Charlie Bartlett (2007) May 18, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Jon Poll
While Robert Downey Jr is tearing it up in multiplexes around the world during the current run of Iron Man [review], many won’t even spare a thought for his other currently on-release endeavour, this quirky high school dramedy that’s finally getting a UK outing after a year on the shelf. The timing is impeccable, and obviously engineered, although I fear that the cross-over opportunities between the superhero action crowd and indie-spirited teen individualists may be few and far between. Especially when that individualism comes served with an all-too heavy helping of conformity.
In our first introduction to Charlie he is being kicked out of yet another private school – a regular position for this boy whose wealthy background hasn’t quelled his rebellious side. He is forced to go to a local public school where his advantages make him stick out. But Charlie is nothing if not resourceful, and so sets about abusing his access to family psychiatrists by acquiring a variety of medications that he can sell as a quick-fix high to his peers. As his popularity and social status grow, everything seems perfect, until, of course, he falls for the alluring Susan Gardner and gets more than he bargained for by way of her dad – the school’s principal.
If it wasn’t occupying a constantly crowded market, then Charlie Bartlett might have something to offer. Of course, that’s not the case, and between the Superbad’s [review] and Thumbsucker’s and Rocket Science’s and millions of other high school oriented movies that have been released even as recently as the past few years, it is hard to make a film like this stand out. First time feature director Jon Poll, whose previous credits are mostly as an editor, tries hard throughout, but can’t seem to make the film consistently funny or engaging enough when it needs it most. Plus, it might have been advisable for him to keep his influences from showing through quite so blatantly in the final product.
Like, for example, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, with which there are plenty of comparisons to draw. Unfortunately, it’s not even the first film to attempt the reference this year, but that’s beside the point. For starters, Anton Yelchin is very Mathew Broderick-esque, a comparison made even more clear by the film’s unashamed Bueller-styled central character (Bartlett has the same well-revered respect from fellow school mates). There are more than a few visual references to that movie too, 
although it never captures the same level of free-spirited rebellion; Charlie instead often seems unconvincing in the role of anti-authoritarian. On the appearance of an overhead shot with Charlie reclining on a psychiatrists couch, hands under the back of his head, I was half expecting a piece of whimsical advice about how “life moves pretty fast…”.
Despite the comparisons, Anton Yelchin plays the awkwardly placed central character with confidence and wit. His performance is matched by the rest of the cast, including Hope Davis as Charlie’s slightly overbearing mother, Kat Dennings playing the well-signposted love interest, and the aforementioned Robert Downey Jr who harkens back to his real-life days of substance abuse while portraying the school principal and potential thorn in Charlie’s side. It’s a solid cast, but none can really overcome the half-baked story and all its problems.
As his first film script, writer Gustin Nash wants us to love his odd title character and warm to his off-beat nature. The biggest mistake is that Charlie’s unequivocal popularity at school never seems earned and I wasn’t convinced that he could hold the sway he does amongst his fellow students. Plus, popularity in return for prescription drugs is a plan that suggests all students just want to get high and is a flimsy narrative leap to get him into the position of top dog. In reality, his operation would have quickly been shut down, while his ‘rich kid in public school’ persona would never allow him to rise to the top of the social strata with such little dispute.
Hindered by a questionable premise and with only well-trodden points about teenage life at its core, this movie draws nothing new out of the genre. That said, there are some nice subversions that bring a light-hearted humour to the story - like the way the stereotypical ‘bully’ character is handled (and played with vigour by Tyler Hilton). Once again, we see parental abandonment as a theme (or maybe an excuse) in explaining why these characters act the way they do - three of this film’s central figures seem to come from single-parent households. In the end, what charm the film has is never equalled by its wit or story. Iron Man popularity might help this movie stick out from the crowd a bit, but its lack of real rebellion gives it no option but to fall back in line.
Charlie Bartlett is currently on UK general release.
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