"Dorky Cute" the new "Hot"; I know I'm not Alone!

Alright, so I was always a big fan of Brad Pitt in his hay-day, (I guess the man is still hot, so perhaps I mean the dawn of his hay-day, pre-Angelina Jolie?), and when I was 14 naturally I adorned my bedroom walls with posters of “NSYNC” members and Jonathon Jackson (Young and the Restless anyone?). But even then, I secretly coveted Joey Fatone more than Justin Timberlake, and I always thought Joshua Jackson’s post Mighty Ducks baby fat was still cute as can be.
Oftentimes I found myself drooling silently over the underdog, the dorky best friend, the Paul Finch over the Stifler (also known as “Shit-break” of the American Pie franchise). And I eventually learned that I was simply a fan of the “dorky cute” over the conventional “hot”.
Although, network television is still trying to groom us to swoon over the glossy perfection and symmetrical pretty-boy faces of those such as Chace Crawford of Gossip Girl fame, or the stereo-typical PC of the new Bravo reality series NYC Prep, oh and of course, the lovely locks of McDreamy in Grey’s Anatomy, but the film world has taken a slight departure from the convention, and the leading man has evolved into a more well-rounded (sometimes, literally round) character, with more depth and imperfect bone structure.
This summer has already seen the likes of the ever-action-ready Christian Bale in Terminator: Salvation”, but in the highly anticipated sequel to last summer’s blockbuster Transformers, a young man known as Shia Labeouf steals the screen as the unlikely action hero. With his comic timing, and boyish features one would not equate his stature with past action-film standards, but Labeouf definitely holds his own, and looks pretty darn adorable doing it.
However, there will always be more “dorky cutes” in the comedic arena. It’s almost like the laws of physics or something; one guy’s “funny” is almost directly proportionate to your typical action hero’s “hot”. But funny is hot! And romantic comedies are just the platform for dorky-cute to become the new hot.
Last year we watched the lovable Ben Stone (played by Seth Rogen) woo the hot-blonde girl he knocked up in the aptly titled Knocked Up. And then we watched two befuddled teenagers fight for their rights to get their love interests liquored-up during the end of the year party in Super Bad, and gosh darn’t if some of us couldn’t help falling in love with the desperate McLovin. And it’s hard not to want to see two friends make a porno when it’s played by the lovably goofy Seth Rogen (as you can see Rogen gets two votes with me).
From Michael Cera to Jason Segel, Forty Year Old Virgin to Pineapple Express, the real boy-next-door has taken center-stage, and I’d like to personally thank Judd Apatow for contributing as a harbinger of the “dorky cute” revolution.