TV: All hail the hoodie

It's the year of the dork. The era of the dweeb. The rise of the underdog. Young, self-declared heroes with a dry sense of humor and intelligent candor that you want to believe is as brilliant in real life as it is in the movies. What separates them from the popular kids on the block is their understanding that cool is fleeting, but wit is forever.

Here are the boys with whom you should have shared a lunch table with, afterall:


TV Show: CLARK AND MICHAEL

Michael Cera (left in photo) is the unbelievably lovable hero of SUPERBAD. His buddy Clark makes a (brief) appearance in the movie, but mostly he'll be known for his dorky persona in the new ABC Family show, GREEK (which stars another up and coming dork, Jacob Zachar). The two of them made a few funny movies together (10 minutes each), that CBS (weirdly enough) picked up and put on a website in a ten episode, web-only format. It's maddeningly funny and totally worth your time to watch.
Here: www.clarkandmichael.com

TV Show: Freaks & Greeks

In my opinion, this is one of the best shows to EVER be on television. It's the boy version of My So Called Life. Less mellow-dramatic, more funny, but just as endearing. It's brilliant writing with a brilliant cast and worth the DVD purchase (your welcome, Sis). It's another one of those great moments in television that was axed by the network because no one was watching it. The one-season-only program stars John Francis Daley, who, lucky for you, also makes an appearance in CLARK AND MICHAEL. Daley is another endearing dork, who has grown, like, 5 feet since Freaks & Geeks first aired, potentially threatening his dorky title.

Jonah Hill

Also a SUPERBAD front runner, this guy is clearly super smart and out of his mind. He's too funny for the page. But something tells me if he lost the weight, he'd reveal a debonair charm that would land him in a few Tiger Beats. Oh, and he also shows up in CLARK AND MICHAEL as another aspiring writer who is very unimpressed with the awkward Clark and Michael characters.

Adam Samburg

When did dorkiness become something to aspire to? Probably for boy-men like this it meant more time in the principals office than the prom. But something happened in show business. Someone finally took the memo that women already know that the Carey Grants of the world aren't the most interesting conversationalists/attentive caregivers/loyalists, after all.

Luckily, this guy is a lot older than the others in the lot, so it's not illegal to lust after him. He's got that ridiculous grin and comic timing that originally paved the road for his predecessors (Jimmy Fallon, Adam Sandler, Mike Meyers, et al). Now he's in charge, and probably will be for a long time. He shows up on the SNL set every week, in case you're wondering how he hit the big time.

John Krasinski

Oh, OK, so I get it. I get it now. The road to dorkiness begins with being the guy who falls for the girl, but doesn't know how to tell her. And probably won't until season three. Women are so done with the macho man who can walk up to a lady and woo her with a three-word sentence that includes at least one use of the word "baby". No, those days are over. Brad Pitt? He's unreachable. John Krasinki? He's the one you never even noticed. Until he got a hit TV show and you realized that stuttering and excessive blinking are sure signs of a guy with potential.



Have a nice day.