James Franco Channels James Dean on Saturday Night Live

James Franco was the guest host on Saturday Night Live last night and it wasn't any more of a train wreck than his recent gig on General Hospital - but that's not saying much.

In one sketch, Franco played a despondent James Dean who gets a little too friendly with a grabby Liberace during a Vincent Price Christmas special. Kristen Wigg's Katharine Hepburn was well done until they got to the part where she was attacked by a rabid raccoon. Seriously? Who thinks of these things?

Another of Franco's big sketches had him playing a Christmas tree lot salesman who gets a little too attached to the trees. It might have worked better, had Franco directed his lines to the trees instead of out to the audience as he red the script on the teleprompter.

I know live TV is tricky, but if the guest can't memorize the lines for the sketch then maybe they should cut down on how many he does. Over all, not one of the more memorable SNL Christmas episodes.

Here are a few clips.

Vincent Price Christmas [5:28] Katharine Hepburn, James Dean and a raccoon are guests in this Christmas special.

Christmas Tree Lot [4:09] Each Christmas tree has a story.