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Curious
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Weird
Your life would not be the same if it were not for Dave Franco. It’s true. Maybe he didn’t push you out of the way of a speeding bus, or even water your plants while you were on vacation. But you’d be down a few LOLs in your lifetime and that’s pretty significant.
Some people might think, “Do you mean James Franco?” or “Dave who?” or even worse: just plain, “Who?” Come on! Franco stars in this weekend’s Neighbors 2, and while his minutes on screen may not add up in quantity, they sure do in quality. This is the case for many of his previous roles as well.
Now, there are several things to consider here. Yes, Dave is the younger brother to James. We all know James. We know about his movies, and that time he hosted the Oscars, and his art, and his 1 million degrees, both the kind from colleges and the measurement of his sexiness. He’s always doing something, and we’re always hearing about it. Which is maybe why you don’t hear so much about Dave. He’s overshadowed by James, and perhaps he likes it that way? He’s got James’ good looks and talent without all the pretentious academia. Plus, Dave doesn’t have much of a social media presence at all, save for a Facebook page that is filled with trailers of his upcoming movies, only separated by posts about a spin event he took part in for charity. So yeah, there is a lack of shirtless selfies available.
When the news broke that he was engaged to Community and Mad Men actress Allison Brie, people were shocked that the two had ever even met before, almost as though they were being challenged with a “paparazzi pics or it didn’t happen.” How strange — an actor without a social media or even celebrity blog presence! This makes it easy to forget who Dave Franco is or what he brings to a project.
But don’t let yourself forget. In fact, here’s a little reminder. He’s done TV (Greek, Scrubs), he’s a staple in the Apatow Cinematic Universe (Superbad, Neighbors, Neighbors 2), he’s no stranger to weird and funny sketches on Funny or Die with his friends, and he slyly demands your attention amongst A-list ensemble franchises (21 Jump Street, Now You See Me: The Second Act and their respective sequels). In the past 5 years alone, his good looks have afforded him to play the entire range of high school, college, and post-grad millennial. Franco easily slides into the role of straight man or goofball, and is able to play vulnerable, preppy, popular, dorky, scheming mastermind, drug dealer, and even magician. Homeboy’s got range.
He can currently be seen in Neighbors 2 in theaters now, Now You See Me 2 is out on June 10th, and then there’s The Masterpiece, out later this year which he worked on with his brother James about the making of the cult classic, The Room. In other words, don’t sleep on him. If you need a refresher, here are 5 of Dave’s greatest cinematic moments:
21 Jump Street
He’s a popular, drug-dealing environmentalist in high school with Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Brie Larson. Watch out for his coy smile that will sneak up and get you hooked faster than anything that comes in a little plastic baggie.
[Where to stream 21 Jump Street]
Neighbors
That De Niro impression though! Watch him team up with Zac Efron & co to save their frat from just-trying-to-get-by parents Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne.
[Where to stream Neighbors]
Warm Bodies
Dave’s not the hero here, but it’s fun to see him in action as the douche boyfriend of Teresa Palmer in the way, way underrated Warm Bodies.
[Where to stream Warm Bodies]
Now You See Me
In what is maybe the best magic moment since that time David Blaine blew Harrison Ford and Kanye West’s minds, Now You See Me is worth a re-watch before the sequel hits theaters.
[Where to stream Now You See Me]
Unfinished Business
It’d be hard for most people to reach Vince Vaughn’s comedic level, but Dave steps right up to the task in this film as the dopey new guy on the business trip of a lifetime.
[Where to stream Unfinished Business]
