James Franco: 'I fail at romance'

Actor James Franco is eager to work on his romantic gestures after failing so often at dating.

The 38-year-old Pineapple Express star has been largely single since splitting from his girlfriend of five years, The Help star Ahna O'Reilly, in 2011, while he also enjoyed a long-term romance with actress Marla Sokoloff from 1999 to 2004.

And the busy celebrity, who currently has 21 future acting gigs on the go, admits he has a lot to learn about matters of the heart.

"I've been pretty bad in the romance department," he tells ETOnline.com. "I think I'm a caring guy, but the grand gestures I'm not great at. I need to put more work into it."

James portrays kooky tech billionaire Laird Mayhew in his new film, Why Him?, a comedy about his crazy character's bid to win over his girlfriend's father, played by Bryan Cranston.

Although he's not been the greatest at romance over the years, Franco hasn't had quite as tough a time impressing the parents of his former girlfriends as Laird, save for rare cases.

"No fathers have disliked me like Bryan's character dislikes me in this movie, (but) there's been a mother or two that just didn't like me," he reveals. "I remember being very young and throwing pebbles at somebody's window and the mother coming out and treating me like a bum - 'Get out of here, you scum!'"

Meanwhile, James' younger brother, Dave Franco, seems to have had much better luck in the romance department. The Neighbors star is currently engaged to wed actress Alison Brie, and James reveals his little brother isn't stressed in the slightest about his impending wedding.

"He's (Dave's) supposed to get married in February (17)," he shares. "I think he's so casual about it."