Oh Hai Mark: Why I Appreciate Bad Films

         On a Friday bus ride home from school, my friend invited me to his house that evening to watch a movie that, from a general consensus by fans, was the worst movie ever made. He began to explain the bizarre background of The Room speaking of an Eastern European, Dracula resembling, drunk Johnny Depp looking man named Tommy Wiseau. Mr. Wiseau directed, wrote, produced, and financed his own drama film about a banker named Johnny and his hilarious journey from happiness to darkness. My friend continued to explain that originally released 8 years earlier, the film had recently started to receive cult status for the terrible script and acting. Mr. Wiseau even traveled promoting and playing his movie to audiences who adored it and that viewing The Room in a theater was an “active” experience with fans throwing spoons at the screen during specific scenes. Confused as to why my friend would want to watch a bad film puzzled me; However, being a senior in high school with a Friday night life consisting of video game binging with the occasional walk to the convenience store, I had a lot of free time. He told me to arrive at his house that evening with movie snacks and to be ready for the unexpected.

            That night, with a few of our friends joining us, we started The Room. The intro credits began to roll with Wiseau Films, Tommy’s production company, flashing onto the screen in a giant font with a pixelated looking Earth in the background. Tommy’s name came onto the screen 5 separate times for production credits along with an optimistic sounding piano theme accompanying stock footage of San Francisco. I became apprehensive that this man’s ego was going to punch me; Then, the first scene took place. “Hi babe. I’ve got a surprise for you,” Johnny says to his future wife Lisa with the accent of a lean drinking Dracula. “Anything for my princesssssss,” he tells his fiancé with their neighbor/adopted man-child son Denny awkwardly present while Johnny hands her flowers. No human being speaks to anyone like this, nor did characters exist like this in other films I had watched. This caused all of us in the room (no pun intended) to start laughing and question the absurdity of not just the dialogue but the story itself. As the movie continued, each scene was filled with terrible dialogue, awkward acting, and terrible green screen with highlights including the flower shop scene to the infamously bad rooftop drug bust scene. We could not help but yell absurdities and laugh. With us all questioning how this film was even made, I began to understand what made this movie so special.

Movies tend to be solitary experiences even if you are sitting at home with friends or family. We sit quietly together, and if anyone begins to speak during a movie, they tend to be greeted with an aggressive “Shhhhhhh” or an annoyed look. For movies that are genuinely good, I understand being quiet; however, with The Room, and other bad films, it’s the complete opposite. When watching this movie and others like it, the desire to talk and discuss the amount of craziness is needed, and that feeling is mutual among everyone. “What just happened?”, “Is that the same footage from the last 2 sex scenes?”, and my favorite unanswered question, “Did Lisa’s mother ever die from breast cancer?” (maybe fan-fiction out there will answer this for me someday). I’ve seen bad films by myself and believe me, you need to express your thoughts to another sane person. 
Bad movies like The Room are meant to be experienced with friends talking out loud, starting a dialogue of ideas that can be shared in the moment, regardless of missing the plot. Trust me, there is not a comprehensive story with bad movies. This makes these films an active experience for moviegoers and establishes the So Bad, It’s Good movies as a unique genre. My advice to you reading this is to begin your search and start your bad movie journey. The memories I have created by watching not just The Room but other bad films have been memorable because of those I have shared the experience with. I hope that you and your friends can discover the sheer dumb fun of bad movies.

Some recommended bad films:

1.     Directed and starring Tommy Wiseau, The Room (2003)

2.     Starring Nicolas Cage, The Wicker Man (2006)

3.     Directed and starring Neil Breen, Fateful Findings (2013)

4.     Starring Christopher Reeve, Superman 4: The Quest for Peace (1987)