CHARLIE BARTLETT - 9/10 (A-)

One of the best teen movies to come along in quite some time. It's honest and has something relavent to say, but is also incredibly fun, entertaining and often laugh-out-loud hilarious. It is reminiscent of many of the older John Hughes films of the '80s, with Anton Yelchin resembling a young Ferris Bueller as the pivotal title character. Yelchin is absolutely fantastic here, delivering a breakout performance that shows he can succeed in pretty much every genre. Kat Dennings is quite cute as the love interest, and Tyler Hilton is surprisingly effective as the school bully who eventually becomes reformed. Hope Davis is hilarious in her few scenes but also gives her character another layer of emotion. The best performance of the film though is Robert Downey Jr. as the school principal and the father of Charlie's love interest. He is absolutely hysterical, but his character is also fascinating to watch. He avoids every possible stereotype and makes the role interesting and endearing, so much that you can't help but root for him by the end. Anyways, this is an absolute gem and I can't wait to see it again. It is sure to be one of the year's best comedies! A must-see!

Not even close to as funny or realistic as Superbad, but definitely a step up from the American Pie movies, and a film with its heart in the right place. Not to mention, Anton Yelchin gives a "high school student" performance as Charlie Bartlett that definitely ranks among the best, which include Ferris Bueller and McLovin. Maybe not quite as amazing as them, but not too far off. He's terrific.

B+

My friend had a strange desire to see this this afternoon (school was canceled so I didn't have work), so we did. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised. It's smartly scripted and manages to say some important things in a refreshing manner. It helps that Anton Yelchin is delightful, making Charlie a very likeable character to hang around for 90 minutes. Kat Dennings (who is one to watch, I think) is similarly appealing in a girlfriend role that's surprisingly well-developed for a film like this. Robert Downey Jr. plays his role mostly straight and delivers a strong performance, while Hope Davis is amusing although underused. The film has some inconsistencies in terms of tone, but that doesn't stop it from being an enjoyable, intelligent comedy. B

Charlie Bartlett is surprisingly more fleshed out than your average 'teen' movie and it pays off mostly in spades. It was a little uneven in terms of tone and narrative at times but there are enough positives in the story to outweigh the occasional faults. I'll agree with the others here that Yelchin was really good, his performance as Bartlett should go down as one of the all time great teen characters. I wouldn't put him up there with Bueller though, maybe just a level below. The rest of the cast was actually allowed to develop which only helped the story. I'm glad they took the time do so as when the 'crisis' in the story emerged we actually cared about them and the outcome. So many teen movies today neglect the background characters and it really hurts the overall film.

Grade B

Loved it from beginning to end! This is the type of movie that I can see myself watching over and over and never get tired of it. Anton Yelchin is really brilliant and hilarious as Charlie Bartlett. It's a mesh of Garden State and Ferris Bueller sorta. Def a teen classic I think.

A-

NICE responses so far! I'm seeing this later tonight...

Kat Dennings looked eerily like Marion Cottilard during the school play towards the end.

This film is pretty solid and made me want to see more. And strangely, I dont hate Tyler Hilton as much as before.

While clearly a direct homage to Harold and Maude, Charlie Bartlett breaks new ground with this updated version of the story (without the complete killer Yusuf Islam soundtrack, of course). Very real, very touching, very fantastic.

It's my favorite movie of the year so far, beating out my current faves such as 27 Dresses and In Bruges - -

It's tremendous!!!

29 out of 5.

Little. More like glorified extras with lines. I believe that Aubrey guy was there too.

No wonder the Degrassi peeps are there. It was shot in Toronto.

Do Stacey Farber (Ellie) and Adamo Ruggiero (Marco) also make an appearance?

Heh, they're probably there...

But the only ones I remember seeing are the two you mentioned and... Aubrey... there was another one but the name escapes me.

B+

Surprisingly good, funny, and entertaining. Kinda reminded me of the Girl Next Door, to some degree.

It's a big, fat meh. I didn't find this very realistic. Charlie Bartlett is a bit like Ferris Buehler except not as likeable. His relationship with Downey Jr.'s character is interesting, but it changes too quick. Nothing really stands out and there are parts that are just too farfetched. Seriously, the principal is going to allow that play to happen after what Bartlett just did? Atleast have him fight for it a bit.

- C

Really enjoyed it. Anton Yelchin definitely made this film great.

***

Yeah, I feel the same way. I actually thought he was kind of hot in this.


CHARLIE BARTLETT - 8/10 (A-)

A highly enjoyable teen flick. Anton Yelchin actually didn't annoy me here. In fact, I'd say he was quite good.

It was funny that there were four people from Degrassi: The Next Generation in this.

I considered that one of the movie's greatest assets...

Heh. I thought this was pretty terrible.

It aspires to be John Hughes-esque, but it has none of the wit or charm or even warmth that something like Ferris Bueller or Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles emitted. Those films were sharp, snarky, and very funny, but they had a moral compass to them, something to say. This film, on the other hand, is just as offensive as something like Juno. It treats its serious subject matters - depression, alcoholism, suicide - with a forced quirkiness that is not only disingenuous, it's downright insulting. Yelchin's Charlie feels neither real nor charming, and most of the supporting cast fits into easy little boxes categorizing them as stereotypes of the stereotypical high school. Only RDJ seems to be able to rise above the material, but he's given so little to work with that it makes no difference.

I feel embarrassed that this is what high school films have come to. What's happened to the Dazed and Confused, the Can't Hardly Wait, the American Pie? Must we suffer through endless Juno clones first? Egads.

I enjoyed it. Nothing great, but very solid.

B

And while these films may be repetitive and tame, I'll take them over what's happened to the college subgenre. My goodness.

Also should be noted that while there's maybe 3 high school films from the 80s and 3 h.s. films from the 90s that we remember and like, there was probably like 200 shitty ones released in the same period. Back then people were probably pissed about all the Hughes clones, too.

C


Charlie Bartlett wants to be a high school movie classic. It is not. It tries to channel John Hughes and it fails. The movie is simply not dramatic, realistic or emotional enough to work as drama and not funny enough to be a solid comedy. That said, both elements are present, it is just not a good mixture in this case. Like trixster has implied, there's a line here between a serious subject matter and comedy and the movie just doesn't walk this line well enough.

Anton Yelchin does the best he can with the script, but his character is just not well-written. He usually comes across as rather annoying and self-indulgent more than anything. I did lie Kat Dennings and Robert Downey Jr., though. In particular the latter has a decent role and some fine moments at the film's end. His interaction with Charlie Bartlett is one of the film's few highlights. And there are really only a few. The problem is that it wants to come across as understanding of teenage issues and wants for its audiences to relate with the characters. At the same time, it just never feels genuine. It lacks the warmth, the natural feel and the charm of well-made high school movies. Did I also mention that it's not very funny?