Entertainment
James Franco Doesn't Smoke Pot: 5 Reasons Why We're Surprised
Look, I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that, unless I happen to somehow at some point befriend him in some weird twist in my life, James Franco will remain an enigma to me. His decisions will always bemuse me as much as they make me think or make me laugh, and I will never know precisely what's going down in that brain of his. I accept that. But Seth Rogen revealed this week that James Franco does not smoke pot. This is not a big deal in any way, shape, or form, of course — in fact it's one I kind of shrugged in the general direction of when I first hear it.
"K," I said to myself, "moving on." In relation to almost every celebrity (pretty much any one save Rogen himself), I wouldn't even bat an eyelash. In fact, he's even said it before. But the more it sat in a corner of the brain, the more it started retroactively reshaping what I thought I knew about James Franco. The following moments, for example, play differently with this new tiny bit of knowledge.
The 2011 Oscars
In 2011, Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosted the Oscars. Hathaway was extremely animated, Franco was…not.
'Pineapple Express'
This entire movie is about Rogen and Franco running around as stoners together. And yes, it’s just acting, he’s an actor — in fact he’s an Oscar nominated actor. But the role very heavily tied into his longtime public friendship/work relationship with Rogen and other Apatowners like Jason Segal and Jonah Hill — all of whom are public pot smokers. So the assumption that Franco was partaking isn’t one that was exactly questioned.
Especially given…
Image: Columbia Pictures
'Your Highness'
Franco is known for a lot of things — but one of those things is his stoner comedies! This movie is literally called Your Highness. Even Natalie Portman’s admitted to smoking pot.Image: Universal
'Spring Breakers'
I’m not saying his acting wasn’t great, or that the character didn’t have his..intrigue.
What I’m saying is that this seems like the kind of role you sign on for after four hours of Harmony Korine getting you higher than the collective attendance of Coachella and then offering you doritos.
Image: Muse Productions
So Much Of His Public Persona
Google “James Franco stoner” and you’ll find multiple galleries devoted to “James Franco’s Most Stoner Moments” and “Ten Sexiest Celebrity Stoners.”
He literally won the 2008 “Stony Award,” given to — you guessed it! — the best stoner performance. He won for Pineapple Express, but still: His public persona reeks of pot.
Is it his small eyes*? His chill demeanor? His soft chuckle? I’m betting it’s all of those things than more. But you gotta give Franco this: He knows how to surprise us.
*(That’s not body snarking, he’s still a babe)
Listen, I get it: I’m a person who has very rarely taken part in THC in her life, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t befriended my fair share of stoners and/or laughed along with their jokes. But James Franco’s existence has always served to puzzle me, so here we are. Puzzled. Continually.
