James Franco Takes Final Bow/Fall On ‘General Hospital’

When James Franco decided to join the cast of “General Hospital,” more than a few people scratched their heads. Here’s an actor whose career is currently on fire, who decided that a short-term voyage into melodrama would be a great way to expand his horizons as an actor.

He’s turning the entertainment industry on its head. Normally careers start on soap operas, biding their time on shitty daytime television until they take off. Not Mr. Franco. Last Friday “Franco” died on “General Hospital” in the most ridiculous way possible.
This week “New York” magazine begs the question “Is James Franco for Real?” His baffling career choices over the past couple years have transformed him from William DaFoe’s kid in “Spiderman” and Desario in “Freaks and Geeks” into Hollywood’s renaissance man. Over the past three years he starred as a hilariously grimy stoner with a heart of gold in “Pineapple Express,” then followed it up as Sean Penn’s lover in “Milk”—two roles that showcased his versatility.

Then things got interesting. Franco went back to school to earn his master’s degree in fine arts from Columbia, while also taking filmmaking classes at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He published a short story in “Esquire.” He directed a documentary about the week of preparation leading up to an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” entitled “Saturday Night.” Next he joined “General Hospital” as a crazy eccentric baby kidnapper named Franco. In September he’s starring as Allen Ginsberg in the film, “Howl.” And now he’s enrolling in Yale’s Ph.D. program in English.

That’s exhausting to read, let alone do.

But back to the decision that gave daytime soap operas any redeemable value. I’m no expert on soap death scenes but Franco’s swan-song dive in “General Hospital” was one of the most entertaining and perplexing farewells I’ve ever seen on television.

The mysterious Franco sets up an elaborate revenge on a former mob enforcer, Jason, by creating a scene disguised as performance art. He tells his audience someone is going to die, holding a a random guest  hostage at gunpoint—all in an attempt to entrap the brutish, slow-witted dude in the tight black t-shirt.

In fact, the entire scene acts as a metaphor for Franco’s brief stay on “General Hospital.” It was one interesting and slightly crazed move that he considered performance art. And no matter how wild a caricature his character might have been, since he called it art, he comes out smelling like roses. Franco’s appearances on “General Hospital” were memorable for his character’s maniacal grin and frank strangeness.

When Franco’s utters his fateful last words, “Don’t kill me, I know where the baby is,” it’s hard to hold in laughter when he falls 30 feet to his death. It’s truly hilarious, mind boggling, and shocking.

“Welcome to Francophrenia, the blurring of the line between illusion and reality.”