Even though I grew up in the Los Angeles area, I didn’t quite hear about The Room until 2008. Once I moved to Houston, I saw an ad stating that Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero were going to be making a local appearance at the River Oaks Cinema, but I hadn’t seen the movie yet, so I didn’t end up going. I wish I had gone. Since then, Greg Sestero has made appearances in Houston screening The Room, and this was the second one that I attended.
I didn’t actually watch The Room for the first time, until about 2010. I had heard all of the hoopla and went to the Alamo Drafthouse for a group watch. It was filled with movie-goer comments on the awkwardness of the actor’s interactions, the throwing of spoons, chanting “go, go, go” on the establishing shots across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and screaming for Denny to close the door.
Screening the room at this latest watch party at the Alamo Drafthouse, it was announced that Greg Sestero was going to be in attendance and live commentating on the film. I arrived a little early and was able to snap a quick photo with him at his booth, rather than wait in the long line that I knew would pop up after the movie ended.
Overall, I had a great time! All of the movie-goer comments from the first watch party that I attended years ago, carried over to this one. Greg told us a little behind the scenes info before the movie started, then filled us in on details as he did live commentary on the film. It was a ton of fun, and my only regret was not brining a Puppet Master comic book for him to sign. I did mention that to him before I snapped a quick photo with him, and he chuckled. He was a nice guy and this was a fun event that you should check out, if it’s ever in your town.
