Concrete Playground

Every so often, a film transcends the extent of its putridity and transforms into a beloved 'so bad it’s good’ cult classic. Such is the case with The Room, a film written, produced, directed and starring the truly terrible talents of Tommy Wiseau. Sure, there’s an ensemble cast and some semblance of a story-line surrounding relationships (the trailer totes it as “a film with the passion of Tennessee Williams” — right …), but it’s Wiseau who has the audience in (unintentional) fits of raucous laughter, clamouring for more.

The Room (a location never explained, by the way) is definitely a film all about the audience participation. Like The Rocky Horror Picture Show days of old, so much of the entertainment is derived from the group experience and shared hilarity. Thankfully, the Chauvel is giving pundits their chance, every Saturday night at 10pm during April and May.

It remains to be seen if Wiseau will ascend to Ed Wood’s throne as the 21st century’s king of B-movie kitsch, but at the very least he’s already given the world a classic non sequitur: “Oh, hi Mark."