The Times takes James Franco down (at least) a notch

About one James Edward Franco:

An actor, yes. But also: A poet! A novelist! A filmmaker! And an artist.

Not so fast, says Roberta Smith, co-chief art critic for The New York Times. Some of Franco’s photographs are on display at a gallery in New York, and Smith isn’t impressed.

Franco “remains embarrassingly clueless when it comes to art,” she writes in her review. “The deep content here, beneath the entitled narcissism, is a confused desperation that seems to drive Mr. Franco’s pursuit of visual art.”

She continues: “It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for him, while also wishing that someone or something would make him stop.”

Ouch.