I saw this film for free at a preview screening at USC. I was hoping to like this film as the previews seemed somewhat funny, and hey it was a free movie what's not to like. Well I will tell you everything (but Robert Downy Jr.). To begin with the plot deals with a kid who continuously gets kicked out of all the expensive private schools in town and finally has to attend public school. His mother thinks he has a behavioral disorder and sends him to a psychiatrist to get diagnosed and hopefully get so pumped full of pills he'll calm down. This eventually leads him to going crazy on Ritalin, and after he stops. So what does he do, he takes the drug that did so much harm to him and starts selling it in school. Not only does he do this but he gets so many other prescriptions for other kids, in order to be popular. This is the main fault of the film I believe, Charlie's only motivation is to be popular. I'm a 22 year old college student, high school is pretty fresh in my mind and it is nothing like this. It also has a schizophrenic tone to it, one minute kids are wiling out having a great time on meds the next it's a serious moment about the dangers of it, but it's done in such a tacked on way it feels like they are forcing one huge pill down your throat. Also there are the performances, all across the board they are bad, even Robert Downy Jr. feels bored here. Most of all what I hated about this film was the way it seemingly marginalized substance abuse, at one point he is giving psychotics to kids, these have the potential to utterly destroy a person's brain. If they never tried to be serious with it I wouldn't have a problem with it, but that's the biggest problem it tries for serious drama completely forgetting the stupid crap that came before it. UTTERLY ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE.
Review of Charlie Bartlett
