Charlie Bartlett Release Date: February 22, 2008 Studio: MGM Director: Jon Poll Screenwriter: Gustin Nash Starring: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, Tyler Hilton,
Jake Epstein, Lauren Collins, Dylan Taylor, Mark Rendall, Kat Dennings, Derek
McGrath Genre: Comedy MPAA Rating: R (for language, drug content and brief nudity) Official Website:
CharlieBartlett-themovie.com
Plot Summary: Among the classic high-school rebels of American movies,
there have been truants, delinquents, pranksters and con artists – but there has
never been anyone quite like Charlie Bartlett. An optimist, a truth-teller and a
fearless schemer, when Charlie slyly positions himself as his new school's
resident "psychiatrist," dishing out both honest advice and powerful
prescriptions, he has no idea the ways in which he will transform his
classmates, the school principal and the potential of his own life.
This is the premise of the provocative, Prozac-era comedy, "Charlie Bartlett,"
in which a wealthy teenager's foray into bathroom-stall psychiatry becomes a
smart, funny and touching one-man battle against the loneliness, angst and
hypocrisy of the modern world.
Anton Yelchin ("Alpha Dog") stars as Charlie Bartlett, who has been kicked out
of every private school he ever attended. And now that he's moved on to public
school, he's simply getting pummeled. But when Charlie discovers that the kids
who surround him – the outcast and the popular alike – are secretly in desperate
need, his entrepreneurial spirit takes over. Hanging up his shingle in the Boys'
restroom, Charlie becomes an underground, not to mention under-aged, shrink who
listens to the private confessions of his schoolmates, and makes the imprudent
decision to hand out the pills he's proffered from his own psychiatric sessions.
Meanwhile, at home, Charlie keeps charming his way out of an inevitable
confrontation with his adoring but utterly overwhelmed mother Marilyn (Hope
Davis.)
Then, Charlie Bartlett makes his big mistake: falling in love with the beautiful
and bold daughter (Kat Dennings) of the school's increasingly disenchanted
Principal (Robert Downey, Jr.), who is hot on his trail. As Charlie Bartlett's
world and fledgling psychiatric practice unravel, he begins to discover there's
a whole lot more to making a difference than handing out pills
EN 5 Second Review:
A nice little comedy drama, good date movie for young
people
The
charmers of 'Charlie Bartlett' make it a real kick Rex Reed: NY Observer
One positive note about the movie business: As reliable as
it is at guaranteeing a surfeit of crap, it still promises an occasional
pleasant surprise. Gratefully, I salute the inventiveness, imagination
and cockeyed teenage humor in a delightful new movie called Charlie
Bartlett. It picks up where Juno left off...more
This
high school dramedy feels strangely earthbound, despite an
articulate script and an engaging cast Jan Stuart: Newsday
In last year's "Fierce People," Anton Yelchin played a teen
of modest means who is welcomed into the lap of American
aristocracy. In "Charlie Bartlett," the dimpled young actor
plays a scion of enormous wealth who charms his way into the
hearts of the have-less...more
EN 5 Second Review:
A nice little comedy drama, good date movie for young
people
This
high school dramedy feels strangely earthbound, despite an
articulate script and an engaging cast