Megan Mullally

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the 2003 movie The Room, which is widely considered to be one of the worst films ever made, even as it has developed a cult following. Based on the book by The Room's star Greg Sestero, it takes a remarkably personal look at the antics of aspiring actor-filmmaker Tommy Wiseau, who is played by James Franco with gonzo charm.

In late-1990s San Francisco, Tommy meets Greg (played by Dave Franco) in an acting class. As they struggle to find work, they make a pact to support each other. After moving to Los Angeles, Tommy decides to fund his own movie from his mysterious fortune, with himself in the lead role opposite Greg. They hire a cast (including Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron and Jacki Weaver) and crew (including Seth Rogen and Paul Scheer) and set out to film Tommy's screenplay for The Room. But everyone has second thoughts, since Tommy has no discernible skill at acting, writing or directing.

The Room is indeed a terrible film, but it's remarkable simply for the fact that Wiseau managed to make it. And by accepting that the public saw his melodramatic romance as an awkward comedy, he has actually made money from it. The irony about this story is of course that the profoundly untalented Wiseau had enough cash to finance the project himself. Franco plays him with affection: he's a jerk to everyone, and refuses to admit his age, nationality or where he got his millions, but he's tenacious and loyal. It's a terrific performance that never winks at the camera. And the Franco brothers bring superb camaraderie to the screen in what becomes a surprisingly involving bromance.

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Writer-director John Hamburg continues to recycle the formula that made his first hit Meet the Parents so wildly popular, as this comedy pits two very different men against each other. And while it's never terribly clever, at least James Franco and Bryan Cranston are imaginatively cast as opposite forces. So audiences in search of escapism will find plenty to chuckle at as things spiral ludicrously out of control.

Cranston plays Ned, who travels with his wife Barb (the fabulous Megan Mullally) and teen son Scotty (Griffin Gluck) to Silicon Valley to spend the holidays with older daughter Steph (Zooey Deutch) and meet her boyfriend Laird (Franco). What they don't know is that Laird is an internet millionaire with absolutely no filter in how he interacts with people. Almost everything he says is inappropriate, and yet it's so honest that it's disarming. Still, Ned and Barb aren't too happy that their daughter is so serious about dating this guy. And with the help of his sidekick Gustav (Keegan-Michael Key), Laird goes completely over-the-top to impress them.

Much of the humour is of the gross-out variety, with the main running gag centring on an actual toilet. But at least the jokes aren't about embarrassment this time; they're about the clash between people who prefer to keep their true feelings bottled up inside and someone who can't help but be real, despite the fact that he shocks everyone he meets. This makes each person a little more complex than expected, and gives the actors some texture to work with, even though the script never bothers to even crack the surface. And while Cranston and Franco have more obvious comedy set-pieces to contend with, the film is stolen by Mullally and Key in roles that are more subtly hilarious and broadly amusing, respectively.

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There's nothing wrong with this bright and goofy family comedy, but there's nothing much to it either. As a bit of mindless entertainment, the film is smart and funny enough to keep audiences entertained, spinning a swirling vortex of bad luck and wacky slapstick around one lively family. But it's utterly weightless, without even a hint of an edge, and anyone who loathes either nutty physical gags or sappy sentimentality should steer well clear.

Everyone in the audience can understand how Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) feels: he's fed up with the fact that no one notices that his life is just one humiliation after another, so on his 12th birthday he wishes that his family would have a taste of his misfortune. Sure enough, everything that can go wrong does. Dad Ben (Steve Carell) has to take the baby with him to an important job interview; mom Kelly (Jennifer Garner) has a work event go horribly wrong; teen brother Anthony (Dylan Minnette) struggles to make prom night special for his demanding-diva girlfriend (Bella Thorne); and middle sister Emile (Kerris Dorsey) gets ill on opening night of the school play she's starring in. On the other hand, Alexander's day isn't so bad, as he finally catches the eye of cute girl Becky (Sidney Fullmer).

The plot is laid out as a series of minor calamities that escalate to crazed proportions as the day goes on, but only until the screenwriter decides to have mercy on the characters and let them bond to face the mayhem. Frankly, this is such a wildly happy family that nothing about the film is believable: their problems exist strictly for laughs. Thankful, most of the set pieces are genuinely funny due to the up-for-it actors, who make the most of their characters and the connections between them. There's also a terrific stream of cameo roles for comedy aces like Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie) and Donald Glover (Parks and Recreation). Dick Van Dyke even makes a witty appearance as himself.

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Sharply important themes make this film a lot more important than its wacky style might suggest. It's essentially Mean Girls remade with a gay twist, and the smart script continually acknowledges that fact. There's also plenty of surprisingly deep subtetx, which adds weight even when things start to get a bit silly.

The story centres on Tanner (Willett), a 17-year-old who isn't quite ready to come out of the closet, then is inadvertently outed by his best pal Brent (Iacono). Suddenly, the leaders of the school's three cliques (Pieterse, Bowen and Roquemore) descend on him: the first out gay student, he'll make the perfect accessory as a Gay Best Friend. And wannabe activist Soledad (Levesque) latches on to him so she can launch a gay-straight alliance. But as Tanner strains to fit the stereotype, he finds himself increasingly distant from Brent and their pals (Tarlov and Mio).

Director Stein shoots this in the colourfully wacky style of a Glee episode (without the songs), but even though everything is just a bit over the top, the screenplay grounds the situations and characters with stinging wit and subtle commentary on big issues like peer pressure, bullying, repression, religious intolerance and the reason girls like to hang around gay boys. This lets the likeable actors deepen their characters in ways that continually catch us off guard.

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This is the kind of American independent comedy-drama that restores our faith in the cinema, combining a talented cast, witty direction and a razor-sharp script to reboot the coming-of-age genre. It's an original approach that completely wins us over; even the film's slightly too-wacky touches are genuinely hilarious. And it's all grounded in realistic characters we can identify with, especially when they're in amusingly awkward situations.

The story centres on Joe (Robinson), a teen who is fed up with the way his widowed father Frank (Offerman) takes out his grief on anyone at hand. Joe's sister (Brie) has already escaped, moving in with her goofy boyfriend (Cordero), and now that school has let out for the summer, Joe decides to build a bolt-hole in the woods. He finds a collaborator in his best pal Patrick (Basso), whose inane parents (Mullally and Jackson) are so annoying that he has broken out in hives. Then Biaggio (Arias), a strange kid no one really knows, joins them to build a secret cabin where no one can find them. And they love this independent lifestyle so much that they never want summer to end.

Along the way, the film takes a wonderfully honest look at the horrors of adolescence. Joe's and Patrick's parents always say the most embarrassing things imaginable, so getting away from them is like a blast of freedom. And there's a very strong female lead in Kelly (Moriarty), the girl Joe fantasises about even though she has eyes for other boys. Robinson and Basso are excellent in the lead roles, playing characters we can easily identify with and root for. Arias is hilarious as the rather ridiculous Biaggio, making the most of a role that's perhaps the film's only false note: he's just too nutty to be believable.

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