Yes, it's believable (enough) & no, it's not Ferris Beuhler

DVDs:

	• Charlie Bartlett Hope Davis, Jr. Robert Downey MGM (Video & DVD), 2008 average customer review:based on 26 reviews view larger image
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Saved By Some Good Performances

"Charlie Bartlett" is a fairly decent high school film that aims to be as quirky and effortlessly funny as Juno and Superbad but falls short, despite some good performances. The beginning of the movie is utterly stale, and made me wonder what I had gotten myself into. Anton Yelchin isn't great as the title character, but he grows on you by the end of the film. The rest of the cast is generally good, though Kat Dennings is great as always and Robert Downey Jr. is phenomenal, and really carried this film on his back from "meh" into "not bad" status.

The story is mildly interesting and had a lot of potential, but it all felt a bit 'too much.' Not many of the crazier sequences--both dramatic or comedic--really feel earned, and again they're only saved by the good acting performances. Most, if not all, of the side characters are more interesting, more sympathetic, and funnier than Charlie Bartlett himself. While the end of the movie is considerably better than the beginning, I'm not sure I'd come back to this for anything other than seeing Kat Dennings and Robert Downey Jr. act their pants off. And this is coming from someone who is more interested in the scripts of movies than anything else.

5/10

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An entertaining look at what's troubling teens today

The 2007 film Charlie Bartlett presents a hero much like the Ferris Bueller we know and love, but for the next generation. The film runs 97 minutes and takes a look at today's youth and its view of prescription drugs, figures of authority and what it often takes just to fit in.

Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) is a teenager who has been kicked out of numerous private schools because of illegal activities he engages in to gain popularity. Forced to enter public school, Charlie quickly finds a way to win the admiration of his new peers. Using his family's on-call psychiatrist, he pretends to exhibit the behavioral problems of other students in order to get medication which he then sells in his "office," the boys' bathroom. During the year, he falls for the beautiful Susan Gardner (Kat Dennings) whose father happens to be the principal (Robert Downey, Jr.) As Charlie grows a rapport with his classmates, Principal Gardner disapproves of Bartlett more and more as his own authority starts to dwindle.

Director Jon Poll has produced films including The 40 Year Old Virgin and Meet the Fockers and his comedic talent does not fall short in this film. The stellar cast, with Downey Jr.'s dry sarcasm and Yelchin's goofy charm, is part of what makes this movie work. This is writer Gustin Nash's first film script to be produced, which will hopefully inspire many more from him.

What I find most appealing about Charlie Bartlett is its sense of humor. Unlike other movies which stage an entire scene merely to set up a single joke, Yelchin will unexpectedly burst out in song or spontaneously dance around his yard in only his underwear. The film uses plenty of wit to address the issues that face today's youth and its antics had me laughing repeatedly.

I found it extremely difficult to find a character in this movie that I did not like. Although, believe me, the critic in me did certainly try. Charlie Bartlett is just too loveable. He's the sort of person who you begin to feel could do anything. Even the bully, Murphey Bivens (Tyler Hilton) though he starts out as the obvious villain grows into a character we all root for in the end.

This film gives the same message of "We're all in this together" that High School Musical does. Ultimately, the quirky guy, the popular girl, the bully, and the loner all discover that yes, high school sucks, but if they can't be there for each other, who will?

My main criticism of this movie is its portrayal of adults. Downey Jr.'s character is seen drunk, waving around a handgun; Mrs. Bartlett is popping pills and the various shrinks Charlie sees are too stupid to see through his scheme to get prescription drugs.

Adults are portrayed as irrational and unintelligent while it is the teenagers who pull everything together in the end. The older people just don't get a chance to redeem themselves in this film, which is a characteristic not unlike John Hughes's The Breakfast Club.

With my years of teen angst and desire for "happy pills" that my mom just wouldn't buy me tucked away in my memory, this film was very easy to relate to. It gives recognition to a lot of problems teens face that society likes to ignore. It also gives adults a unique way to rekindle their youth and discover what it means to be a teenager today.

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Daughter loves it

A gift for my 19 yr. old and she loves it. He is charming and the show is a remiinder of the old Ferris B. days.

Surprisingly Good

I don't think I can add much to the reviews already submitted. I just want to weigh in with my rating. This is a really good movie.

Yes, it's believable (enough) & no, it's not Ferris Beuhler

Ferris and Charlie are both charismatic high school boys with authority issues and there the similarity ends. First of all, the big difference between Charlie Bartlett and Ferris Beuhler's Day Off lies in the movies' fundamental attitudes. Ferris Beuhler, a straight-forward comedy, is about the adventures of a charming high school guy who cleverly and somewhat endearingly cons his way out of every mess and challenge that attempts to thwart his intention of taking the day off from school. Charlie Bartlett, on the other hand, is essentially a drama, dealing with the struggles of a sensitive, yet traumatized adolescent boy whose lack of effective parenting sets the stage for a crisis that ultimately changes his life. While I admit that there's a preposterous quality to the idea of a high school kid setting up shop as his school's resident therapist and psychiatrist, I was drawn to the movie for just that reason. We live in times where the unlikely appears far more often than we expect. The rules are no longer fixed and the daily headlines bear out the breakneck speed with which our culture is careening off into increasingly unlikely scenarios. Was 9/11 unlikely? Colombine? Today's financial upheavals?

I found the Charlie character played well - a good mix of sly, adaptive bravado with arresting innocence and vulnerability. Nor did I find the mother unbelievable. In fact, I've known a lot of mothers with startlingly similar personalities, so if anything, her character troubled me because of what it evoked from my experience, not because of its failure to be able to come off as credible. The school bully was a bit more two-dimensional, although it was amusing how he and Charlie resolved their differences. Robert Downey Jr. was quite effective as the unraveling man in a position of upholding authority and order.

I think my biggest problem with the film - a relatively minor one - was how neatly everything fell into place at the end. Yes, it could have happened, but not so quickly and conveniently. Charlie's struggles - and those of the characters around him - would likely have taken much more time, work and pain to resolve. Still, this is a worthwhile film, regardless of your generation, as long as you're open to wide-reaching possibilities.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The kids at Western Summit High have "issues," and newcomer Charlie Bartlett is coming to their rescue. With a briefcase full of prescription pills and a head full of pop psychology, this rebel with a cause brings hilarious help to the student body and unending grief to their neurotic principal, Mr. Gardner (Robert Downey, Jr.). Suddenly, Charlie is the hottest man on campus and he's even caught the eye of Gardner's sultry daughter. An outrageous send-up of today's Prozac generation, Charlie Bartlett has your prescription for laugh-out-loud insanity!

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