I've Got Another Confession To Make

I think Zac Efron is awesome.

Is it weird for a 35 year old dude to think that? Probably, but I don't care because I think he has the potential to be a great actor.

Many of you probably don't know much about Zac other than 12 year old girls really like him. My adult female readers (and I would hope all two of my female readers are adults because I'm not too sure my rants apply to Miley Cyrus fans) probably hate Zac Efron and think that he is far too effeminate to be considered good looking and that he is more pretty than sexy. But have you ever happened to see the guy a) act or b) in an interview?!? Because if you haven't, he's great in both. I'm serious.

I first saw Zac on a random episode of The Jimmy Kimmel Show two years ago (this is what you do as a teacher in the summer... Stay up late and watch TV, usually while drinking) and like any adult, I said to myself "Isn't this that High School Musical tool?!? And what's up with his hair?!?"

But then Zac started talking. And I found him extremely likable. He had this great self deprecating sense of humor, while also seeming quite bright and thankful of his superstardom. I remember him saying that while fans can get out of hand, they are always great and he really enjoys them. He described to Jimmy how he had not had any negative run ins and that people were very respectful of him. So after listening to twenty minutes of Zac Efron, I came to the conclusion that everything I thought about him was wrong and from there, I developed a secret liking for all things Zac.

Like a 12 year old girl, I then started tracking (only occassionally- nothing Pittish or Clooneyesque here) Zac. I would read about him when one of my students brought in a Teen Beat. I would keep TMZ on when I saw him parading around with his hottie (although poorly shaven) little girlfriend. I watched his Ellen appearance on YouTube and even paid attention to the VMAs long enough to see him present. And every time I saw him, I liked him more and more.

And it all came to a head this week when I went over to YouTube to watch the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on SNL and who did I see was hosting the show? My boy Zac. So, like watching the Headline News sports ticker back in college (we had to do this for betting purposes as there was no internet or constant score updates anywhere else) and getting hooked by a story of a grizzly bear attack, I got hooked by Zac when I should have been watching the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And again he was awesome. He was self deprecating, while at the same time being extremely likable and bright. And where else did Zac show up this week? Why Letterman of course. Did I watch it? Of course. Was he awesome? Yes he was.

So, I'm officially out of the closet. I'm a Zac Efron fan. A big one. And you should be too because he is both talented and likable, yet not fake likable. He is, in fact, not a tool.

Like many easy targets, it is not difficult to hate on Zac Efron. In fact, it is pathetically easy. It always bothered me when, in my mid twenties, people my age would hate on boy bands. I mean, really, how hard is that? As a recent stuffwhitepeople post said, agreeing to hate something is easy and what is easier to hate than a group of five guys who rose to musical stardom without playing an instrument or toiling in clubs trying to get that record deal? Hating on Lance Bass and Nick Carter was as easy as hating on ARod. Of course *Nsync and Backstreet Boys sucked and of course they were going to last as long as parachute pants, but if you say you didn't keep "I Want It That Way", "Backstreet's Back", or "Dirty Pop" on when they came on in your car and you were alone, then you're just a big fat liar.

And the same goes for Zac Efron. Hating him is the 2009 version of hating The Backstreet Boys. But I'm here to tell you that if you hate him, then you are stupid because really, you know nothing about him.

Think about it. He hasn't gotten into any trouble publicy. No Chris Brown slaps, no Shia LaBouf DUIs, no Britney head shavings. He doesn't think he is important or anything bigger than he is like Tobey Maguire or Val Kilmer did in their youth (and I loved Val back in the day). But at the same time, he doesn't try to put off a squeaky clean, I'm-really-likable-even-though-this-is-so-forced image like Kobe Bryant does. In the words of one of my least favorite humans, he is what he is. And what he is is pretty damn likeable, without seeming like he is just strictly "a nice guy." He might actually bring something to the table.

Will his career amount to Kirk Cameron's or Fred Savage's? Maybe, but the heat he is taking for not taking a "deeper" role than the one he is taking for his new film 17 Again is just plain stupid and ignorant. Know all those "serious" actors you love these days like Sean Penn and Tom Hanks? Always remember that they were Spicoli and a dude in love with a mermaid. Leonardo DiCaprio was in Critters 3 and Matt Damon was just your bigoted high school bully in School Ties before he was Jason Bourne.

Careers sometimes take time and they sometimes fail, but I'm here to say Zac's won't. He has the talent and likability to do good things and he is picking roles that work well for him. 17 Again, while not French Cinema, is a good in between move at this time in his career. He is stepping away from his High School Musical chracter andt popping up in a somewhat lewd (by critics acoounts) PG-13 comedy. This will keep his fan base happy and maybe turn him on to a few new fans who will think that he can actually act. Remember, Tom Hanks got a Best Actor nomination for his role in Big and Judge Reinhold got rave reviews for his role in Vice Versa. If Zac can pull this off a little bit, it will open some new doors for him. And from there he can take his Shakespeare in Love or Requiem For A Dream (he actually reminds me a lot of Jared Leto, only without the god awful band) role and become that "serious" guy that people so desperately want him to be. He just seems too smart to pick bad roles and he's definitely talented enough to be offered some really great ones.

So best of luck Zac. I'll be rooting for you because I like you and because you'll prove me to be one, wise sage if you are successful. Oh, and if you happen to read this when you come across this blog after google searching yourself, can you put in a good word for me with your hottie GF? I bet she'd like me if she met me.

Thanks kid.