Palo Alto
Director: Gia Coppola
Writer: Gia Coppola
Based on: James Franco‘s collection of short stories Palo Alto Stories
Cast: Jack Kilmer, Nat Wolff, Emma Roberts, Zoe Levin, Olivia Crocicchia, Claudia Levy, James Franco, Val Kilmer, Margaret Qualley, Keegan Allen, Chris Messina
Seen on: 12./13.1.2026

Content Note: grooming, sexual abuse, racial and homomisic slurs (n-word, f*gg*t)

Content Note:
Teddy (Jack Kilmer) mostly hangs with his best friend Fred (Nat Wolff), getting high and having semi-philosophical discussion. While Fred takes nothing seriously, Teddy is very earnestly in love with April (Emma Roberts). April also thinks he’s cute. She spends most of her time babysitting for her school soccer coach Mr B (James Franco). Mr B is pretty cute, too, and single. While April is reserved, her classmate Emily (Zoe Levin) flirts with all the boys.

I watched Palo Alto despite my misgivings about Franco, not knowing the extent of his involvement. But even without him, I don’t think that the film would have worked for me, despite some strengths.

Given all that we learned about James Franco in recent years, I was reluctant to see this film, but I thought he’d have a small role in the film and I didn’t know it was based on his short stories, so the lure of a female director drew me in. I should have trusted my gut because Franco plays exactly the kind of dude he is accused of being: one who goes after younger girls who are under his mentorship. It’s abuse and grooming, nothing else but the film doesn’t really see it that way. In fact, you could read it very much as April freely deciding to be with him – and then getting angy because he isn’t faithful not because he is twice her age and her teacher.

It doesn’t make things better that the only two female characters of note in the movie – April and Emily – are both oversexualized, despite being teenagers. April is sexualized virginity and Emily is sexualized availability. There is a disturbing moment in the film where Fred tells us of a scene where dudes line up to fuck Emily at a party, and it is never really clear whether that is his fantasy or it actually happened. Either way, it is a jarring moment that feels almost entirely disconnected from the rest of the film.

There is something to be said about chronicling the lives of these rich, privileged, mostly abandoned teenagers who circle around each other, only occasionally bothered by adults who are all somewhat creepy in very different ways. The damage this causes to the kids is shown, but never really analyzed or understood beyond the surface level. And the film never really takes a stance. Some might see this kind of impartiality as a strength, for me it makes the film seem vapid and empty, ultimately uninterested in its own characters.

The film does have its moments. The cinematography is great. Nat Wolff is completely unhinged in his performance, giving Fred serial killer vibes that are pretty outstanding and Zoe Levin somehow transcends the limits of her role and gives Emily enough to make us honestly curious about her. But ultimately, the film never really goes anywhere and the Franco creep factor overshadows everything for me.

Summarizing: did not work for me.