The Room Trivia Quiz

Answer: San Francisco

While the setting is never mentioned by name in the film, numerous shots of the Golden Gate Bridge only serve to enhance your awareness that the room is 'actually a place'. Furthermore, another 'stock footage' shot seen throughout the film is that of Johnny riding a streetcar. This doesn't really make sense as he drives a car throughout the movie.
Let's start with the basics. "The Room" is both a train wreck and a masterpiece. Tommy Wiseau, somehow, raised millions to fund the movie and the result is a cult following; cinematic gold is what I'd deem it. The DVD case actually has misspellings on its inside and yet it still won a film festival award.
The trailer for the film is just as stunning. A voice-over claims the movie to be "the best film of the year" and that we should "experience this quirky, new black comedy". "It's a riot", claims the narrator, who goes on to note that it has the passion of Tennessee Williams. Let me tell you, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Answer: Denny

The movie begins with Johnny (Wiseau) entering the room and exclaiming "Hi, babe!" to his fiancee, Lisa. Handing her a leopard-print gift, she opens it to find a red dress inside. She gives him a kiss and tries it on moments before Denny, the neighbour boy, ends up coming over for a visit. Denny, for some reason, asks how much the dress cost, before following the couple into their bedroom. When he leaves, the movie plays into its first scene of impromptu intimacy, one which reappears later in the movie, scarring viewers for life with its rose imagery and tacky '90s R&B soundtrack.

Firstly, Denny is hardly a charming character. For some reason, he likes to be around Johnny and Lisa when intimate moments occur (forcing the beautiful Johnny-ism "Denny, two's great, but three's a crowd"), and he has a tendency to step in at the most awkward points of the movie. You never really find out how old he actually is, but in the end it never really makes a difference.
Secondly, Tommy Wiseau is a bit of an anomaly. If you've never seen "The Room", you simply have no idea. It's hard to determine his background, but one reviewer on IMDB said it best: "a Cajun, a Croatian cyborg, possibly from Belgium, clearly a product of Denmark, or maybe even not from this world or dimension." On some occasions (and even in DVD interviews), Tommy Wiseau clearly re-dubs his voice. He also has long, shoulder-length black hair and the body of a machine. He's that odd, but you can never turn yourself away.

Answer: A bank

Johnny, throughout the film, usually complains about work. Although he's lined up for a promotion, it never actually comes. This is one of Lisa's big gripes although her mother, Claudette, thinks that Johnny can easily support her, and that's 'good for her'.

The next morning, Johnny heads off to work and Lisa invites her mother over. In a three minute conversation, Lisa basically tells her mother that she doesn't love Johnny anymore. This feeling festers in a matter of hours - by the thirty minute mark of the film, her hatred for her fiancee almost becomes unbearably unrealistic. Claudette begins with the obvious, asking why and Lisa says he's so boring. Her mother goes on the same rant she does throughout the movie, saying that they've known each other for five years, are engaged, and he supports and provides for her. Claudette mentions the promotion, but Lisa claims that all of those reasons listed are why he's boring. Seeing as she hasn't talked to Johnny about these issues and seeing that everybody has an unexplained love for Johnny in the movie (from shopkeepers to friends and family), she sets herself up as the antagonist in record time. Claudette tells her daughter that no one listens to her anymore, before making her exit.

This only begins Lisa's descent into hatred and evil-doing. She immediately calls up Johnny's best friend, Mark (who constantly reminds people "Johnny's my best friend" and who's also listed as one of Wiseau's personal assistants in the credits), and sleeps with him on the spiral staircase in the room. More R&B music is played. It's tragic, really.

Answer: Johnny hit her while he was drunk.

After another tough day at the bank, resulting in another day with no promotion, Lisa orders a pizza and breaks out some booze so that she and Johnny can enjoy their night. This is particularly odd since all of the characters seem to know that Johnny doesn't drink.

The film has this covered though: Lisa tells Johnny that he'll drink it if he loves her (can't really beat that!). After a small amount of alcohol, his tie ends up becoming a bandanna, he breaks glasses on the floor, and he spills his drink everywhere. What follows is another passionate montage...actually, many of these scenes are from the previous Johnny/Lisa bedroom sequence. A number of odd events occur. Most importantly, Lisa and Claudette walk in on two never-before-seen characters, Mike and Michelle, as they're making out in 'the room' (and noting how "chocolate is the symbol of love"). Michelle is Lisa's best friend, so their random appearance isn't questioned. Lisa also makes a note of telling her mother and Michelle that Johnny got drunk and hit her. Later in the movie, Johnny exclaims "I DEED NAHT HEET HER!" It's a beautiful moment, really.

Answer: She has breast cancer.

In one of their conversations, Claudette, in passing, tells Lisa: "Nobody wants to help me, and I'm dying." When Lisa replies that she's not dying, Claudette reaffirms "I got the results of the test back; I definitely have breast cancer." This moment in the story is not pivotal, nor does it have any meaning in the grand scheme that is "The Room". Nonetheless, it's a hallmark of the movie and oft-quoted.

This breast cancer is never mentioned again in the film. Another beautiful plot hole makes an appearance immediately after. Apparently, Denny is involved in a drug ring.

A gangster (referred to only as Chris R.) approaches him on the roof and tries to kill him before Johnny and Mark can stop him. A brief, emotional scene follows before the entire plot point is dropped from the movie.

Answer: Football

The football, for some reason, gets thrown around at four or five different points in the movie, perhaps as a symbol of male bonding. The first of said instances occurs on the roof of the building (simply a tiny set surrounded by a green-screen; its set-up actually makes no sense and San Francisco's landmarks constantly change position) where Johnny and Mark discuss relationships. Denny comes up soon after and Johnny has to set the record straight about his crush on Lisa. Meanwhile, after a talk with Michelle, Lisa tells Johnny (angrily, and with no prior reasoning) that she might just change her mind about marriage if he keeps up with what he's doing. This builds up to one of Johnny's most popular lines, "You are tearing me APART, Lisa!" Hysterics, I'd say.
The next day, while tossing the football around, Mike accidentally gets knocked (by Greg) into a wall of trash cans. This injury makes little sense and never has an effect on the character outside the scene.
In a later scene, just to prepare himself for what may happen in the future, Johnny plants a tape player in the room. Unfortunately, tape players really don't work the way he expects them to, but this doesn't matter in the movie - it still manages to record conversation and play back only the bits he needs...not yet though.

Answer: He disappears from the last portion of the movie

The actor who played Peter may have been the only smart one. After a scene where the men of the film are dressed up in tuxedos for some reason (and head out to play football) Peter trips and falls. This is his last appearance in the movie. In the last act, he's replaced by another character with a new name (who's given one of the best lines in the movie). No reasoning or explanation is given.
Peter visits Johnny and they talk about the Lisa problem. Johnny overheard Lisa talking to Claudette earlier about sleeping with someone else and he doesn't know what to do. Peter has no advice but suggests he confront Lisa. Johnny is too caring to do this though claiming that she "should get a second chance" and that "love is blind". Ironically, Greg shows up and they talk about women for a while.
Shortly after, Peter finds Mark on the roof smoking marijuana. When Peter realizes that Mark has been having an affair with Lisa, Peter almost pushes him over the edge of the roof in a melodramatic moment. He apologizes immediately after and blames Lisa for being manipulative. Duh.
The next scene involves some football, but the guys are all wearing tuxedos for Johnny's wedding pictures. Greg shaves his beard for some reason and everyone makes a big deal out of it. Everyone makes hideous chicken noises (akin to "Arrested Development") and the viewer dies a little inside. The movie only gets better.

Answer: His birthday

Lisa pleads with Mark for one last time together and the following day Mark and Johnny take the time to toss the football around in a park. Very little happens, but eventually it gets to a point where everyone is planning a surprise party for Johnny. Before the party, Michelle walks in on Mark and Lisa together and they giggle for a little while. Lisa admits to not telling Johnny (as Mark is his best friend) but she doesn't love him anymore. Lisa also says that if Mark can't give her what she wants, somebody else will. Michelle, outright, calls Lisa manipulative (just like her mother), but Lisa simply says that Michelle can learn something from her. After an evening walk around San Francisco (how they got him to leave the house for so long is one thing; why he didn't take his car or the streetcar like every other scene is another) Johnny returns home for a surprise birthday party with all his friends (except Peter...he's long gone by this point).

Answer: No

At one point, Lisa ushers the party out the door to the roof to continue their festivities but she and Mark hang back for a moment to spend time together. The scene that follows is monumental. The unnamed man who replaces Peter walks in on the duo kissing on the couch and lectures them about their wrongdoings (telling them to "leave your stupid comments in your pocket" and that they'll hurt Johnny because he's very sensitive).
On the roof of the building, Johnny announces that she and Lisa are expecting a child. At this moment, Michelle and Peter's unnamed replacement talk to Lisa (and we are given another classic line: "I feel like I'm sitting on an atomic bomb waiting for it to go off"). Lisa also admits to them that she's not actually pregnant. She made this lie up and told Johnny "to make things interesting". She figured they'd have a baby anyways. When she claims that they're worrying too much about her, they say that they're actually worried about Johnny. Lisa states that she has the right to do what she's doing despite what it's doing to their friendships.
When everyone goes inside for cake, Mark asks if the baby is his and Lisa eventually slaps him. Johnny steps in to fix things but sparks a fight with Marc over the whole situation. Johnny and Mark shake hands and apologize, but moments later Johnny finds the two of them back together again. The party ends after a couple more chicken noises.

Answer: He commits suicide, unable to cope.

The party is an eventual bust and everybody departs for the night and Lisa goes upstairs to find Johnny moping in the locked bathroom. Frustrated, he childishly tells her to leave, insults her and others, and listens as she calls Mark from her cell. This is when Johnny unveils his hidden 'tape recorder' and reveals that he has proof from their phone calls. As Lisa leaves, Johnny claims that "he treats [Lisa] like a princess, and she stabs him in the back". Johnny, frustrated and hysterical, begins to trash the room after she departs knocking things boorishly off mantles, tossing the television out the window, and even ripping her red dress to shreds. There's no need to question any of these actions; the man looks like a jungle creature or a machine.
Claiming that he doesn't have a friend in the world, Johnny opens a box hidden in his dresser containing a gun. He cocks the device, places it in his mouth, and fires, ending his life in this cruel, cruel world.
It only takes moments before Mark and Lisa return to find him dead. Despite the fact that Mark yells several times for Johnny to wake up, he won't. To make things worse, Denny shows up and screams for a while, in hysterics, grabbing Johnny and hugging him close. Lisa claims that Johnny's dead, but that she still has Mark. Mark is shocked by her suggestion claiming that Johnny was his best friend and it's her fault he committed suicide. He exclaims, "you can drop off the Earth, and that's a promise!" As the three of them gather around Johnny's corpse, sirens are heard in the background...as well as the voices of people asking what's wrong.

Credits roll.
And so ends a work of art.