As someone who was a charter member of the original Youth Culture – meaning those who came of age in the 1960s – I can’t quite face the hypocrisy of being a critic of today’s obsession with all things young.

It does get a bit tiring, though, when all it takes is a young face, a hefty bank balance and a controversy or two to earn magazine covers, “film at 11” mentions and ongoing Internet attention.

Take the latest feature offered up by Moviefone, the AOL-owned entertainment site that has moved from offering mere show-time information to being a full-source site full of … well, gossip and other juicy stuff.

The latest: Moviefone’s “25 Under 25: Hollywood’s Hottest Young Stars.” If you want to know about, say, Michael Cera, Moviefone tells you this: He’s a 19-year-old Canadian, he’s “played a teen with amorous feelings for his cousin on TV’s ‘Arrested Development’ ” and “popped his box-office cherry as a teen horn dog in the summer his ‘Superbad,’ and has “the most original voice in comedy since Will Ferrell appeared on ‘SNL.’ ”

That last opinion is the view, at least, of Jason Reitman, the director who cast Cera in his forthcoming film “Juno.”

I’ll say this much: Being able to praise Cera, whose work I do admire, helps me avoid the hypocrisy I mentioned above. Talent is always worth noting.

I’d really rather do that than work up another list of Young Hollywood celebs getting arrested for one thing or another.

Below: Young stars Ellen Page and Michael Cera, shown here in the forthcoming film “Juno,” are members of the Young Hollywood.

Associated Press

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