Each year there is at least one movie that I think I will absolutely hate that I end up loving. Some years, it is much easier to pinpoint that movie than in other years. Not in 2017. Based on the trailers and the movie’s premise, I thought I would absolutely hate James Franco’s (Child of God, As I Lay Dying) The Disaster Artist. I will say that I knew nothing about Tommy Wiseau or the cult status of his movie The Room. However, I was more than pleasantly surprised and impressed by how effective this movie was. This movie had quite a bit of Oscar buzz heading into awards season. Actually, it netted Franco a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Unfortunately (for him), he was hit up with some sexual misconduct claims right around this time, and it very well could have cost him a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. I actually think this was the sixth-best performance of the year. As mentioned in previous posts, I would have gone with four nominated, minus Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel Esq.), and replaced him with Jake Gyllenhaal (Stronger). After seeing this movie, I would have knocked Washington’s performance down to seventh and inserted Franco’s performance as the best performance not to be recognized with a nomination. His performance was very good. I think the movie would still have been good had he directed it and cast someone else as the lead, but casting himself was the right call for sure.
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