Review of Charlie Bartlett (2008) by Thomas D — 07 Sep 2010

Anton Yelchin (that kid from the Star Trek remake and Terminator Salvation) stars as Charlie Bartlett, the example private school, Ivy League drop-out is now enrolled at the local low-grade public high school.

At first he doesn't fit in and gets his ass kicked every day by the school bully. Charlie soon finds a way to quickly rise to celebrity status within the schools absent minded population by bringing his prescription of Ritalin to school and starts his own therapy sessions in the boys bathroom! Over night he goes from Zero to Hero and even has the bully who kicked his ass working for him as his right hand man.

He also falls for the principle's (Robert Downey Jr.) daughter who is a student at his High school as well. Basically he gets himself into all sorts of predicaments and quickly establishes an enemy of the Principle himself! It was sort of a new age Ferris Bueller with a twist.

He is the same kind of anti hero almost as Ferris but he actually wants to be in school instead of away from it. He needs to be at school to sell them drugs! His home life is a bit obscure. Charlie lives in a huge, fancy mansion with his mother who decides to drink her sorrows away and neglects the important things in life.

She is surprisingly still a very cool mom. We figure out early on in the movie that Charlie's father is in prison, we learn later on why he is there. Charlie seems to be the perfect therapist to all of the high schools students, but things go terribly wrong when a depressed student overdoses on the Ritalin that is issued by Charlie.

He is suspended by the principle and an all out war of school ethics and morals begins. An interesting movie with many colorful characters. It did have a slightly unbelievable side to it but remained in touch with reality and the student body the entire time.

It was a coming of age film that really does touch on important topics of growing up and becoming an active member of society. Charlie's sly antics and unpredictable outbursts make seeing the morals ironically alluring.

It delivers a message that no matter how different you are and how strange or off-beat your family life is, it is always possible to fit in. Robert Downey Jr. did a great job as the stern Principle Gardner, but at the same time he is trying to be a father which proves to be a huge challenge all in its own.

Everybody seems to have their own personal demons. Sometimes people, Principles, students, anybody that is anybody that just simply need an ear to talk to, sometimes people need somebody like Charlie, somebody to pose as their own personal therapist.

I even saw that rapper Drake up in there lol. I really liked all of the acting and the comedy involved and it turned out to be a very enjoyable movie. 3.0 starz.