Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Is Zac Efron gunning for James Franco's title as Hollywood's enfant terrible?

WARNING: SORT-OF EXPLICIT MATERIAL AHEAD

The solemnity of the holiday aside, my colleague Mr. Marks has set the tone for today's material on The Big Screen, and I am obliged to follow suit.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/21/38723/

Let us begin, then, with the obvious: James Franco is enjoying (has been enjoying, may continue to be enjoying) something of a moment in Hollywood. I can think of no other actor currently working who is being allowed so fluid a movement between mass-market blockbuster entertainment (Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Oz the Great and Powerful), middlebrow arthouse (Milk, Howl, The Broken Tower), lowbrow straight dude comedy (Pineapple Express, Your Highness) and gen-u-wine High Art (a stint on General Hospital, Spring Breakers, Dicknose in Paris). That's right, the host of the Oscars was also the star of Dicknose in Paris, the story (as far as I can tell from that clip) of a man wearing a prosthetic package on his face who wants to make a movie and impress Wes Anderson. And now? Now he's got not one, but two sexy sexy films at Sundance: Kink, a doc on a bondage-porn production outfit in San Francisco, and Interior. Leather Bar, which I suppose is pretty self-explanatory. Impressive. Most impressive.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/21/38724/

Poor Zac Efron. How can he hope to compete? Everything he does is a pale echo of Franco. Mass-market blockbuster? Well, he was the voice of the kid in The Lorax. Middlebrow arthouse? Me and Orson Welles was okay, but mostly just because of Christian McCay as Welles. Lowbrow straight dude comedy? He did voice Anakin Skywalker on Robot Chicken, so that's something. Gen-u-wine High Art? Does getting peed on by Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy count? I think it should count for something.

But how to match the audacity of Dicknose in Paris? Dropping a condom at The Lorax premiere was good start. I am the Durex, I speak for the sperm/ That come spurting and squirting from out of your worm/ The sperm that wreak havoc if they get let loose/ By saddling your squaw with a crying papoose! Etc. etc.

Still, it just wasn't enough. So Efron upped the ante. Did Franco sport a fake member? Then Efron would pose in front of a whole bunch of 'em.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/21/38722/

Alas, it appears that, at the last moment, his nerve failed him. Art is not for the timid, Mr. Efron.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule

The solemnity of the holiday aside, my colleague Mr. Marks has set the tone for today's material on The Big Screen, and I am obliged to follow suit.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/21/38723/

Let us begin, then, with the obvious: James Franco is enjoying (has been enjoying, may continue to be enjoying) something of a moment in Hollywood. I can think of no other actor currently working who is being allowed so fluid a movement between mass-market blockbuster entertainment (Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Oz the Great and Powerful), middlebrow arthouse (Milk, Howl, The Broken Tower), lowbrow straight dude comedy (Pineapple Express, Your Highness) and gen-u-wine High Art (a stint on General Hospital, Spring Breakers, Dicknose in Paris). That's right, the host of the Oscars was also the star of Dicknose in Paris, the story (as far as I can tell from that clip) of a man wearing a prosthetic package on his face who wants to make a movie and impress Wes Anderson. And now? Now he's got not one, but two sexy sexy films at Sundance: Kink, a doc on a bondage-porn production outfit in San Francisco, and Interior. Leather Bar, which I suppose is pretty self-explanatory. Impressive. Most impressive.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/21/38724/

Poor Zac Efron. How can he hope to compete? Everything he does is a pale echo of Franco. Mass-market blockbuster? Well, he was the voice of the kid in The Lorax. Middlebrow arthouse? Me and Orson Welles was okay, but mostly just because of Christian McCay as Welles. Lowbrow straight dude comedy? He did voice Anakin Skywalker on Robot Chicken, so that's something. Gen-u-wine High Art? Does getting peed on by Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy count? I think it should count for something.

But how to match the audacity of Dicknose in Paris? Dropping a condom at The Lorax premiere was good start. I am the Durex, I speak for the sperm/ That come spurting and squirting from out of your worm/ The sperm that wreak havoc if they get let loose/ By saddling your squaw with a crying papoose! Etc. etc.

Still, it just wasn't enough. So Efron upped the ante. Did Franco sport a fake member? Then Efron would pose in front of a whole bunch of 'em.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/21/38722/

Alas, it appears that, at the last moment, his nerve failed him. Art is not for the timid, Mr. Efron.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.