Is The Room the best worst film ever made?

I've an apology to make. Most weeks I try to recommend a film at the cinema or on DVD which has some redeeming features, a hopefully quality choice that you might otherwise miss and that deserves to have your hard earned cash spent on it.

Sorry, but that all changes today as I introduce you to a film dubbed “the best worst movie of all time”, one so bad it inspires audiences to laugh at its dialogue, throw plastic spoons at the cinema screen and stage mock walk outs from the auditorium.

Released in 2003 by writer/director/producer and actor Tommy Wiseau, The Room cost $6 million to make and centres on Johnny (Wiseau) whose girlfriend is cheating on him with best friend, Mark.

After that the details get a little shaky. Subplots appear and disappear for no reason (most notably the revelation from one character that she's suffering from cancer, only for the subject never to be mentioned again); dodgy green screen work depicts a very fake San Francisco; and one actor falls over playing football and vanishes for the rest of the movie.

Terrible as it might sound, the film was supposed to be a serious drama, Wiseau claiming in retrospect that it's a black comedy. What changed his mind was the appearance of the film at late night screenings around America, fans latching onto the sheer awfulness of it all and embracing it.

Celebrity fans such as actor Jonah Hill, Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright and actress Kristin Bell are obsessive about The Room, the latter even throwing parties at her house to screen it to friends.

Of course, watching and enjoying bad films is nothing new. Back in the 1950s, director Ed Wood Jr was renowned for producing low quality pictures such as the infamous Plan 9 from Outer Space, while The Rocky Horror Picture Show is notorious for its audience participation. Personally, I feel like throwing real cutlery at the screen during any Will Ferrell film, but maybe that's just me.

Sadly, The Room isn't available on DVD in the UK, but all is not lost. Seven years after its release, the Cameo cinema is screening the film for one night only on Saturday 20 February, a rare chance for Edinburgh cinema-goers to see what all the fuss is about. Just remember your plastic spoons...