Every film about teenagers over the last year wants to be compared to the critical and financial success that was “Juno”. While “ Charlie Bartlett” attempts to balance school high jinks with some more serious life-related issues, it doesn’t have the ultimate depth that “Juno” reached with its pregnant teenager plot. “Charlie Bartlett” could more appropriately be termed a cross between the landmark school skipping story “Ferris Buehler’s Day Off” and the anti-establishment Christian Slater helmed “Pump Up the Volume”. With Buehler’s nonchalance and charm, along with Slater’s penchant for getting into trouble, Charlie Bartlett is an interesting kid that’s worth spending a movie to get to know.
Young actor Anton Yelchin plays Charlie Bartlett, a privileged teenager who has been kicked out of several private schools for being too inventive for his own good. Going by his own moral code - which permits selling fake Ids and school fight tapes - he is every principal’s most difficult to control student. Having to try a public high school, Charlie becomes the object of a bullies attention and attracts the interest of a drama club girl named Susan who’s also the principal’s daughter. Principal Gardner (Robert Downey Jr.; “Iron Man”) has a hard enough time controlling his school without Charlie creating all new problems. Charlie finds his niche at the school, by counseling his fellow students in the men’s bathroom, while also prescribing actual psychiatric medication he’s received from his own doctor.
Charlie seems to be going in both directions, having the time of his life at certain moments while barely surviving the next. The cool thing about the character is that he never loses his almost geeky, ultra polished demeanor. There are moments of goofy yet insightful humor, including when his psychiatrist prescribes him Ritalin as a way to see if he has ADD. Downey Jr.’s character rises above being simply the evil principal - showing the audience he is an unhappy person who is often in over his head managing the school or his own daughter. Both Hope Davis (“The Hoax”) as Charlie’s mother and Kat Dennings (“The 40 Year Old Virgin”) as Susan, challenge the audience with unique characters who both have special relationships with Charlie.
The film doesn’t have a snappiness to it like the more superior high school films. Sometimes the pace slackens and some of the serious moments have a hit-or-miss quality but eventually Charlie does something to get the audience‘s attention back. Overall, its another interesting teenage film that’s more than just for laughs.
Rated R for language, drug content and brief nudity.
