James Franco Analyzes 'Breaking Dawn,' 'The Descendants' For The Paris Review

What do tween blockbuster "Breaking Dawn: Part 1" and Alexander Payne's infidelity dramedy "The Descendants" have in common?

Well, according to James Franco's latest blog for The Paris Review, sex, motherhood, and a skewed take on family values.

As Franco notes, these movies are not exactly going for the same audience:

Undoubtedly one is making a play for an Oscar. Undoubtedly the other will dominate every MTV award category, including best kiss, best dude moment, best male shirtless scene, and whatever else the network that produces the Jersey Shore celebrates. The movies are in many ways very different. But both use sex as a submerged theme while on the surface promoting a wholesome idea of family values; both seem to devalue motherhood; and both deal with characters who are so financially secure that they are almost impossible to identify with.

Earlier this year, Franco wrote about Gus Van Sant, and his personal project creating a short film using unused footage from "My Own Private Idaho," for the same publication.

Read the rest of his analysis here.