Michael Cera

Child stars rarely become adult ones.But Michael Cera is making the transition with few missteps. Currently, he’s firmly rooted in his teen star phase, and he’s now 21 years old.

Last year at Sundance, I took in the mighty sweet “Paper Heart,” a mockumentary staring adorable comedian Charlyne Yi. Cera played the love interest and a facsimile of himself. The film had fun with his goofy stardom and traded well on the chemistry between the two young faces. Cera has the kind of look that sells most anything.

But can he stretch that magnetism this weekend with “Youth in Revolt,” the film adaptation of C.D. Payne’s absurbist novel?“Revolt” is directed by Miguel Arteta, who might be perfect for the material having given us the weirdly entertaining “Chuck and Buck” back in 2000. Cera takes on the crazy role in “Revolt” of a sex-crazed teen named Nick Twisp, whose badder that bad alter ego he calls Francois Dillinger. I’ve not seen the film (having missed the screening, darn), but the clips look outlandish. The trailer is available on EI.

Cera may be up the challenge here having almost perfected the art of subtle emoting. Remember his work in “Juno” where his expressions and reactions (not to mention his impossible white legs) to the clever Ellen Page, playing Juno, felt so sincere one wondered whether Cera was acting at all. Routinely, Cera has stayed within his comfort zone, taking on roles close to home.

In 2007’s “Superbad” Cera starred opposite Jonah Hill. It’s a pairing bound to become Hollywood legend. As things got farther and farther out of hand for Cera, playing Evan, and Hill, as Seth, Cera played the straight-man, offering up a logical foil for Hill’s unhinged antics. The credibility of the film rested largely on the appearance of these two leads, mainly because they looked the part. While Hill was a little older, Cera was not that far in age from the character he was playing. Compare the “High School Musical” cast—Zac Efron is entering his 23^rd year!

Just a glimpse at the zany cast of “Youth in Revolt” reveals something most telling—everyone will work with Cera. Of note is Steve Buscemi playing Nick’s (Cera) low class dad. Hot comedian Zach Galifianalkis (“The Hangover”) plays Nick’s mother’s latest boyfriend. By the way, Jean Smart plays Nick’s mother and like she did in “Garden State” is hooked up with a younger man (good for her). A lean Ray Liotta is back in uniform playing a cop who is described on the “Youth” website as Francois’ “arch-nemisis.” The film looks wild, but there are pitfalls. Will it be too over the top? But with Cera’s significant box office draw, does it matter if the film is any good?

Cera must be careful. If “Youth” is a disaster, then will his shine dull immediately? I doubt it. Just looking ahead Cera is set to reappear as the lead in the next Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead”) project entitled “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” I’ll try to get that trailer up on EI as soon as it is available. My thought is that Cera could survive a cinematic misstep (“Year One” may have already been one strike), he’s just that likeable. But will he do something beyond playing a teenager? The next phase of his career will be the transition from teen star to adult actor or just plain movie star. Can Cera play more than just Cera?That question remains…