Every generation has its fair share of high school films that are meant to be in some way a voice of those of that age group. Sometimes we don’t truly appreciate the agenda of these films until years later and many have become cult classics. It seems though that the high school targeted movies of this decade are trying a bit too hard in some ways, but they also don’t quite come up to the same level as their predecessor.

Charlie Bartlett is another of many high school aimed films that is allegedly supposed to border on being comedy and drama, though after watching it, it feels like a drama more than anything else. Charlie (Anton Yelchin) has just been expelled from yet another private school after running his own license making business. Now he’s heading to public school, and he’s finding that he’s just not fitting in. Murphey Bivens (Tyler Hilton) has already beat him up on his first day and there are other issues that he’s dealing with. His psychiatrist thinks that maybe part of his troubles are related to ADD and prescribes medication which soon turns to out to effect him a little strangely. He’s stopped taking them, but knowing the effects, he and Murphey have buried the hatchet and became business partners.

Charlie and Murphey soon expand their business and Charlie starts acting as a psychiatrist of his classmates, then going to his psychiatrist or doctor and displaying the “symptoms” to get medication to hand out. Charlie has now become one of the most popular students in school, and Susan Gardner (Kat Dennings) has had her eyes on him, something that her father (Robert Downey Jr.) isn’t at all happy about since he’s the principal and thinks that Charlie has other motives. Soon however, the scheme falls apart and Charlie stands on the verge of once again getting expelled from school.

Charlie Bartlett, as far as being a comedy, really lacks quite a bit in the way of laughter. The movie feels more like a tale of teenage angst and a means to paint the problems that teens are facing in their high school years. Charlie is a character that I think quite a few people can identify with regardless of if they are in school or not. He’s a bit awkward socially, though not someone who is an oddball. He’s actually from a wealthy background, but not one that isn’t without problems either since his father is in prison and that’s something Charlie is very resentful of. He has decided though to not try and come across as the “rich kid” but it ends up being one of the many things that help him fit in a little better. But it’s inventive means of making money and pushing the right pills that really help, and there was always at least one student in school that found a way to make a little extra cash. Actually, that was one of my deals, though it wasn’t anything illegal but instead, just writing term papers for those who felt incapable of doing so themselves.

The film shows that everyone has problems, but that’s something everyone knows. It’s not just something that happens suddenly when you’re in high school, but something that is a daily routine for just about everyone. Charlie Bartlett just tries to put it into a perspective that makes teens identify with it. The problems of teens however do move over into the adult world as Principal Garner has issues of his own that he’s been trying to sort through. Alcoholism, a cheating spouse, and other inner struggles are buried within him and he’s been battling these problems for years. Charlie also serves as being something of a psychiatrist that his classmates come to depend on, somewhat showing that they aren’t willing to speak with adults because they don’t believe they will understand.

Charlie Bartlett though is often too serious for its own good. While billed as being a comedy and having the “prescription for laugh-out-loud insanity,” the movie falls incredibly short of that promise. Many, many other movies have managed to bring comedy with them for the target audience that Charlie Bartlett is aimed at and it’s not a movie that I would see withstanding the test of time While it does have some relevance and represents emotions that everyone goes through, when compared to another classic movie that portrays the same thing and has become something of a legend, that movie would be The Breakfast Club, Charlie Bartlett can’t even compare.

The initial press release hyped a number of bonus features, but unless there’s something wrong with the screen that we received, they actually aren’t all included. Charlie Bartlett is a flipper disc meaning that you will have both the widescreen and full screen versions on one DVD. Each side has commentary tracks included with them. The only other bonus material is a music video as well as “Restroom Confessionals” which is the cast and crew doing a Real World style confessional, and these aren’t really that funny.

It’s not a bad film, but I really don’t think that Charlie Bartlett is a movie that presents itself as being hilarious. For dramatic appeal, it’s not a bad movie, but it’s still not something that I think will emerge as being a classic film in years to come and instead will just be a small footnote in the history of the high school movie genre.

-mike-
 

Directed By: Jon Poll Written By: Gustin Nash Cast: Anton Yelchin Robert Downey Jr. Hope Davis Kat Dennings Tyler Hilton Mark Rendall Dylan Taylor Megan Park Jake Epstein Jonathan Malen Derek McGrath Stephen Young Ishan Davé Eric Fink Noam Jenkins Lauren Collins Aubrey Graham

DVD Features: Widescreen & Full Screen Presentation Audio: English Dolby Surround 5.1 & Spanish Dolby Surround English & Spanish Subtitles Commentary w/ Jon Poll, Anton Yelchin & Kat Dennings Commentary w/ Jon Poll & Gustin Nash Restroom Confessionals Spiral Beach – “Voodoo” music video