So bad it’s awesome
Dubbed the ‘Citizen Kane’ of bad movies, “The Room” is coming back to the big screen.
Buoyed by the popularity of James Franco’s “The Disaster Artist” — which was inspired by “The Room” as well as East Bay native Greg Sestero’s award-winning 2013 memoir about the making of that movie — Tommy Wiseau’s picture is getting back into the spotlight. The cult-hit movie will come to nearly 500 U.S. movie theaters for just one night.
Starring, written and directed by Tommy Wiseau, “The Room” follows the story of Johnny, a bank employee who, seemingly, lives happily ever after in a San Francisco townhouse with Lisa, his fiancée. One day she gets bored with Tommy and seduces his best friend, Mark (played by Sestero). After that, things get torn apart.
When it was first released in 2003, “The Room” flopped, but it evolved into a cult favorite with mocking midnight screenings, and now it’s a pop culture phenomenon, thanks to Franco’s hit film.
“The Room” returns to cinemas on 8 p.m. Wednesday. In addition to the full-length movie, audiences will also get a peek at the new “Best F(r)iends” trailer, starring Wiseau and Greg Sestero.
Details: Participating Bay Area theaters include San Jose Oakridge 20, Milpitas Great Mall 20, Cupertino Square 16, Century PAC Commons in Fremont, Mountain View Cinemas 16, Century 25 Union City, Century 20 Redwood City, Hacienda Crossings 20 in Dublin, Century Theatres Hayward, Century at Tanforan in San Bruno, Bay Street 16 in Emeryville, Daly City 20, Century 9 San Francisco Centre, Pleasant Hill Downtown 16 and Fairfield Stadium 16. Visit www.FathomEvents.com for tickets and more information.
Shake your boredom with Elmo, Grover and Co.
So your kids are already tired of their holiday gifts and looking to burn off some energy. “Sesame Street Live” is here to help.
The interactive show built around the adventures of Elmo, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster; Big Bird and many other favorites, offers plenty of music, dancing, magic and other attractions — even a Spanish lesson — meant to get you out of your seat while taking in a show about plans for a party that goes comically awry.
“Sesame Street Live: Let’s Party,” makes a Bay Area run tonight through Sunday.
Details: 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Paramount Theatre, Oakland; 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday at City National Civic, San Jose; $20-$88; www.paramounttheatre.com, sanjosetheaters.org. — Randy McMullen, Staff
Concerts: Long Beach Dub Allstars, more
It’s a pretty quiet week for live music in the Bay Area. But you can still find some good tunes, if you know where to look. We recommend checking out these three shows:
ONOFF: The punk rock trio from Dublin, Ireland has shared bills with such wellknown outfits as Bad Religion, Fall Out Boy and Dropkick Murphys. ONOFF performs FridayatSlim’sinSanFrancisco.State Line Empire, Zed and Featherwitch are also on the bill. Details: 9 p.m.; $15-$18; www. slimspresents.com.
Long Beach Dub Allstars: The dub/ska/ rock act, best known for the single “Sunny Hours” (aka, the theme for the Matt LeBlanc TV series “Joey”), performs Friday at the Independent in San Francisco. Details: 9 p.m.; $25; www.ticketfly.com.
Brothers Prince: This Oakland-based indie-pop-soul act, led by identical twin brothers Ambrose and Austin Prince, plays the Independent in San Francisco on Saturday in support of the debut EP “Single.” Details: 9 p.m.; $13-$16; www.ticketfly. com. — Jim Harrington, Staff
The Easy Leaves get fancy
If it’s January — which, believe it or not, it actually is — then it’s time for The Easy Leaves to perform in San Francisco.
The Northern California country-rock act hosts its sixth annual Western Winter Formal at the Great American Music Hall on Saturday.
So grab your tuxedo and Stetson hat (or, whatever else sounds like proper Western Winter Formal garb to you) and get ready to boogie with The Easy Leaves.
To get a taste for the band, we recommend checking out “Get Down,” which is our favorite Easy Leaves number.
The evening’s lineup also includes Western Centuries, Alison Harris and DJ Golden Graham.
Details: 9 p.m.; $20; www.slimspresents.com. — Jim Harrington, Staff