Franco and friends make roast best in series
James Franco was under the gun during the latest “Comedy Central Roast.”
For a series usually known for blasting washed-up has-beens and pop culture freak shows like Flavor Flav and Charlie Sheen, featuring Franco as the roastee was a bit of a departure.
In fact, the writer, actor, director and producer has been so busy supporting an art charity, teaching film making classes, working on his Ph.D. and receiving an Academy Award nomination that he’s never even seen a “Comedy Central Roast.” Talk about going out of your league.
Luckily, Franco brought a few of his A-list buddies along to throw down in the jab fest. His longtime pal Seth Rogen was the roastmaster, or host, joined by fellow Judd Apatow-directed stars Jonah Hill and Aziz Ansari as roasters. Bill Hader and Andy Samberg of Saturday Night Live fame also made an appearance, alongside Nick Kroll, Sarah Silverman, Natasha Leggero and longtime “Roast” staple Jeff Ross.
Never before has the series seen such a star-studded panel, aside from Leggero, and the top-tier comedians rose to the occasion to produce the best “Roast” yet.
The theme of the roast was portraying the highly ambitious Franco as self-righteous, snobby and blissfully unaware that most of his non-film-related endeavors (his paintings, his book) are complete crap.
The roast’s introduction shows Franco strolling to the stage, stopping to touch up paintings, pose for pictures and receive a diploma. The opening credits roll, listing “James Franco” in every role. He finally reaches the stage, with a podium labeled “James Franco University.”
“So you guys think I’m pretentious?” Franco asked. “Well, James Franco addressed James Franco being pretentious in his book ‘James Franco.’”
Most of the jokes directed at Franco commented on his squinty-faced, stoner demeanor and sexual ambiguity. Sarah Silverman covered both in one fell swoop.
“I don’t think James is gay or straight,” Silverman said. “It’s just that he literally can’t open his eyes enough to see who he’s f———.”
After each crack at his barely cracked peepers, Franco revealed a little bit of self-consciousness, covering his eyes with his hands.
Franco’s recent experience co-hosting the Oscars alongside Anne Hathaway — in which he looked and acted baked the entire time — was another easy target.
“Look at me doing all the talking while you sit there and do nothing,” Rogen said. “I feel like I’m co-hosting the Oscars with you.”
In a short-lived and touching moment, Jeff Ross asked Franco’s 90-year-old grandmother to stand up and be acknowledged. The crowd clapped for a while. It was sweet. But not even Mama Franco was safe from being burned that night.
“’127 Hours’ is how long she has left,” Ross said, referencing Franco’s role in the 2010 film.
While Franco may well have smoked something, I’m more curious as to what Jonah Hill was on. Hill couldn’t sit still his entire performance, rocking back and forth and laughing loudly at his own jokes. He also made sure to point out how much he loved every comic after roasting them and fell over in his seat laughing multiple times. I know, I know, maybe he was just nervous. That’s what I thought until I saw him look into Franco’s eyes and mouth “I love you,” while Franco was speaking. Either the gay jokes were directed at the wrong person, or the roast interrupted Hill at a rave.
Samberg and Hader, who both recently graduated from ”Saturday Night Live,” were among the highlights of the show. The two showed their late night sketch comedy roots by stepping into characters.
Hader snuck backstage before emerging as the President of Hollywood, sporting a bright red tracksuit with a thick gold medallion hanging from his neck and aviator shades on. Samberg played a comic whose every attempt at dissing someone, unbeknown to him, turned out to be a compliment.
“Aziz’s parents are from India, but he’s from South Carolina,” Samberg said, turning to Ansari. “Hey Aziz, what’s it like to have a unique perspective on what it means to be an American you bag of s——!? … I’m roasting so hard right now.”
Samberg closed his set with a sweet and humbling nod to the humanity of himself and the comedians who joined him onstage.
“We’re all terrified to be here,” Samberg said.
Maybe I was being too hard on poor Jonah for being nervous. Wait … he made how much that night? Nevermind.