The Real Reason The Room Isn't On Netflix, According To Tommy Wiseau
You're tearing us apart, Netflix!
Tommy Wiseau, the mysterious, eccentric creative force behind the immortal cult classic film The Room, has gone public as to why you can't find his masterpiece on Netflix: He says that the streamer doesn't want it.
If you're not familiar with The Room, then boy, we are honored to be the first to enlighten you. When we say that Wiseau is mysterious, we do so with the straightest of faces. Quite literally, nobody is sure where he came from, why his accent and speech patterns appear to have originated on another planet, how old he is, or where he got the $6 million to make his film. When we say he is eccentric, we're being a bit cheeky, because the man is (and we say this with love in our hearts) one of the most bizarre human beings to ever walk the Earth, by any measure.
The Room, released in 2003, is the result of his singular vision — he wrote the novel and stage play upon which it was based, and also directed — and it simply must be seen to be believed. Ostensibly the story of a man named Johnny (Wiseau) whose girlfriend Lisa (Juliette Danielle) might be cheating on him, the flick's narrative gives new meaning to the word "formless." Scenes like an impromptu game of tuxedo football played in an alley come and go with no explanation, entire subplots are introduced only to be abruptly dropped, and Wiseau alternates between listless underacting and intense histrionics, apparently possessed of only those two modes.
The film did absolutely nothing during its limited theatrical release, but became legendary once available on home video. Since The Disaster Artist, a fictionalized account of the film's production starring James Franco as Wiseau, is available on Netflix, one inquiring fan went right to the source to discover why The Room is still a no-show on the streaming service.
Tommy Wiseau had a simple answer as to why The Room isn't on Netflix
Referring to an infamous sequence in the film in which Johnny rattles off a heated monologue (to himself) disputing his girlfriend's abuse allegations before casually greeting his friend, Twitter user @jordan_carver4 directed his query to Wiseau by way of a reply to a post by the man himself that offered (we are not joking) a "FREE COVID MASK" with the purchase of The Room on Blu Ray from his website (Also, $12.99 sweatpants!). Our intrepid Twitterer wrote: "Oh hi Tommy, hey I saw that The Disaster Artist is coming to Netflix. Can The Room go on there as well? Anyway how is your sex life?" Wiseau's response was about as succinct as responses get: "Netflix said no." He did not address the fan's last line of inquiry, and for that, we are grateful.
It's worth noting that it is anybody's guess as to whether this is accurate. We're not going to go so far as to directly accuse the great Tommy Wiseau of fibbing, but we will point out that this is a man who seems to have extreme difficulty giving consistent details about his own background, and who has offered explanations for the origin of his small fortune that his good friend (and star of The Room) Greg Sestero has stated flatly are in no way true (via Vulture).
At any rate, since Netflix has seen fit to add The Disaster Artist to its catalog, it would make sense for the streamer to have the subject of that film at the ready for inquisitive viewers. Perhaps there will some day be room for The Room on Netflix. Until then, however, you can watch the entire thing for free on YouTube. One caveat: This version does not contain the multiple, lengthy, Wiseau-centric sex scenes the director insisted be included in the theatrical cut. For that reason, it may be the only version you should watch.