Johnny (The Room)

"YOU ARE TEARING ME APART, LISA!"

"Oh hi, Mark"

Johnny is the main protagonist of the critically-panned cult film The Room.

History
Johnny is a banker living in San Francisco. He mentions being from out of town, though it's never mentioned where he originally came from. He used to work as a busboy, which was how he met Lisa, managing to charm her just by saying "Hi". Eventually, Johnny got a job at a bank and befriended various characters such as Mark, Peter, Steven and Mike.

Biography
At the beginning of the film, Johnny is happily engaged to Lisa. Lisa has become inexplicably dissatisfied with Johnny, confiding to her best friend Michelle and her mother Claudette that she finds him boring. Lisa seduces Mark, and they begin an affair that continues throughout the film, even as Mark more than once tries to break it off. Lisa, meanwhile, having come to the realization that she "wants it all", decides to stay with Johnny because he is a successful banker who has promised to buy her a house. As the wedding date approaches and Johnny's clout at his bank slips, Lisa alternates between glorifying and vilifying Johnny to her family and friends, both making false accusations of domestic abuse and defending Johnny against criticisms.

The film has several subplots involving secondary characters, which make up a significant portion of the film. Denny, a neighboring college student whom Johnny supports and loves like a son, has a mysterious run-in with a drug dealer and struggles with an attraction to Lisa, although he mentions a girl named Elizabeth that he intends to marry. Claudette mentions real estate problems, failed relationships, and that she has breast cancer. Michelle's boyfriend, Mike, is shamed by Lisa and Claudette walking in on him having sex with with Michelle in Johnny's and Lisa's living room. Peter, a psychologist friend of Johnny's and Mark's, initially expresses shock at Lisa's infidelity only to assess her as a sociopath the next day, prompting Mark to try and throw him off of a roof. Johnny takes on a mysterious client at the bank whose identity he is sworn to protect. Claudette tries to convince Johnny to lend a friend of hers some money and it's implied that this is all a front so that she can mooch off his success. All of these subplots receive only brief exposition, and none are ever resolved.

At Johnny's surprise party, Steven, a previously unseen friend of Lisa's and Johnny's, catches Lisa kissing Mark while the rest of the guests are outside. Johnny announces to the guests that Lisa is pregnant, but then Lisa tells Steven and Michelle that she lied about her pregnancy. At the end of the evening, Lisa flaunts her affair in front of Johnny, and Johnny and Mark get into two altercations. After the party, Johnny locks himself in the bathroom, prompting Lisa to make plans to finally leave him for Mark. Johnny finally comes out of the bathroom and retrieves a cassette he secretly attached to Lisa's phone, and listens to an intimate call between Lisa and Mark. Claiming that all of his friends have betrayed him, Johnny destroys his apartment and then kills himself with a handgun. Denny, Mark, and Lisa discover his body sometime later, and Mark and Denny blame Lisa for Johnny's death, with Mark declaring he doesn't love Lisa. Denny asks to be left alone with the body, but Lisa and Mark instead decide to stay and comfort one another as the sound of sirens grows louder.

Personality
Johnny is friendly and outgoing, always eager to toss a football around and chat with his friends about their problems. He's incredibly devoted to Lisa, buying her flowers for no particular reason, even forgiving her for slandering him. He has a generous nature, as he pays for Denny's tuition despite having nothing to gain from it. He's a teetotal, though it doesn't take much persuasion to get him drunk. In fact, it's implied that Johnny only drinks water, as he's occasionally seen with a water bottle.

Johnny has a habit of talking out loud to himself, regardless of whether or not this provides any exposition for the audience. He's considered to be fairly wise, as his friends all come to him for advice. To the disbelief of the audience, a lot of what Johnny has to say is limited to interchangeable clichés.

Unfortunately, Johnny has a fairly short fuse when he feels betrayed. This flaw is pushed to its limit as the film progresses. It's hinted that he might secretly resent the people he knows for various unknown reasons. Mark and Denny seem to be the only people he genuinely likes, at least until Mark turned on him. He also keeps the gun the drug dealer used to threaten Denny with. By the end, Johnny lashes out at everyone just for being around him when he finds out about Lisa and Mark's tryst. After ending things with Lisa, Johnny lets his self-destructive tendencies get the best of him and commits suicide, showing that underneath his cheerful exterior was a fragile and temperamental soul.

For some unexplained reason, Johnny keeps a framed photograph of a spoon, as well as a photograph of a corkscrew and a tape recorder and cassette in his pockets.