High school, USA. Despite initially failing to fit in, resident rich kid Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) has found his niche in dishing out advice (and prescriptions) to fellow needy students.
Life is suddenly smooth sailing for Charlie as he rides popularity�s wave - right until he falls for the wayward daughter of burnt out Principal Gardner (Robert Downey Jr.). After that the waters get a little choppy.
This long delayed feature comedy (since August 2007) is practically doused in teenage angst. It may be twenty two years since Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but America will never tire of making films about the cool kids.
They say:
Variety: "Sweetly subversive pic offers a chancy box office alternative to by the numbers summer fare."
Empire: "After a strong start, the story ceases to challenge itself and its characters."
Channel 4: "D- for originality. Could do a lot better."
We say:
One welcome aspect to Charlie Bartlett is that it does not feature a narrative voiceover. No "My first day didn't get off to a good start" or "So, there you have it, that's my life" to bookend a story so predictable a computer program could have coupled it together from every teen flick of the last twenty five years (Pump Up the Volume, Class, Risky Business, etc). There is no voiceover, and that is a good thing. Regrettably it is also the best thing.
Watching this movie and not thinking of Ferris Bueller's Day Off is only possible if you have not seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off. They clearly employ two similarly charged leads, but while Bueller has gall and the cunning wits of a fox, Bartlett sneakily plots his ascension like a weasel.
Oddly too, Charlie craves popularity, yet invites contempt the moment he introduces himself. This trait is conflicting after the first few minutes, and even more so when the story develops.
Would such an obviously savvy chap really think donning a blazer isn't going to get him beaten up amongst guys who would wear a vest to their own wedding? Even when the bully pounds on him like a steak tenderiser, sneering at the inconsistent dupe proves far easier than caring.
And note that term 'bully', singular, as this is the type of establishment with only one such character. He is not well liked, handsome, loaded with cash and having sex with all the best looking girls - he is a skinhead and nobody likes him. Ring any bells? No, it wouldn't, because it's a nonsense.
Being as this film seems so desperate to reflect modern youth by crafting Ritalin as its primary firebrand (how very 2001), having a school tyrant model himself on the bus punk from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is an early misstep of many. Possibly the worst of the lot is that Charlie Bartlett remains chronically outdated with absolutely nothing new to say.
Not that there aren't a few laughs here. Anton Yelchin's clowning routine is vibrant and entirely acceptable for anyone missing the young energy of Jim Carey. The ever dependable Robert Downey Jr holds another chilled seminar on how to make the predictable watchable. Plus a couple of mocking sight gags are effective, especially in the first half hour, even if the dialogue stays curiously flat and unimaginative throughout.
Generally though, Charlie Bartlett is a movie you see when everything else is booked up, then wonder why you didn't just have an early night instead.
CAST
Anton Yelchin
Robert Downey Jr
Hope Davis
Kat Dennings
DIRECTOR
Jon Poll
TIME
97 mins
POSTED...
Sun 18 May at 1:26pm
