseau has your answer.

Who knows, he may even show up to a screening sometime in the near future. Just remember that when you decide you are finally ready to see “The Room,” bring an arsenal of plastic spoons.