140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Very well put together & engaging film with as much to offer adults as teens. Treats all characters as worthwhile. Yelchin is captivating…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Charlie Bartlett:
(#140RVW published 6/26/2013; full review published June 3, 2015)
It can be very hard to make a “teen movie” without alienating or missing everyone else on the planet. The best ones succeed due to their stubborn insistence on making a film not solely for teens. The winning formula is easy to state, but many smart people fail to recognize the common thread in all “teen” movies with mass appeal. So I’ll sum it up here as plainly as possible: don’t assume that everyone else is an idiot. Simple, right? But it’s amazing how many filmmakers of all ages and genres fail to follow this advice.
Don’t assume that everyone else is an idiot; that includes the audience AND the characters. If you operate based on the notion that people outside your target demographic have worthwhile thoughts and feelings, even if you don’t explore them you’ll end up with a better picture. Everyone has something to say, everyone has their own story. You don’t have to weigh the production down with backstories and deeply detailed arcs; just acknowledge the possibility that the adults in teen movies aren’t caricatures but actual human beings and you’ll be in business.
Well, you also need to start with a thoughtful script. And make sure that the writer and director and producers are all on board with the concept. Oh, and hire the best actors you can afford and let them do their job.
On the face of it, Charlie Bartlett features one of those impossibly clever, charming and precocious teens who seem to possess knowledge and insight beyond their years. But he doesn’t. He’s not a genius, everyone else isn’t a moron. The whole film is populated by human beings; each wonderful, each flawed.
The titular hero Charlie (Anton Yelchin) lives in a mansion with his remarkably hands-off, indulgent and flighty mother Marilyn (played by the always dependable Hope Davis). Incredibly bright and talented, he’s nevertheless been tossed out of a number of private schools for being a troublemaker and must now navigate the public high school.
Dreaming of becoming as popular as he sees himself in his dreams, Charlie parlays his family’s unfettered access to a team of psychiatrists into a thriving practice as the resident head-shrinker and pharmacist for a legion of students who need to talk.
There’s a whole lot of beats at the outset of Charlie Bartlett that are terribly familiar; the character and circumstances recall Catch Me If You Can and Mumford, in particular, with a lot of Harold and Maude deja vu, right down to the Cat Stevens music. The filmmakers were clearly going for a Harold and Maude feel over a Pump Up The Volume frame, and the all too small audience that saw Mumford will find a lot of similarities. But like Charlie, the film finds it’s feet fairly quickly and distinguishes itself marvelously.
The plot plays out in a mostly familiar and predictable manner, but as with all of the above referenced films, it’s the journey not the destination. Anton Yelchin as Charlie is preposterously likable. It’s not a stretch to suggest that a less charismatic lead actor would have tanked this film. But really, there are so many amazing actors in this production, both stars and lesser-known/younger talents.
A lot of the weight of the story is carried by the two sets of single parents; Davis and Yelchin as the Bartletts, and Principal Nathan Gardner (Robert Downey Jr.) and his daughter Susan (Kat Dennings). This is one of RDJ’s finest performances in my opinion; he’s the complete package in a layered role as a young(er) principal who struggles with his position of reluctant authority as this seemingly self-assured kid upends his school and life.
Dennings herself turns in a great portrait of a non-stereotypical teenaged human being, leading a cast full of them. Tyler Hilton as Charlie’s business partner/reluctant friend Murphy Bivens makes the most of every scene he’s in; he’d steal the scenes from anyone less captivating than Yelchin. Mark Rendall is also excellent as Kip Crombwell. Rapper/actor Drake also pops up as one of the students.
Writer Gustin Nash hasn’t been on a lot of pictures, which I find a bit surprising considering the quality of Charlie Bartlett. This was his film debut and the only other screen credit so far is for the bizarre and a little disappointing Youth In Revolt (2009). Director Jon Poll is an extremely successful editor and producer, but Charlie Bartlett stands as his sole film directing credit. Again, not sure why he hasn’t had more opportunities, although I see he’s producing and directing part of the upcoming HBO series The Brink (2015).
Charlie Bartlett is a very good film from the John Hughes school of real teenagers interacting with real adults and dealing with real emotions. Recommended.
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Fail
The Representation Test Score: C (5 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Anton Yelchin Charlie Bartlett Robert Downey Jr. Nathan Gardner Hope Davis Marilyn Bartlett Kat Dennings Susan Gardner |
| Rating | R |
| Release Date | Fri 22 Feb 2008 UTC |
| Director | Jon Poll |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
| Plot | A rich kid becomes the self-appointed psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 97 |
| Tagline | When Charlie Bartlett listens everyone talks. |
| Writers | Gustin Nash (written by) |
| Year | 2007 |
