Delta Films Movie Reviews
Charlie Bartlett
Review - "Charlie Bartlett" (in theatres) - By Ken Ellis


An MGM release, Directed by Jon Poll, Screenplay by Gustin Nash. Starring Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis and Kat
Dennings.













but the entire school as well. Apparently the message there is "If you want to be popular
at school, sell dope." No high school schemer story would be complete without a romance
between Charlie and the principal's daughter (Kat Dennings). This creates a personal as
well as professional problem for Downey's character and the whole thing comes to a boil
in a rather predictable ending. The stereotypes in this film abound, from the clueless
parents to the out-of-control school kids to the flawed school staff. A better script coupled
with acting as good as this and we're talking classic filmmaking. But it wasn't and we're not.

I give this a 6.1.

Wait for the DVD release.
March 03, 2008
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"Charlie Bartlett" is the story of a privileged young man who gets kicked out of every private school his
parents put him in and winds up as a student in (gasp!) a public school. Anton Yelchin stars as Bartlett,
fresh off a great performance in last years' "Fierce People". He does not disappoint here, either, playing
Bartlett as a sometimes introspective schemer who craves what so many high school age kids crave
today - popularity. The supporting cast is also up to the task especially with Robert Downey Jr as the
school's principal (a substance abusing principal, now there's a stretch!). The problem with this film is
certainly not the talent. What fails here is the story itself, which owes quite a bit to films like "Ferris
Bueller's Day Off" and "Rushmore", as well as TV shows like "Parker Lewis Can't Lose".

In this case it's Charlie Bartlett who can't lose. At the start of the film, he makes an enemy of the class
bully, Murphy (Tyler Hilton, no relation to you-know-who). Not sure of what to do next, he decides to
make a friend of this by entering in to a business arrangement with him where Charlie will supply him
with pharmaceuticals to sell. Once the dope starts flowing, Charlie not only has Murphy for a new friend,