‘Oh hi, Mark’: Garland Theater makes ‘Room’ for cult classic with actor Greg Sestero

Hurling plastic spoons at the screen isn’t usually considered good movie etiquette. But when fans gather to watch Tommy Wiseau’s cult classic, “The Room” on the big screen, it’s tradition.

Local audiences will fill the seats of the Garland Theater on Saturday with a fist full of spoons as a star of the cult classic, Greg Sestero, returns to Spokane for a special screening.

Often hailed as “the Citizen Kane of bad movies,” “The Room” follows Johnny (Wiseau), a successful San Francico banker whose ideal life is flipped upside when his fiancée (Juliette Danielle) starts a passionate affair with his best friend (Sestero).

The film was released in 2003 as a dramatic tragedy, but realistically, it lives in its own genre.

“It’s as if an alien came down from outer space and studied soap operas for a week and then went back to its planet and made a movie based on human interaction. That’s what ‘The Room’ feels like,” Sestero said.

Wiseau also ambitiously wrote, directed and produced the film, personally funding the project from a fortune that’s still unclear of its origins.

It’s 99 minutes of cinematic absurdity that’s unapologetically genuine as much as it lacks self-awareness. Some of the bizarre choices Wiseau makes includes unnervingly long intimate scenes, a character mentioning she has cancer only to never come back up and lines of dialogue that no human has ever uttered before such as, “Anyway, how’s your sex life?”

The film is a glimpse into the psyche of a man that seemingly appeared from thin air. From his subtle European accent – despite claiming to be from New Orleans – to his mysterious fortune, Wiseau remains an enigma in Hollywood.

Sestero was 19 years old when he got his first impression of Wiseau in a San Francisco acting class, five years before the 2003 release of “The Room.”

“I was just really intrigued. He performed Shakespeare and I thought he was really engaging and had a kind of a natural sense of humor and charisma to him,” he said.

Over the next five years, the pair would move to Los Angeles to become actors, have infinite dead-end auditions and then eventually create the imperfect masterpiece.

The “disaster” production and relationship with Wiseau was the subject of Sestero’s memoir, “The Disaster Artist,” which was adapted into a feature film in 2017 directed and starring James Franco as Wiseau and Dave Franco as Sestero. Franco’s film received critical acclaim and was nominated for best adapted screenplay at the Academy Awards.

“The Disaster Artist” film introduced a lot of people to “The Room,” shocking audiences that the “The Room” was a real movie, Sestero said.

“The Room” premiered at the Laemmle Fairfax and Fallbrook Theaters in Los Angeles in June 2003 and was instantly a hit. Although not in the way Wiseau initially intended. But Wiseau would argue it was his plan all along.

“The premiere was quite an experience,” Sestero recalled, “People came in not knowing what to expect and they left exhilarated.”

Since its release, the film has captured audiences globally with its distinctive quirks and became an interactive event for viewers. During screenings, audience members dress up as characters, toss footballs to one other down the aisles, shout out iconic lines, such as “Oh hi, Mark,” and throw plastic spoons when picture frames inexplicability containing photos of spoons appear in the background of various shots.

“It never gets old, because it’s … like live theater in a way. And I think that’s also a huge part of the longevity of ‘The Room.’ Like ‘Rocky Horror,’ it becomes like a live show,” Sestero said.

Screenings of “The Room” offer not only countless full belly laughs, but also a communal experience for audiences.

“They leave with like the biggest smile on their face afterwards. And that’s always the most fun thing to see all these years later, is that the movie in its own way brings people together and makes them laugh,” Sestero said. “And there’s no better way to experience it than with a crowd of people because the cringe and the humor just blends so well with an audience.”

Sestero attended a wedding at the invitation of a couple who saw “The Room” on their first date and hold it dear to their hearts.

“It’s just been super cool to see movies that you’ve been a part of mean that much to people,” he said.

Sestero hosted a screening at the Garland Theater last March and admittedly has been looking forward to presenting the film to local fans in the historic cinema.

“Passionate people, man, they love cult movies and celebrating movies,” Sestero said. “I always love being there. And getting a chance to see the movie in that environment, because I think that’s what it was intended to be played in a big scale classic movie theater like that.”

Sestero will do a script reading and a Q&A at the screening.

Although Wiseau doesn’t usually accompany Sestero during his screening tours, the two remain close friends and have worked on several films together since the release of “The Room.”

Sestero is grateful for everything the film has done for him and says he wouldn’t be the person he is today without it. Over his career, Sestero has worked on more than 40 projects. He is currently adapting a script that he started writing when he was 12.

“I think the fact that it kind of put me back in touch with writing and telling stories,” he said, “I’ve learned to just keep creating.”