If you missed my first post where I explain what this is and how I’m scoring things, here you go.
A couple of weeks ago, thanks to one of my coworkers letting me borrow their copy, I was able to finally watch the 2003 film, The Room, directed by Tommy Wiseau. For any of you that are not familiar with The Room, it is widely considered one of the worst films ever made. The infamy of the film made it so popular that James Franco directed a film called The Disaster Artist in 2017, which is the film version of the memoir one of the main actors wrote about his experience working with Wiseau while making The Room. In The Disaster Artist, there is a scene where Greg Sestero, the author of the memoir, is telling Tommy about James Dean, and the two men go to visit the monument to James Dean located where the young actor was tragically killed in a car accident.
It honestly seemed kind of strange that this was given time in The Disaster Artist, given there was so much to work with from how crazy the making of The Room was. However, when I was watching Rebel Without a Cause, the next film on the AFI 100, it all made sense. At the beginning of the film, Dean’s character Jim has been arrested and brought into the police station, where his parents come to pick him up. While speaking with them, Jim gets emotional and cries out “you’re tearing me apart!” It really sort of jumpstarts the angst we are meant to feel from his character throughout the whole movie, and the pressure he feels from his parents to fit the type of person they want him to be. It made me laugh so hard.
You see, in The Room, Wiseau’s character Johnny is dating a woman named Lisa, who is unfaithful in their relationship. At one point, Johnny finds out about Lisa’s actions and shouts “you’re tearing me apart, Lisa!” The reason this is so funny is because Wiseau is an absolutely terrible actor, and this is one of the most memorable examples of his horrible overacting. After seeing The Disaster Artist, I knew immediately that Wiseau was attempting to pay homage to Dean, who he and Greg Sestero obviously looked up to. Unfortunately, what he really did was inspire a ton of laughter, and gave me something to write about now.
Ok, now I’ll actually write about Rebel Without a Cause in the categories:
Entertainment Value- 1.5/2
As a high school teacher, I obviously spend a lot of time with teenagers. I love what I do, and building relationships with people of this age group is a big reason why. Teenagers are often viewed unfairly, I think. It seems like more often than not, society views the problems that teenagers face as lesser or insignificant. The reality is, some of the teens I work with experience stuff in their life that anyone would struggle with, regardless of age. Being young does not keep the bad stuff in the world from impacting people’s lives. On top of that, I think we all remember how confusing it was to be a teenager, with all the changes that that brings.
Rebel Without a Cause does a good job of showing this very idea. The characters in this movie show that this time of life is rough, and the problems are real. Their challenges help them form bonds with one another, and as silly or rushed as the bonds may seem, there’s something to be said of shared understanding and shared experience. There’s a real teenage angst to all of it that reminds me of Catcher in the Rye. If I’m being honest, Catcher in the Rye never did it for me, and while there are moments in Rebel Without a Cause that really drew me in, I think that teen angst is too much a part of my everyday life to want more of it in my media.
Correctness- 2/2
There is only one person of color in this movie and she has a speaking role. It is by no means a huge step forward against racial inequality, but compared to a lot of what I’ve watched on this list, it’s downright revolutionary.
Influence- 2/2
James Dean made three movies, this being the only one where he was given top billing. He died at age 24, and is still brought up in popular culture today, almost 70 years after his death. For that alone, I’m giving this two points.
“Rewatchability”- 1/2
Despite everything I said above about this not really being my thing, I wouldn’t be opposed to watching it again.
Technical Score- 1/2
Apparently they were going to film this movie in black and white as a sort of ‘B’ movie of the era, but James Dean’s popularity exploded so much that they decided to film it in color. I have no idea what the modern day version of this would be, but it’s definitely interesting. Other than that there’s not really anything groundbreaking here.
Overall- 7.5/10
As I move closer to the top half of this list, there are a lot of movies I’m excited to watch for the first time, including this one. Maybe it wasn’t my favorite, but seeing an icon like James Dean at the height of his powers is what this project is all about.
You can rent Rebel Without a Cause on your service of choice.
Hasta luego,
Josh
Up Next: #58 Fantasia (available on Disney+).