My brother said I should watch 'The Room' with the sound off

He told me last year that the best way to enjoy it was to turn off the dialogue and just watch the weird scenes. I tried it, and it was a total letdown. I missed all the strange line reads and Tommy Wiseau's voice, which is half the fun. So I rewatched it the normal way with some friends, and we were yelling at the screen the whole time. The football tossing in suits and the flower shop scene are just so much better with the sound on. Why would you want to cut out the part that makes it so bad and good at the same time? Has anyone else gotten advice on how to watch a famously bad movie that just made it worse?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylan_thompson1mo ago

The flower shop scene alone is proof that watching it silent ruins everything. Tommy's weird delivery of "I definitely have breast cancer" is like 90% of why that moment is so hilarious. Also I gotta agree with @jenniferc71 about the subtitles thing, it's still missing that weird vocal energy he brings. I think your brother was trying to be clever but totally missed what makes The Room a cult classic. The bad line readings and awkward pauses ARE the movie, take those away and you're just watching a confusing indie film with bad editing.

the_pat2mo ago

Yeah, that's terrible advice. The whole point is the awful dialogue and delivery. Without Tommy Wiseau's weird voice saying "you are tearing me apart, Lisa," you're just watching some guys toss a football badly. It strips out the charm.

jenniferc712mo ago

I tried watching The Room with subtitles once and it just felt wrong. Honestly, the whole magic is in how Tommy delivers those lines. You lose all the weird, funny tension.