Review of Charlie Bartlett (2008) by Ernst M — 28 Dec 2011

I have fallen in love with Charlie Bartlett.

Charlie Bartlett, played by Anton Yelchin, has been kicked out of numerous private schools. To try something different, his mother starts him at a public school.

Charlie is always trying to fit in and be accepted by doing different things for his fellow students (for example, at his last private school he had a fake drivers license business). And he does his best at his first public school as well. To become friends with the school bully, they hook up to start a drug business. But this drug business turns into Charlie being the school psychiatrist for the students.

Charlie becomes a hit with everyone: the jocks, cheerleaders, freaks, geeks, everyone. And along the way, he finds a liking to Susan, played by Kat Dennings. And it turns out that Susan is the principal's, played by the always wonderful Robert Downey Jr., daughter.

All in all, Charlie Bartlett is a great movie about teenage confusion, acceptance, finding your true self, popularity, and more importantly, "what you do with that popularity.".