Charlie Bartlett (2007)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Jon Poll

Writer (WGA):

Gustin Nash (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Popularity is a state of mind.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

High School | Psychiatrist | Female Nudity | Gun | Streaking

Cast

Anton Yelchin	...	Charlie Bartlett
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Principal Nathan Gardner
Hope Davis	...	Marilyn Bartlett
Kat Dennings	...	Susan Gardner
Tyler Hilton	...	Murphey 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

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:16 | USA:R (certificate #43261) | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Parkwood Estate, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The film co-stars four of the "Degrassi: The Next Generation" (2001) kids: Lauren Collins (Paige), Aubrey Graham (Jimmy), Jake Epstein (Craig) and recurring character Ishan Davé (Linus).

Goofs:

Continuity: 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".

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.

Movie Connections:

References Harold and Maude (1971)

Soundtrack:

Mr. E's Beautiful Blues

Rare Heart

If no studio wants to invest in your film, it's because they know that unless all the stars align with your project, they're not going to make money. Well, the filmmakers here -- from the producers to the PA's -- obviously labored enough to force those stars into line, and make a terrific film that is bound to bring box office returns.

As a filmmaker watching this film, what confused me at first was how, as the story begins, there seems to be no structure, but it still made me hang on every word. Like any good film, that structure remained invisible throughout the whole film; it was only in retrospect that I could see how well this journey was laid out for us to effortlessly enjoy ourselves with realistic comedy, absurdist comedy, genuine romance, genuine father/daughter struggles and a variety of questions we should be all be asking ourselves. No filmmaker-knows-all solutions here.

This has an R rating, because the MPAA is afraid that kids can't handle talk about teenage Ritalin use. Either we all embrace the neo-comic book code era http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6543/, or we have to convince the industry to ditch this mindless censorship club that attempts to protect our children from the new perspectives that they need more than ever.

Tell them what you think at www.mpaa.org/AboutUsContactUs.asp