There are sweet moments, and there are funny moments, but it all just becomes so eye-rollingly calculated that it's hard to appreciate.
Charlie Bartlett (2007)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:126
Fresh:68
Rotten:58
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: With engaging performances marked by an inconsistent tone, Charlie Bartlett is a mixed bag of clever teen angst comedy and muddled storytelling.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, drug content and brief nudity.
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Feb 22, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $3,738,218
Synopsis:
Among the classic high-school rebels of American movies, there have been truants, delinquents, pranksters and con artists – but there has never been anyone quite like Charlie Bartlett. An...
Among the classic high-school rebels of American movies, there have been truants, delinquents, pranksters and con artists – but there has never been anyone quite like Charlie Bartlett. An optimist, a truth-teller and a fearless schemer, when Charlie slyly positions himself as his new school’s resident “psychiatrist,” dishing out both honest advice and powerful prescriptions, he has no idea the ways in which he will transform his classmates, the school principal and the potential of his own life.
This is the premise of the provocative, Prozac-era comedy, Charlie Bartlett, in which a wealthy teenager’s foray into bathroom-stall psychiatry becomes a smart, funny and touching one-man battle against the loneliness, angst and hypocrisy of the modern world.
Anton Yelchin (Alpha Dog) stars as Charlie Bartlett, who has been kicked out of every private school he ever attended. And now that he’s moved on to public school, he’s simply getting pummeled. But when Charlie discovers that the kids who surround him – the outcast and the popular alike – are secretly in desperate need, his entrepreneurial spirit takes over. Hanging up his shingle in the Boys’ restroom, Charlie becomes an underground, not to mention under-aged, shrink who listens to the private confessions of his schoolmates, and makes the imprudent decision to hand out the pills he’s proffered from his own psychiatric sessions. Meanwhile, at home, Charlie keeps charming his way out of an inevitable confrontation with his adoring but utterly overwhelmed mother Marilyn (Hope Davis.)
Then, Charlie Bartlett makes his big mistake: falling in love with the beautiful and bold daughter (Kat Dennings) of the school’s increasingly disenchanted Principal (Robert Downey, Jr.), who is hot on his trail. As Charlie Bartlett’s world and fledgling psychiatric practice unravel, he begins to discover there’s a whole lot more to making a difference than handing out pills.
Charlie Bartlett marks the directorial debut of Jon Poll – a world-class film editor with deep comic roots who has collaborated with Jay Roach on both the blockbuster “Meet the Parents” and “Austin Powers” series, among others – and the screen debut of writer Gustin Nash. The producers are David Permut, Barron Kidd, Jay Roach and Sidney Kimmel. The executive producers are William Horberg, Jennifer Perini, Trish Hofmann and Bruce Toll. Steve Longi and Gustin Nash co-produced.
--© Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
[More]
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey, Hope Davis, Kat Dennings
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey, Hope Davis, Kat Dennings, Tyler Hilton, Jake Epstein, Lauren Collins, Dylan Taylor, Mark Rendall, Jonathan Malen
Director: John Poll
Director: John Poll
Screenwriter: Gustin Nash
Producer: David Permut, Jay Roach, Sidney Kimmel, Barron Kidd
Composer: Christophe Beck
Studio: MGM
Get This Movie
Reviews for Charlie Bartlett
'It is our duty as teenagers to piss off our parents,' Charlie says. The film succeeds only in pissing off the viewer.
The promising themes peter out as the film loses direction, though, and Bartlett is neither sympathetic enough to root for nor dumb enough to laugh at.
Charlie Bartlett is a poor man's Rushmore. There is a great film waiting to be made about psychiatry, anti-depressants and our youth, but this isn't it.
Mostly this was a quirky, smart, inspiring, and surprisingly enjoyable High School movie.
Robert Downey Jr. playing an alcoholic principal lecturing on the dangers of drugs is one of those wonderfully ironic, Twilight Zone moments that only Hollywood can provide.
Charlie Bartlett is the Ferris Bueller of our drug addled age. Except he's not a fraction of the charmer ol' Ferris was.
The movie is extremely hilarious, yet very serious and emotional at the same time.
Charlie Bartlett is a movie you see when everything else is booked up, then wonder why you didn't just have an early night.
Hugely entertaining high school drama with a delightfully offbeat script and terrific performances from a superb cast.
There are plenty of good qualities in Charlie; it just needed to apply itself a little more.
Charlie Bartlett is not terrible - but in the crowded market of teen comedies, you need to work a whole lot harder to be top of the class, or even to sit at the back with the cool kids.
[F]eels like little more than an amalgam of great moments from the John Hughes oeuvre as well as from Thumbsucker, Pump Up the Volume and Over the Edge, among others.
Juno's dorkier, needier cousin, the one who's watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off too many times.
Latest News for Charlie Bartlett
June 16, 2008:
RT on DVD: 70 More Minutes of The Incredible Hulk on Blu-Ray??
This week in DVD news, that long-awaited Kill Bill double-volume set may finally be on its way and Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier promises enough leftover Hulk... More...
May 15, 2008:
RT Interview: Kat Dennings on Charlie Bartlett, Nick and Norah and Death
The young actress talks to RT about teen comedies, superhero movies, and morbidity. More...
March 28, 2008:
Exclusive: Anton Yelchin on Star Trek and Terminator 4
RT sits down with the star of Charlie Bartlett to learn more about his space adventures with J.J. Abrams and time traveling with McG. More...
February 24, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vantage Point Claims Top Spot on Oscar Weekend
On Oscar weekend, the best seat on the charts belonged to Vantage Point, which looked down upon the box office with a strong opening, while the other new releases left... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 67% 67% | Bruno |
| 47% 47% | My Sister's Keeper |
| 66% 66% | Is Anybody There? |
| 82% 82% | Thirst |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Charlie Bartlett at Rotten Tomatoes
- Charlie Bartlett at IGN
- Charlie Bartlett at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic


