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:

Popularity is a state of mind.

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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 [jp]

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

When Principal Gardner come's to Charlie's house because of Kip's attempt of suicide, the principal's cup moves.

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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 Fists of Fury (1971)

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Soundtracks

"New Clouds, Not Clouds"
Written by Airick Woodhead, Daniel Woodhead, Dorian Wolf and Maddy Wilde
Performed by Spiral Beach

User Reviews

" No matter how bad things are for you, there's always someone worse off "

The transitional age we all suffered through were our formative years, during High School. This is where you learn what you believe is wrong and what you didn't believed is even more wrong. It's at this very trying time, one learns in order to survive, one must adapt, ignore the obvious and embrace the impossible. This film called " Charlie Bartlett " deals with all those issues and more. It begins with young Charlie (Anton Yelchin) a teen who dreams of becoming the most popular boy in school. The reality is definitely the opposite. Although rich and spoiled by his dotting mother, Charlie who has caused so much trouble in private schools, has been transferred to public education. Here he begins by being out of place, out of step and out of touch. Between becoming a bully's (Murphey Bivens) daily punching bag and dreaming of popularity, his efforts only land him in the arms of a shrink who proscribes a plethora of pharmaceutical drugs. Realizing their true value with the student body, he not only starts selling drugs, but becomes a peer confident. The change of life brings many rewards, and growing popularity but unfortunately closer to the troubled Principal (Robert Downey Jr.) and his rebellious daughter (Kat Dennings). All the characters have issues and our hero makes use of his substantial gifts of persuasion. The movie is surprisingly interesting and should not be underrated. It's a fun film and one which holds the attention of multi generational audiences. Recommended to anyone with an open mind. ***