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Critics beware

Without question,ÌýThe Room is one of the worst movies ever made.ÌýBut curiously, the film is beloved by a cult fanbase for its awkward script, horrible acting, and numerous production oddities. The focal point of The Room is director and star Tommy Wiseau, whose bizarre usage of language continues to amuse (and confuse) audiences today.

Throughout the film, he utters countless phrases that have become popular language tropes. Let’s explore the hilarity of the language miscues that run rampant throughout The Room.

“You are tearing me apart, Lisa!” is perhaps the most famous utterance from The Room.ÌýIt punctuates a dramatic moment in which Johnny (the main character played by Wiseau) confronts his ´Ú¾±²¹²Ô³¦Ã© about her numerous deceptions. Fans adore this phrase because it’s explosively melodramatic and cheesy—a perfect description of the film, actually.

According toÌýThe Disaster ArtistÌý(a book written aboutÌýThe Room‘s production), Wiseau drew inspiration from James Dean’s iconic performance inÌýRebel Without a Cause.ÌýWiseau payed homage to Dean (or just completely ripped him off) by abruptly screaming “You are tearing me apart!” in a similar (but worse) style.

In one memorable scene, Johnny yells out “Everybody betray me!” after losing hisÌý´Ú¾±²¹²Ô³¦Ã© to his treacherous best friend. However, the dramatic declaration falls flat because of its awkward sound quality and horrible lip-synching.

Which leads us to one of the strangest aspects of the movie: theÌýfrequent usage of a filmmaking technique known as dubbing. ThroughoutÌýThe Room,ÌýWiseau dubs several of his lines (in amateurish fashion). This was probably a misguided attempt to improve his speech in post-production (which is infamously difficult to understand).

As with most of the cringeworthy uses of language inÌýThe Room, this line crashes and burns for several reasons. Where to start?

It’s the victim of another nightmarish attempt at dubbing, which leavesÌýWiseau sounding like an alien. The scriptwriting places sentences in a strange order and repeats words unnecessarily: “I did not hit her, it’s not true! It’s bullshit! I did not hit her! I did not.” And so, even though the scene was written to show Johnny’s frustration, it ended up leaving audiences doubled-over with laughter.

Quickly following on the heels of “I did not hit her,” Johnny utters another ofÌýThe Room‘sÌýsignature lines. Milliseconds after concluding his furious rant, he acknowledges his best friend by exclaiming “Oh, hi Mark!”

Here, Wiseau’s rapid switch of toneÌýadds comedy to this strange moment. First, he’s darkly muttering to himself about domestic violence, and then suddenly he’s delighted to spot his friend. The extreme switch in moods is good for a chuckle.

In this scene, which takes place over the course of about fifteen-seconds, Johnny has a rapid-fire conversation with a florist that results in her saying,”You’re my favorite customer.” Simply put: No human interaction on earth sounds like this jaw-dropping exchange. Scenes like this have contributed to the persistent theory that Tommy Wiseau is not from this world.

And so, the comedic effect here: unrealistic dialogue (complimented by poor acting).

The Room‘s central conflictÌýis the traumatic breakup between Johnny and Lisa. But strangely, the words ´Ú¾±²¹²Ô³¦Ã© or engagement are never uttered in the film.ÌýRather, the terms future wife or future husband are awkwardly used to describe their relationship status.

It appears Wiseau simply didn’t know the wordsÌý´Ú¾±²¹²Ô³¦Ã©Ìýor ´Ú¾±²¹²Ô³¦Ã©e while writing his screenplay, so he made up his own!

A common critique ofÌýThe Room‘s script is the film’s heavy reliance onÌý

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catch phrases and generic, clunky dialogue. Characters tend to repeat themselves often and for no apparent reason.

Some fans are particularly tickled by Mark’s conflicted (and numerous) references to Johnny as his best friend. In multiple scenes depicting Mark’s affair with Lisa, he nervously mentions this close bond with Johnny. Awkward!