Best F(r)iends Volume 2 – Review

Best F(r)iends Volume 2 film review; Greg Sestero, Tommy Wiseau, The Room

Confused? Read our review of Best F(r)iends Volume 1 here.

This article is only going to reach a niche audience, much like its subject matter—Greg Sestero and Tommy Wiseau, known for being behind the ‘Citizen Kane’ of bad films, released a brand new two-part epic throughout 2018, fifteen years after the infamous project. Within those fifteen years, people have flocked to screenings of cult classic The Room to laugh, dress up, and throw spoons at the screen of one of the most awe-inspiring (and not necessarily in the best way) films in recent memory. Released earlier this year, Best F(r)iends Volume 1 was a ridiculous, zany, and surreal experience created for these fans—there were callbacks, in-jokes, and genuinely touching moments peppered throughout the bizarre flick. Now that Volume 2 has been released, and I have been lucky to view its premiere, how does the duology end?

Well, it ends… remarkably strongly. Most surprisingly, its strength is not as a so-bad-it’s-good film, or in laughs-per-minute, but in genuine, enjoyable storytelling. Are parts ridiculous? Yes. Can Tommy Wiseau actually act? Yet to be determined. However, it is clear that the filmmakers did not set out to make a bad film here, but an interesting one. In that, they definitely succeed. Experiencing this in the cinema is completely different to a late-night screening of The Room—yes, people laughed, but they seemed to laugh at the right parts. The film is laced with a tongue-in-cheek irony and never feels like it takes itself too seriously, though it takes itself seriously enough that is isn’t reduced to a mile-a-minute comedy flick.

What’s even more surprising is, compared to the last part, Wiseau is hardly in it. As one of the biggest drawcards for seeing the first film, fans of Tommy Wiseau could easily watch him read the back of a cereal box and be entertained (myself included). It is an interesting move to dial back his character’s involvement, using the draw of his personality sparingly and leaving room for other elements—but it works. Whenever he was on screen, I was genuinely enjoying his presence, but I did not find myself missing too much of his antics—especially when the film decides to become about something more than the main characters’ real-life personas amped up to the max. One of the main reasons that this works is the inclusion of a new, incredibly interesting persona—Uncle Rick.

Uncle Rick is the Clint Eastwood hero on Red Bull, lacing Coen-Brother’s-style dialogue with crude idioms and over-the-top anecdotes and, by god, does he steal the show. Sestero has found a knack in writing for personas—capturing Tommy’s voice in The Disaster Artist and eventually Best F(r)iends, before presenting us with not one, but many hilarious, bizarre, and interesting characters in the second volume of his duology. I went to the screening with friends who hadn’t even seen the first volume, and they still were able to—for the most part—comprehend the narrative and enjoy the story the second volume was trying to tell.

Best F(r)iends is a project that few will see, but those who do will most likely enjoy it immensely. Sure, it is not Academy Award-worthy emotional storytelling, but the film knows what it’s trying to achieve and it succeeds in that. It is not often that I come out of a film without any idea about how I am going to describe it, recommend it, or even to comment on it. The film is something truly unique: something that could not have been crafted in such an interesting and engaging manner if not for the most successful unsuccessful film in history. It is difficult to say if this bizarre adventure succeeds in surpassing its predecessor, stepping into the realm of genuinely good films—but as fans of The Room, quality is subjective anyway.

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