“Charlie Bartlett”
“Charlie Bartlett” is an odd little film. It’s got some fun in it, some laughs then pathos and finally a nice little tie up ending, but it’s certainly not great. On the edge of good perhaps? And perhaps I can’t make up my mind because I came into the film so sober (in knowledge) on an advance screening ticket, only knowing it dealt with High School and that Robert Downey Jr. was a Principal (odd, it seemed to me, but then, his character is supposed to be out of place here as a principal). But let’s start with Charlie, being named after him it is possible that the film is about him.
Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) is incredibly rich. His father is not in the picture. His mother, played by Hope Davis having a ball, is doped up on prescription meds and totally unaware. She loves Charlie unconditionally and has no connection with the real world, so Charlie is on his own.
Charlie’s problem: all he really wants is to be popular, and since he is a little odd, with a strange little voice, he does whatever it takes to achieve this. Example: when the film opens he is kicked out of another private school, this time for making fake id’s, so now it’s off to public school where his suit and tie appearance will predictably not go over so well. So he eventually goes for just the coat, having removed the Latin inscribed patch, and instead of Id’s he pedals prescription drugs. But Charlie’s moral compass is just a little off. He is really a nice guy, and he isn’t so much selling these drugs to get kids high, and definitely not to make money. In fact he first, before prescribing, will counsel with each student in the boys bathroom, each with their own stall, giving it a confessional connotation. You see, Charlie really does want to help. And he’s quite intelligent, as well as something of a virtuoso on the piano (he has at least one incredibly funny and talented moment here). He just doesn’t have the oversight, or guidance to realize that he is just a kid and that, while popularity is important, it’s what you do with it that trumps that (sorry, I’m sort of paraphrasing a piece of dialogue from the film that spells out the point).
And of course there is a love story, here with the principal’s daughter, played with a wonderful ease by Kat Dennings. Susan is an artistic beauty who paints her nails black but also sings and runs the drama club. Her relationship with her Dad the principal has seen better days. It mostly seems like his fault, he drinks a whole lot, mom isn’t in the picture, and he doesn’t seem to communicate with his daughter any better than he does his disrespecting students. But what is his problem? Failed marriage and job dissatisfaction and he seems to make the wrong decision at every angle. Who do you think will finally show him the error of his ways? So these three must find a way to help each other.
And along the way we will have such predictable scenes as the first day at school. This will be followed shortly by Charlie’s transformation into someone very popular. Then, tragedy and comeback, all ending happily for just about everyone. We will know the characters; the jock, the bully, the mentally challenged kid, the village bicycle cheerleader, and Charlie will help them all. Really this kid is quite amazing, sort of a messed up Ferris Bueller, and in it’s most joyous and absurd moments I was reminded of the carefree, over the top classic 80’s high school films such as “Ferris Bueller’s day off” but “Charlie Bartlett” has too many serious moments and issues: the one parent household, teenage suicide, alcoholism, prescription drugs (actually the prescription drugs thread is mostly funny and a nice little jab to the field of psychiatrists) to be a carefree 80’s film, instead it combines moments of high school comedy and awkwardness with family issues and all to come up with a decent film, good for a few laughs and a memorably quirky title performance but far from a great film.
Story: C+ It’s a high school movie! Sorta a dramedy, boils down to solving the problems of Charlie and Principal Gardner. Often funny, often predictable, let’s call it a C +
Acting: B Good enough, and in fact with a few incredible comic acting moments from Anton Yelchin in the title role.
Visuals: C Blah…
Originality/Innovation: C Has a high school film lambasted our prescription drug issues? Other than that, many have already subverted authority then doubled back to teach us a lesson.
Enjoyability Grade: B The sold out crowd (tix’s were free!) clapped at the end, but some of these people probably haven’t been to the theatre since “Speed 2”
Overall Grade: B- I did laugh out loud a few times. That’s worth something right?
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