Charlie Bartlett starts with a typical setup: Charlie is the only child of an affluent family who has been bouncing from private school to private school due to misbehaving/illegal activities. Seemingly out of options, his mother sends him to a public high school where the kids all are highly stereotyped yet hang out in one big group right outside the front door. Anton Yelchin's Charlie charges on in his quest to be popular as he believes that's all there is at this stage of your life. Charlie plays psychologist to his classmates and doles out medication for their various ills until you realize this is an alternate universe Ferris Bueller. From the voice to the charisma and even a bit of the clothing, Yelchin is Ferris Bueller. It's distracting but, along with Robert Downey Jr.'s sad yet strong performance, gives the movie an interesting flair that puts it a notch above your typical movie about high school. Then they end with the high-school-musical-within-a-movie and it goes right back down again.
Rating: 2/5
Recommended for: People who miss Ferris Bueller.
Extended review: In the beginning of this film Hope Davis' performance as Charlie's mom seems awkward and like a caricature. As the movie progresses there's a revelation about her medicated status and her husband's absence; we begin to see why she acts the way she does. It brings a clever turn to the story plus a message about medicating. When we find out why the husband is in jail, her character takes a turn again and just comes off over dramatic. The story takes a step into details but doesn't provide the depth to further justify her behavior. Perhaps it was a time issue, or perhaps it was never written. Either way it serves as one of the distractions that prevent ultimate buy in to this story.
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