Charlie Bartlett (2008)

Wonderful Movie

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Taking its cue from John Hughes classics such as "The Breakfast Club" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", this is a very good coming of age comedy-drama. It has a rather strong, clever and often insightful script by Gustin Nash and the material is well handled by Jon Poll in his directorial debut. The film is not entirely original but that has never bothered me if the relevant plot devices are used effectively, which is the case here. The script deals with the issues that many teens face on a daily basis well and it does not hesitate to highlight the fact that many adults are as screwed up and confused as the younger generation, more so in some cases. Even though there are things in the film that do not really ring true, the characters nevertheless seem more like real people than those in the less intelligent, raunchier teen films of the 2000s and beyond, some of which I have to say that I do like.The film stars Anton Yelchin in an excellent performance as the title character, a 17-year-old aspiring entrepreneur who has been kicked out of every private school in the US worth mentioning and a few more besides. The scheme that got him kicked out of his last school was the operation a laminating press in his dorm room for the purposes of making fake driving licences so he's nothing if not enterprising. Seeing as she has tried everything else, his mother decides to send him to the public school West Summit High School in their hometown. Charlie is a fiercely intelligent, friendly and charming boy but, like many teenagers, he craves popularity and believes that his stunts are the best way to go about achieving it. His situation is further complicated by the fact that his mother Marilyn, played wonderfully by Hope Davis, is recovering from severe depression - triggered by his father's imprisonment for tax evasion - and often seems to be in another world. As such, Charlie is forced to be the adult and take care of her, which means that he is missing out the traditional teen experience in many ways. This may account for the fact that he is a little, in his words, abnormal but, then again, most people are. Yelchin is a great actor and I loved his work in the miniseries Taken and other television series when he was younger so it's nice to finally see him in a film that I not only enjoyed but didn't hate. After becoming high on Ritalin which was prescribed to him to control his non-existent ADD, Charlie gets a bit of a brainwave. He decides to go into business with the school bully Murphy Bevins and sell prescription drugs such as Xanax and Zoloft to the student body. In order to obtain them, he tells various psychiatrists that he is suffering from a range of disorders. He also sets up a counselling service in the boys' bathroom where he dispenses advice as well as drugs. One thing that I loved about the film is that it did not hesitate to examine the consequences of Charlie's actions whereas a lesser one would have skirted around the issue or even ignored it altogether. I have no doubt that his intentions were good but he is not a trained professional. The danger of giving out prescription drugs when you do not fall into that category is well illustrated when the incredibly depressed Kip Crombwell attempts suicide by overdosing on the anti-depressants provided to him by Charlie. After this, Charlie decides to end his drug business but continues with the counselling service free of charge as he believes that it is the right thing to do.Robert Downey, Jr. is superb as the school principal Nathan Gardner, a bitter alcoholic whose life took a turn for the worse when he found out that his wife was having an affair. His professional life isn't all sunshine and lollipops either since he was much happier when he was a history teacher who was not burdened with the same level of responsibility. Downey is always at his best when he is playing damaged characters and this is no exception. Kat Dennings is good as the principal's daughter and Charlie's obligatory love interest Susan but this was probably the least interesting and most clichéd part of the film so I wish that it had not been given quite as much attention. Tyler Hilton is great as Murphy, who eventually becomes friends with Charlie as opposed to merely his business partner. The bully displays a softer side when he admits that he would like to go on an actual date with the queen bee Whitney Drummond rather than simply have sex with her. The film also features good performances from Derek McGrath as Superintendent Sedgwick and Mark Rendall as Kip. One good indication of the fact that it was shot in Toronto is the presence of not one but three stars of "Degrassi: The Next Generation", to which I am addicted: Jake Epstein (the best actor on the series whom I would have liked to have seen in a bigger role here), Lauren Collins and Aubrey Graham (better known these days as the rapper Drake).Overall, this is a very enjoyable film. Much like the admittedly considerably better "Crimes and Misdemeanors", its message is essentially that life can and often is unfair but it is worth living for the moments of happiness that it offers.

This movie is brilliant. It still makes me laugh having seen it about five times, I laugh out loud when I just think about some of the scenes. As well as being incredibly funny it's moving, and deals with some important issues faced by teenagers today. It's also very well acted all around, particularly by Anton Yelchin (who most people know as Chekov in the new star trek movies).I've spent quite a lot of time telling people about this film and no one seems to have heard of it which makes me really sad because it's such a good filmI honestly can't praise it enough. Just watch it. Now!

Charlie Bartlett is this generation's Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It's a sweet, uplifting coming-of-age film that had some social messages and can very well be a true story at most high schools. Granted, this is not the best teen film, but for what it is, it's good and often compelling despite the story skipping around a lot.Jon Poll's film is about a rich guy who has been expelled from every private school so he is enrolled in a public school. Being unpopular at first, he changes that once he becomes the unofficial psychiatrist in the bathroom stall administering drugs. There he receives the negative attention of Principal Gardner and the positive attention of his daughter, Susan.The acting is pretty good. Anton Yelchin delivers a solid performance as Charlie and is pretty convincing. However, the show belongs to Downey Jr. This is his last film before his complete comeback with Iron Man, but he is excellent as the alcoholic Principal Gardner.Overall, this is not the perfect teen film, but it manages to deliver a touching story that will ring true to many high school/college kids out there. It's smartly written and has some fine dialog. The story sometimes skips over the place, but if you can catch up it's no big deal. I rate this film 9/10.

I can understand what direction it's trying to go but isn't all that absorbing. The plot is about not the average drug dealer and the main reason why he sells drugs is not because of the money but because of popularity. It's starts off alright but loses it's edge as the film progresses and becomes very narrow in a negative way. For a comedy it wasn't funny and the direction and pacing isn't well done, like I said I know what it's trying to do but doesn't really accomplishes that task. Also for the most part this is a very predictable movie with characters that are not memorable. The premise would have been alright but nothing is really absorbing or got my attention, but left me bored most of the way through. Maybe because of the dull and generic direction it takes, it isn't a terrible movie but there are better movies with a similar premise.5.8/10