Review of Charlie Bartlett
Hilarious Teen Comedy Starring Anton Yelchin
Charlie Bartlett is a bright 17-year-old who has been dejected from every private school for selling fake ID’s and other countless illegal endeavors that he hopes will gain favor with his classmates.
Directed by John Poll (Meet the Parents and Death to Smoochy) and written by up-and-coming writer Gustin Nash, the film is a hilarious look into the life of a rich, jaded teenager who will do anything for the approval of his fellow students.
Anton Yelchin portrays Charlie Bartlett – a cross between Ferris Bueller and Tom Cruise’s Joel Goodsen in Risky Business – and gives an entertaining performance as a desperate, yet intoxicating protagonist.
Yelchin is starring in two big blockbusters this summer, recently in Star Trek as the legendary Pavel Chekov and as Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation released on May 21.
This clever teen comedy features teen drug use, the use of a boys restroom in a high school as a cross between confessional and therapist's couch and a school dance with every student hopped up on Ritalin. Becoming the school's self-anointed therapist actually pays off in the end for Charlie who decides to explore a career in psychotherapy.
Two Desperate Characters in Charlie Bartlett
Even though Charlie Bartlett is based on the comic exploits of its lead character, it really follows the desperation of two characters – the confused Bartlett and his new public school principal Nathan Gardner, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.
Bartlett is transferred to a public school for the first time after he is expelled from all the nearby private schools. He is desperate for attention and approval while Gardner is desperate to return to his roots as a history teacher where he was truly happy.
Downey brought his usual sarcastic, cool demeanor to Gardner who realizes that his students don’t respect him and often acts snide and distant when dealing with them. Gardner, a recovering alcoholic, also begins drinking every day after work to dull his pain, a trait that Downey presented viscerally having had his own struggles with substance abuse.
Yelchin is hilarious as Bartlett and tender in his performance of a boy dissatisfied with his life, who resents his parents and wants to be liked no matter the cost.
The Synthesis of Charlie Bartlett
The unique lead character in the film came out of his family situation. He rarely speaks about his father who is in prison for tax fraud and since he was a young boy Charlie has had to take care of his mother.
Marilyn Bartlett (Hope Davis) acts as mother, wife and best friend to Charlie. Before being sent off to prison Charlie’s father asked him to take care of his mother, who turned to alcohol and anti-depressant pills after her husband went to jail.
Davis convincingly portrays Charlie’s doped up mother who spends her days on the tennis court or wandering the house with a wine glass clenched in her hand.
Certain scenes throughout the film show the peculiar relationship between Charlie and his mother. When she learns he is being expelled from a private school, her first instinct is to write an endowment to his private school to cover everything like a friend, and throughout the film they share dinners and time playing together on the piano where they seem more like a husband and wife than mother and son.
For his entire life he has been expected to act like an adult, and now he is rebelling.
Although Charlie starts to relax after he begins dating Gardner’s teenager daughter Susan, played by Kat Dennings, the sultry brunette from Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.
Enjoyable Rating: 7 out of 10 for an entertaining teen comedy.
MPAA Rating: Rated R for language, drug content and brief nudity.
Minutes: 97 minutes
Cast:
Anton Yelchin as Charlie Bartlett
Robert Downey Jr. as Principal Nathan Gardner
Hope Davis as Marilyn Bartlett
Kat Dennings as Susan Gardner
Tyler Hilton as Murphey Bivens
If You Like “Charlie Bartlett” You’ll Also Like: Ferris Bueller's Day Off or Risky Business
Charlie Bartlett now on DVD
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