Charlie Bartlett (2007)

A rich kid becomes the self-appointed psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school.

Director:

Jon Poll

Writer:

Gustin Nash

Stars:

Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anton Yelchin	...	Charlie Bartlett
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Nathan Gardner
Hope Davis	...	Marilyn Bartlett
Kat Dennings	...	Susan Gardner
Tyler Hilton	...	Murphy Bivens
Mark Rendall	...	Kip Crombwell
Dylan Taylor	...	Len Arbuckle
Megan Park	...	Whitney Drummond
Jake Epstein	...	Dustin Lauderbach
Jonathan Malen	...	Jordan Sunder
Derek McGrath	...	Superintendent Sedgwick
Stephen Young	...	Dr. Stan Weathers
Ishan Davé	...	Henry Freemont
David Brown	...	Officer Hansen
Eric Fink	...	Thomas

Storyline

Although cheerful, friendly, intelligent, well-dressed, authentic and wealthy, Charlie Bartlett has problems. With his father gone and his mother loopy and clueless, he's been expelled from every private school for his victimless crimes. Now he's in a public school getting punched out daily by the school thug. He ever longs to be popular - the go-to guy - and the true crux of his troubles is that he invariably finds the means to this end, whatever that might be. At Western Summit High, he makes peace with his tormentor by going into business with him - listening to kids' problems and selling them prescription drugs. Charlie's a hit, but attraction to Susan (daughter of the school's laissez-faire principal), new security cameras on campus, a student's overdose, and Charlie's open world view all converge to get him in serious trouble. Can this self-made physician possibly heal himself and just be a kid?

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Plot Keywords:

student | drugs | prescription drugs | private school | high school | 

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Taglines:

First come. First cured.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug content and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charlie Bartlett - Psicanálise Para Todos

Filming Locations:

Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£97,181 (UK) (16 May 2008)

Gross:

£97,181 (UK) (16 May 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Everyman Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film co-stars four of the Degrassi: The Next Generation kids: Lauren Collins (Paige), Aubrey Graham (Jimmy), Jake Epstein (Craig) and recurring character Ishan Davé (Linus).

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Goofs

The sign on the door for the boys restroom periodically changes from reading "BOYS RESTROOM" to "BOYS WASHROOM" because in Canada, where the film was shot, they use the word "washroom" instead of "restroom".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Charlie Bartlett: Thank You. Thank you very much. Thank you. How you all doing tonight. It's great to see all of you here. My name is Charlie Bartlett.

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Crazy Credits

"No teenagers were harmed in the making of this motion picture."

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Connections

References Super Fly (1972)

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Soundtracks

"Poison/Safe"
Written by Basnayake, Kaija, Llewellyn-Thomas, Morris and Scheven
Performed by Controller.Controller
Courtesy of paper bag records

User Reviews

Funny, witty, accurate, and absolutely beautiful

I saw an advanced screening of Charlie Bartlett at my school with a Q&A session with the writer and director last April, and I must say, I haven't enjoyed a movie this much in a VERY long time.

Anton Yelchin is Charlie Bartlett, a young rich boy who has just gotten kicked out of his private school for forging driver's licenses for his fellow students in an attempt to gain some acceptance. As a last resort, his strange mother, played wonderfully by Hope Davis, puts him into public school. At first, he is treated horribly as the 'new boy', until he appoints himself as the school psychiatrist and pharmacist, and the students begin to love him, fulfilling his dreams of popularity. Meanwhile, he begins an intimate relationship with Principal Goldberg's daughter, leading to many conflicts between Charlie and the principal.

Anton Yelchin portrays Charlie flawlessly - the best part was when he got high off of Ritalin - and Kat Dennings was just beautiful. Hope Davis, as always, played his eccentric mother wonderfully, and Robert Downey Jr. was absolutely great.

For any of you who are wondering about Mark Rendall's role in this film, he has a relatively large part as Kip Cromwell, the unpopular, depressed boy who comes to Charlie for help. I must say he is AMAZING. He does a beautiful job expressing his character's many and layered emotions.

Anyhow, GREAT MOVIE!!! Do whatever you can to see it as soon as you can. I would give it an 11/10 if I could!!