Charlie Bartlett, according to the film poster, picks up where Juno left off. And despite sounding like it’s cashing in on the success of another funny, off beat teen angst movie, it’s actually quite accurate. If you liked Juno, you will love Charlie Bartlett. The filmmakers struggled to get funding for the script, repeatedly told that it was ‘too dangerous’. Dealing with a rich kid who starts to con his psychiatrist for drugs to dole out to his fellow students, Charlie Bartlett surprisingly oozes charm.
Charlie is played by Anton Yelchin (last seen in Alpha Dog), the son of two Russian figure skaters. He has big, wide and innocent blue eyes, and he plays the part adorably. The only son of a deluded, wealthy mother, Charlie is a big dreamer with incredible optimism. Booted out of every private school for his wheeler-dealings, he is beaten up in state school for wearing a blazer and carrying an attaché case. To help her son deal with the bullying, his mother calls in her psychiatrist who prescribes Charlie drugs which sends him to ‘Ritalin euphoria’. Charlie soon realises he is on to a winner in a school filled to the brim with angst, and becomes a quasi-counsellor to his fellow classmates in the loos, even convincing his bully to be his business partner.
The film is also blessed with Robert Downey Jr., currently riding high in the charts as superhero Iron Man, he excels in this film too, playing Principal Gardner driven to the edge by Charlie. He sees Charlie as his nemesis, not only for falling for his daughter, but also for the respect Charlie soon commandeers from his peers, which utterly escapes CCTV-installing Gardner. A man on the edge, Downey plays the part with sheer desperation, and this is made more poignant by his own well-publicised troubles. His presence is captivating, and he carries off the edginess and unbalanced nature of the part with weight.
Gustin Nash’s script is great too. Like Juno, it illustrates the fact that teenagers are much more switched on than adults give them credit for. Diablo Cody (Juno screenwriter) has another potential award-winner snapping at her heels. Nash captures the reality of life as a contemporary teenager more accurately than many slick Hollywood teen moves.
In terms of dialogue, there are some great lines in the film. Gardner’s daughter, Susan, (played by Kat Dennings, 40 Year Old Virgin) wryly comments: “It sucks having one parent ditch and the other lose their mind. How am I supposed to turn out remotely functional?”, to which Charlie responds that his mother is going through the menopause, which means “She hears about half of what I say”. An accurate description, I would say!
So if it’s hilarious breakdowns rather than the lighter side of teenage pregnancy that you are after, this is the film for you this weekend.
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