After going to my screening of The Room in downtown Toronto, I realized why so many people enjoy attending the showings. Even director Tommy Wiseau encourages for viewers to laugh, cry and have fun during the film, provided that nobody hurts each other. So hey, if the guy who made it welcomes the idea, then why not give the people what they want?
With screenings of The Room come very interesting traditions. The most notable mentions include throwing plastic spoons at the screen when background photographs of the utensils are visible, tossing a football around the theatre whenever the boys are engaged in sports and cheering on the Golden Gate Bridge whenever a panning shot from beginning to end is shown.
But even after just one screening, I think that there are plenty of traditions that can be added to the experience. Most of the time, it’s about seeing who can come up with the best jokes by the end of the night. So here’s a couple I came up with myself.
The Magic Shed
You may notice that during scenes on the rooftop, characters enter and exit through a doorway that’s concealed by what appears to be a shed the size of a broom closet. It’s kind of clear that this entrance is too small to have a stairwell leading back into the apartment building, so we can only assume that this is a shed is “magic” and allows people to enter and exit this plane of existence. (Narnia, anyone?) Shout “Magic Shed!” whenever a character walks into or out of the shed.
Double Rainbow
This one was noticeable courtesy of the guy sitting behind me at the theatre. When Johnny and Mark are sitting down for coffee during the infamous “How is your sex life?” scene, you’ll notice that the cups belonging to the café have the words “Double Rainbow” faintly visible on the side. Naturally it can only be considered a coincidence in regards to that proceeding famous Internet meme of the “Double Rainbow Song” (look it up on Youtube if you’re clueless to what I’m talking about). But when you see the shot of people at the counter of the café and the cup is visible, start singing out loud the lyrics of Double Rainbow.
WE DON’T WANT CHEESECAKE!
Referring to the previously mentioned scene, with careful ears (I do realize it’s difficult to hear in a theatre of yelling viewers, but bear with me) you’ll notice that the waitress will frequently insist that customers try their cheesecake. To this, have you and your buddies shout “WE DON’T WANT CHEESECAKE!”
The "Isney" Store
Cleverly, in the film where Johnny is walking through the streets of San Fransisco before his birthday party, a column (or tree) is blocking out of sight the letter “D” on the sign of what we can only assume to be the trademarked Walt Disney Store, which has caused viewers to frequently shout the word “Isney!” Get ready to do your best Mickey Mouse impression!
Peter Mark II
Towards the end of the film, a character by the name of Steve is randomly introduced who barges in on Lisa and Mark making out during Johnny’s birthday party. According to IMDB.com, Steve was inserted last minute as a replacement to the character of Peter, Johnny’s psychologist friend. To this, when Steve first enters the scene, you may boldly announce “Peter Mark II” or “Peter 2.0.!”
WHAT A TWIST!
This is in reference to any time that something meant to be shocking is inserted into the screenplay. (Ex. Denny’s taking drugs, Claudette almost didn’t marry Lisa’s mother, Lisa really isn’t pregnant) It’s of course a reference to the Robot Chicken parody of M. Night Shyamalan, so shout out “What a twist!”
Drugs are bad, mmm’kay
Pretty self-explanatory. Again, something The Room explores not in great detail, but enough to be a recurring joke. Because of Denny’s drug dealing (yeah Denny, buying drugs when you need cash is a brilliant money-making scheme) and Mark smoking marijuana on the rooftop, do your best impression of Mr. Mackey from South Park. It’s especially most appropriate during the very “PSA” like writing of Lisa trying to convince Johnny to drink Scotchka.
Denny’s disturbing moments
One might say that the character of Denny is…creepy to say the least. His portrayal of an apparent man-child who has a romantic obsession with his mother figure makes him out appear to be on the launch pad for what would likely be a successful career as a serial killer. One of my personal favourites is yelling “Spawn of Satan” or “El Dialbo” during his first entrance and any of his following appearances letting out a bloodcurtling scream.
But for all you thriller/horror flick fans, pull out some of your favourite serial killer one-liners when you see Denny doing anything that could be potentially interpreted as "psycho babble." My personal recommendations?
“Hello Clarice…” –Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs
“It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again…” –Buffalo Bill, Silence of the Lambs
“I want to play a game…” -Jigsaw, Saw film series
“What’s your favourite scary movie?” –Ghostface, Scream
“Seven days…” The Ring
Also, for any of you Psycho fans, start humming or singing the tune to the theme when Norman Bates kills the woman in the shower whenever Denny says something extra-creepy, like "I just like to watch you guys."
Johnny/Lisa/Mark “Love” Scenes
During the awkward sex scenes, many viewers sing out loud the movie's background music or oddly enough the theme to “Free Willy." Some even bring lighters to wave through the air. My input is to sing something that overhypes the romantic feeling. Warm up those vocals and bring on “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion from the Titanic Soundtrack! My sister even recommended “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from The Lion King.
Not the spoons!
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, one of the most common traditions to The Room screenings is throwing spoons whenever pictures of the utensils are seen in the background. Well, during Johnny and Mark’s first fight at the birthday party, you’ll notice that the former pushes the latter against a table and smashes one of the pictures. To this, you can shout, “Not the spoons!”, or if you’re feeling overdramatic, “Not the spoons, you bastard!”
It’s a Trap!
As a tribute to Admiral Ackbar from Return of the Jedi, (where would the Rebel Alliance be without him?) for scenes where characters are up to something sneaky, such as Lisa frequently seducing Mark or Chris R. coming up to Denny, impersonate ol’ Squidhead by crying out “IT’S A TRAP!”
Raging Johnny
After Lisa leaves Johnny, he angrily storms through the apartment and smashes everything. For this, I have two suggestions. Yell “Wiseau Smash” when he’s destroying stuff (I know, not that original) or during his scenes where he’s sitting on his chair, eyes shut and appears to be under demonic possession, shout out loud “The power of Christ compels you!”
Great Scott!
Okay, this one works best as a tagline to one of the more traditional jokes. You’ll notice that Johnny frequently refers to Lisa as his “future wife” instead of using the word fiancée. To this, viewers frequently shout the words “Husband/Wife of the Future!” in the classy 50s sci-fi narrator tone. After they’ve done that, feel free to say the words “Great Scott!” as a tribute to Doc Brown from Back to the Future.
“He’s only a human bean!”
As a reference to Johnny reminding Denny that he’s loved by Lisa as a human being, but of course, due to his accent (which to this date Wiseau refuses to say the origins of) it comes out sounding like human bean. So whenever somebody is being treated cruelly, like Chris R. attacking Denny or Lisa manipulating Johnny shout out, “He’s only a human bean!”
Overall, it's all about having a good time while watching The Room. People love coming out and laughing with and at these characters, their lines and the scenarios they're put in. There are other traditions that can be found online and after one viewing of The Room, I guarantee you'll have the inkling to check it out again. Feel free to come up with your own list of traditions and add them in the comments below.
