Charlie Bartlett Movie Review

Written by Sean McBride

Thursday, 21 February 2008

A Ferris Bueller for the new millennium. “Charlie Bartlett” MGM Pictures Directed by Jon Poll Starring Anton Yelchin, Hope David, Kat Dennings, Tyler Hilton and Robert Downey, Jr. Rated R   3 Stars         “Charlie Bartlett” is one of the more-appealing teen comedies that I’ve seen in quite some time. It features some very charismatic actors in the major roles and a story that pulls off the trick of being relevant to today’s youth without turning into a preachy After School Special. It’s equal parts satire and hormonal melodrama. Teenagers should get a real kick out of this film. Not so fast. “Charlie Bartlett” is inexplicably rated R, which means that the teens who will like the film won’t be able to see it, while full-grown adults will skip it because they won’t care about Charlie Bartlett’s high school adventures. Somebody in the marketing department clearly didn’t think this one through. Anton Yelchin plays the title character, a smart and enterprising kid with a knack for getting into trouble. He’s just been expelled from a fancy private school, so his mother (Hope Davis) enrolls him in a public school. Charlie shows up in a preppy blazer and is immediately beaten up by the school bully (Tyler Hilton). Charlie picks himself up and starts anew, turning into the studentbody’s psychiatrist. He sets up shop in the boys bathroom where angst-ridden teenagers come and tell him their problems. Charlie has access to plenty of prescription drugs thanks to his mother who keeps a family shrink on speed dial, so Charlie passes the meds along to his “patients” sitting in the next stall. Enter Robert Downey, Jr. playing the school principal. The principal knows that his new student is up to something, and his fears are compounded when his daughter (Kat Dennings) starts to fall for young Charlie. The first rule of school survival: You should never anger the school principal—especially when the principal is a mean alcoholic. “Charlie Bartlett” will remind most people of a “Ferris Bueller” for the new millennium. It’s a bit more jaded, and the problems are a bit more serious, but Charlie is such a cheerful dude that it’s hard not to get caught up in his adventure. The cast is superb (especially Downey, Jr.) and the story is very appealing, although the tone can be a bit inconsistent at times. Run and tell all your teenage friends: “Charlie Bartlett” is a great little film. Too bad that you’re too young to see it. Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published Wednesdays and Fridays in “The Port Arthur News.” He can be found weekly on KAVU-TV, KFDM-TV, and KVIC Radio. Additional reviews can be found at www.rottentomatoes.com, www.panews.com or at www.myvictoriaonline.com. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kavutv.com.