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James Franco on 'General Hospital': Mom and daughter agree, he 'looked damn good.'
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Ever since a month-long trip to Germany when I was 12 where the only English-speaking TV station played six-month old episodes of "General Hospital" daily, I've been a fan.Upon my return to the States, I continued to watch on school breaks and sick days until my mother figured it would be a good parenting move to check out the "trash" I was viewing.
From that point on, every day after school we threw a bag of popcorn into the microwave and watched together throughout high school and all my college summer vacations.
While being a grown-up for me has meant that I can no longer watch "GH" regularly, Mom has kept up. I check in every now and then and when I see Nancy Lee Grahh (Alexis) at Starbucks or Natalia Livingston (Emily/Rebecca) at the craft store, I'm sure to mention it.
So, James Franco's first appearance on Friday (Nov. 20) seemed like a good time for a call home to catch up.
And what did my mother who admittedly "doesn't keep up with actors" think of the reclusive artist also-named "Franco"?
"He looked damn good if that's what you want from a [age removed at parental unit's inheritance-withholding request]-year-old woman," Mom says.
Sure. I'll take that.
When pushed as to whether she thinks Franco's decidedly method acting style is a good fit for the different rhythms of a soap opera, Mom says she hasn't seen enough to know.
Which is true. Most of the first day was spent with Franco skulking around posing as a homeless man, graffiti-tagging walls, rearranging dead bodies, playing cat-and-mouse with Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) and having quite the tonsil hockey session with new cast member Marsha Thomason.
Actually, that sounds like a lot, but it really wasn't.
But Mom is clear on one thing.
"I think he's beautiful and I can't understand why he's out to get Jason."
Got it. And really anything else is just frosting on that cupcake.
What did you think of James Franco's first day?
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I love it. GH has several good stories and reveals brewing. So adding Franco's character to the mix is just icing on the cake. I also like that Franco will have a specific storyline tied to Jason, and not necessarily Sonny. It's nice to see Jason in his OWN storyline apart from Carly and Sonny.
Between JJ returning and Franco guest starring, life as a GH fan is good.
NOTE TO BRILL BUNDY (writer of this article): Have you heard of VCR's or DVR's? They're handy modern inventions that let us tape shows we miss while at work. :-) So why not do what I do... tape "General Hospital" (I also tape "One Life to Live") and watch it when you get home? That way you can keep up on the show. And a good thing about it? Can zip through commercials and slow parts of the show or scenes you're not interested in.
He's just like any other soap actor. Which makes me wonder which soap actors could make it in the movies if they were given the chance. Don't get me wrong, most of them probably couldn't, but I still wonder. But I think he's done a great job. Why he's doing a soap, I don't know. But I appreciate his lack of ego in doing this.
Dear Steven -- Yes, I've heard of DVRs, but since mine is always over 50% capacity with all the mandatory work viewing I've got going on, I can't even imagine trying to cram another 5 hours a week in there (yes, I know, even less without the commercials but since I'm usually doing at least two other things while watching I always forget to pick up the remote and zip through them). The great thing about soap operas though is that since they tread a lot of water, checking in every few months I can manage to get back on track in just a couple episodes. ;)
Note to Amber - Soap Operas are a "training ground" for many a famous actor (aside from Lindsey Lohan's child stint) including Katy Bates (Misery), Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galatica), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), Lauren Holley (NCIS), Kelly Ripa (Regis & Kelly), Julianne Moore (Children of Men), Meg Ryan (When Harry met Sally), Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny), Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG1), John Stamos (ER), Amber Tamlyn (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), Cicely Tyson (Roots), Judith Light (Who's the Boss)... AND including Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, and Demi Moore...Soaps Rock!
(thanks to Associated Content for the Soaps Alumni info)
Mary and Amber. I think its insulting to one say that soap opera actors are not talented and the other to say its a training ground. Tony Geary is one example of a great actor who on his own is better than most of what Hollywood has to offer. I came name many more. Brill, your comments on the pacing of soaps and being able to pick back up is a narrow minded view also. While some things are concreate in this type storytelling, you can not miss months without missing pivotal plot points. Sadly, most people still look at soaps as second rate.