Zac Efron takes the next step with 'Charlie St. Cloud'

MINNEAPOLIS — Young girls adore two things: long-lashed boys resembling girls, and unicorns.

A psychiatrist might speculate on the correlation between the two, but our purpose here is to note that girls in their tender years tend to focus their first puppy love — at least their first celebrity crush — on a boy who isn't threateningly macho. The idealized imaginary boyfriend is sweetly pubescent, downy of cheek, and smooth of chest. (See: "Lautner, Taylor;" "Bieber, Justin;" "Jonas, Nick" et al.)

The inescapable problem for a performer who apprentices as a man-genue is that one cannot remain a Non-Threatening Boy forever. Somewhere along his professional path, biology asserts itself. Beards germinate and the Teen Choice Award torch passes to next-gen Disney Channel stars. The maturing cutester moves on to projects aimed at people old enough to drive, or else. (See: "Cassidy, David;" "Phillippe, Ryan;" "Bloom, Orlando" et al.)

Thus the quandary facing Zac Efron. Having graduated with honors from the world of "High School Musical," the doe-eyed 22-year-old actor must figure out what to do with the rest of his career.

Not that his allure is dimming yet. Efron currently is traveling the country promoting his new movie "Charlie St. Cloud," a tour that brought a record-breaking crowd of 7,000 swooning, squealing fans to his stop at the Mall of America. For the record, Efron structured the PR excursions so that he could spend weekends home in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and "Musical" costar Vanessa Hudgins.

His latest film is a mystical romance that blends a young adult love story and intense drama. He plays a tragedy-traumatized sailing champion, a role that requires him to brawl in a bar but not step onto the dance floor. In fact, he chose the part over the lead in the remake of "Footloose" because "I've been in that world so many times before. I want to challenge myself," he said.

Balancing dramatic performances against lighthearted entertainments puts him on a course like the one followed by his favorite song-and-dance man, Gene Kelly. "When you watch Gene Kelly's movies you want to be him. You wish you could say all the things he said. He had such charisma and style and masculinity. You live vicariously through him."

Efron, who was already appearing in guest roles on several TV series at 15, said he was reluctant to watch "Singin' in the Rain" that year, but his father insisted. It immediately became one of his favorite movies. "When I saw that I actually jumped into tap," he recalled with a smile. Kelly also taught "High School Musical" director/choreographer Kenny Ortega, putting Efron one degree of separation away from his role model.