5/23/2013

Tommy Wiseau Presents 'The Room' in Toronto

Tommy Wiseau (centre) will be on hand to present his cult hit The Room.
Would you believe that I have never seen The Room? Tommy Wiseau’s cult favourite, deemed “the Citizen Kane of bad movies,” has its 10th anniversary this year. The Room is such a novelty among film buffs that it’s played monthly in theatres like Toronto’s The Royal and Ottawa’s Mayfair Theatre for the past few years. I’ve held out for reasons unknown, but now The Room has made an offer I can’t refuse. (Perhaps it’s The Godfather of bad movies?) Writer, director, executive producer, star Tommy Wiseau  is hitting the road with actor Greg Sestero for the Love is Blind Blu 2013 Tour and they’re coming to The Royal this weekend to celebrate The Room’s tenth birthday in person.

The unintentional hilarity of The Room has enjoyed something that Citizen Kane, The Godfather, or even Casablanca ever achieved: a mass following, a ritual, or even, maybe, a subculture. (Even the critics abandoned Citizen Kane last year.) The Room leaves audiences in hysterics with its nonsensical plot and ridiculous sex scenes, but audiences have taken the cheese of The Room and put it on toast. Like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Room is best enjoyed at midnight with audience participation. Yelling at the screen, throwing objects, and backtalk are all encouraged—it’s like you’re at Cannes!

To help join in the fun when Tommy and company screen The Room this weekend, here are some of the cues from the A.V. Club’s list of audience prompts, “AViewer’s Guide to The Room”:

“Spoon!”
Nearly all of the artwork in the film features spoons. Whenever one of the works appears on screen, you yell “Spoon!” and hurl plastic picnic spoons at the screen. Fourth row from the screen essentially makes the whole project self-replenishing, because most spoons land there. You literally throw a handful and another handful falls in your lap. It’s like being part of a plastic-cutlery salmon migration. As the film trudges on, people start throwing spoons out of boredom, even if the scene doesn’t require it.

"Shoot her!”
Yelled during Lisa’s protracted neck-twitch scene. (It’s a reference to the opening of Jurassic Park.) Also appropriate: “Quaid, get to the reactor!”
(My cousin used to yell this at the beach… now I know why…)

"Cancer!”
Lisa’s mother alludes to having it once and then never mentions it again. Also, when she touches Lisa on the nose, some people shout “I put my evil inside you!”

FOCUS! UNFOCUS!!
The film is constantly going in and out of focus. (“Damn you Todd Barron!” He’s the director of photography, and that’s what you shout when his credit pops up) Whenever the film goes out of focus, people shout “Focus!” Of course, when it does come back into focus during a sex scene, it is necessary to shout “Oh God. Unfocus!”

Go! Go! Go! Go!
Used to cheer on tracking shots of the bridge. Celebrate when it makes it all the way across the bridge. Express your disappointment when it doesn’t.
         ***This one’s for The Mayfair! (apparently a favourite of their loyal Roomies)

"Who the fuck are you?"
At one point, two characters will show up in Tommy’s apartment. They will be fucking. No one will know who they are, thus it is appropriate to shout “Who the fuck are you?” whenever they appear onscreen.It is also appropriate to shout this when the actor playing Peter (the psychologist) disappears (maybe he was looking at the camera too much?), only to be replaced by another actor who looks nothing like him. Yes, just “Who the fuck are you?”
Being open about one’s revulsion during any of the sex scenes. Includes graphically describing the act and hurling the cruelest jokes about the actors’ bodies/movements that one can conceive. Breaking into the Free Willy theme is sometimes done. Notice how it looks like Tommy is fucking her belly button? Yeah, you’re doing it wrong, Wiseau.

See the full list of audience cues here.

The Room screens at The Royal (608 College St.):

Friday May 24: 9:00pm + 11:59pm
Saturday May 25: 9:00pm + 11:59pm
Sunday May 26: 7:00pm + 10:00pm

Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero will attend all six screenings for intros and Q&As!
Tickets are $15.00 in advance and $20 at the box office day of.

MUST BE 19 or OVER.

Advance tickets here:

Please visit The Royal for more info.
Note: Ottawa readers can catch The Room at The Mayfair Saturday, May 25 at 11:00 pm.