“The Room” Screenings and Live Q&A, December 5

Thursday, December 5, 7 & 9:30 p.m.

The Last Picture House, 325 East Second Street, Davenport IA

Hailed, or maybe derided, by Entertainment Weekly as "the Citizen Kane of bad movies," multi-hyphenate Tommy Wiseau's legendary 2003 melodrama The Room will enjoy a special screening at Davenport venue The Last Picture House on December 5, this eagerly anticipated event for fans of the cult classic also featuring a live Q&A session with co-star and best-selling The Disaster Artist co-writer Greg Sestero. Oh hi, Mark!

Set in San Francisco, the romantic drama/unintentional comedy The Room is centered around a melodramatic love triangle between amiable banker Johnny (Wiseau), his deceptive fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle), and his conflicted best friend Mark (Sestero). The work was reportedly intended to be semi-autobiographical in nature, and according to Wiseau, the title alludes to the potential of a room to be the site of both good and bad events. Originally shown only in a limited number of California theaters in order to qualify for the Academy Awards, The Room quickly became a cult film due to its bizarre and unconventional storytelling, technical and narrative issues, and Wiseau's performance, which is often described, generously, as off-kilter. Although Wiseau has retrospectively described the film as a black comedy, audiences have generally viewed it as a poorly made drama, an opinion shared by some of the cast.

The Room premiered on June 27, 2003, at the Laemmle Fairfax and Fallbrook theaters in Los Angeles. Wiseau additionally arranged a screening for the cast and the press at one of the venues, renting a searchlight to sit in front of the theater, and arriving in a limousine. Ticket buyers were given a free copy of the film's soundtrack on CD. Actress Robyn Paris described the audience laughing at the film, and Variety reporter Scott Foundas, who was also in attendance, would later write that the film prompted "most of its viewers to ask for their money back—before even 30 minutes [had] passed." IFC.com described Wiseau's speaking voice in the film as "Borat trying to do an impression of Christopher Walken playing a mental patient," while The Guardian described the work as a mix of "Tennessee Williams, Ed Wood, and R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet."

Although the film was a box-office bomb, home-media sales and notoriety following its initial release significantly increased its public profile. By April of 2016, The Room had been playing at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa, Canada for 80 consecutive months, and it has enjoyed regular showings in many theaters worldwide, with many as a monthly event. Fans interact with the film in a similar fashion to The Rocky Horror Picture Show; audience members dress up as their favorite characters, throw plastic spoons (in reference to an unexplained framed photo of a spoon on a table in Johnny's living room), toss footballs to each other from short distances, and yell insulting comments about the quality of the film, as well as lines from the film itself.

Greg Sestero is an actor, producer, and writer. At the age of 17, he began his career in entertainment by modeling in Milan for such designers as Valentino and Armani. Upon returning to California, Sestero went on to pursue acting and appeared in several films and television shows before co-starring in the international cult phenomenon The Room. Co-written by Tom Bissell, Sestero's  memoir The Disaster Artist was adapted into an Oscar nominated movie by Warner Bros. and A24, featuring an all-star cast including Golden Globe winner James Franco, Seth Rogen, Dave Franco, Sharon Stone, and Bryan Cranston. In 2018, Sestero wrote and produced Best F(r)iends Volume 1-2, which reunited Sestero and Wiseau for the first time in 16 years.

The Room, followed by the live Q&A with Greg Sestero, takes place in Davenport on December 5 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., admission is $15, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheLastPictureHouse.com.