The great geek-off
Ever since he stole our hearts as the Tommy Bahama–bedecked George Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, Brampton boy Michael Cera has been Hollywood’s go-to geek. Not since Lewis and Gilbert took their revenge has any actor done so much to make dorks look cool. He did it in Superbad, then he did it in Juno, then in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and so on. For a while, Cera ruled supreme over all things dweeb, but some recent developments in movieland—namely Jesse Eisenberg’s amazing performance as ruthless Facebook über-geek Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network—have us wondering whether Cera and the era of the lovable Poindexter is officially over.
To settle the debate, we ask that you vote for your preferred geek, but first, a few points to consider.
• Big-screen showdown: Rumour has it that Cera was keen to play Facebook’s morally questionable creator in The Social Network. Truthfully, we can’t imagine anyone nailing the unlikely combination of intense nerdiness and obscene A-holeism quite like Eisenberg. Insiders say he’s a shoe-in for a best actor nomination come Oscar season, and we think he deserves it. (Advantage: Eisenberg)
• Small-screen chops: If you haven’t seen every last episode of Cera in Arrested Development, we suggest you stop reading this blog entry immediately and get thee to a DVD store. And if you haven’t seen a single episode of Eisenberg’s short-lived TV series Get Real, well, you probably shouldn’t bother because it wasn’t very good. (Advantage: Cera)
• Diva factor: Cera is the infamous Arrested Development movie holdout. That’s right. Ron Howard, Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi and David Cross were in, but Michael Cera wasn’t sure. As if! We needn’t point out that the guy wouldn’t even have a career without AD, but we will anyway. But Eisenberg has also been known to outgrow his britches. During the promotional tour for Adventureland, he answered a question about his co-star Kristen Stewart’s relationship with Robert Pattinson by pointing out that there are people starving in Africa. Oh, get over yourself. (Advantage: neither)
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No mention of Eisenberg’s solid performances in either Roger Dodger or The Squid and the Whale? (both great films). I’m detecting a little GTA bias here.
I can’t believe people are still trying to lump these two together. We’re asked who we prefer, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Cera scores higher in the poll, but if you’ve seen more Eisenberg performances outside of Zombieland, you might just reconsider your vote.
October 5, 2010 at 10:06 am | by BootheWhat was wrong with Zombieland? A goofy-zombie movie….true the premise has been done, but still a laugh riot.
October 5, 2010 at 5:26 pm | by sTuBByAh, such a shame these two are getting pitted against each other. There is actually a clip somewhere on YouTube where MC, while doing press for Pilgrim, was quite complimentary towards Jesse and shared a funny story how he sometimes gets mistaken for him. I wonder if the two have ever met before? Anyway, I am glad Jesse is getting some spotlight for his good work and I’m still going to be a firm supporter of Cera too.
Perhaps we need a “both” button?
October 5, 2010 at 7:41 pm | by Chris@ sTuBBY
You’re right, Zombieland is a fun movie. I mentioned it because it’s probably the film that most people recognize him from, and I’m guessing his performance in this film kickstarted the Michael Cera comparisons.
October 6, 2010 at 11:42 am | by BoothePeople of the us!! Jesse is really a lot better than Micheal! Vote for jesse!!! please think about how awesome zombiland and the social network was!!
October 6, 2010 at 5:58 pm | by China DollI really like both of these actors. But Jesse is the obvious choice. Micheal has been in less films i believe. To have 2 people going against each other without them voting i think is terrible. But if the world really wnats to know which ones better it is up to them. Hope yall make the right choice wich is guess what? JESSE!!
October 6, 2010 at 6:06 pm | by BayAre you out of your mind?? Vote for jesse!!! He was outstanding in the social network. Vote for eisenberg not cera! We all know jesse actually deserves to win
October 6, 2010 at 6:15 pm | by roseRose is right!! And so is Bay!! Are you people not reading the info about the Micheal??!!!
October 6, 2010 at 6:17 pm | by NicoleJESSE!!!! vote for him! we dont need a both button cuz only one(and thats jesse)will win!dont be surprised if cera loses.
October 6, 2010 at 6:25 pm | by cookie doughjesse is totally winning!! dont you people wnat to be on the winning team!!
October 6, 2010 at 6:27 pm | by chattin up the treehaha…jesse is winning. sucks to be u michael cera supporters!
October 6, 2010 at 6:27 pm | by skysooooo awesome!! i hope jesse wins!!! he is totally amazing and unbelievably hot!!
October 6, 2010 at 6:29 pm | by igloos rulehave a nice try gettin cera’s votes up. some people are sayin michael is going to win but thats NOT going to happen. cuz jesse is SO much better.
October 6, 2010 at 6:30 pm | by zombieland fanJesse is so cute!! zombie fan is so right and we all know it!!
October 6, 2010 at 6:32 pm | by in luv with jeYAY! over 500 votes for jesse. and indeed igloos rule! he is SO HOT. cera, you are going down cuz theres alot more eisenberg fans than cera.
October 6, 2010 at 6:33 pm | by snl