Film Reviews

Charlie Bartlett

• Rating:
• Director: Jon Poll
• Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, Anton Yelchin
• Details: USA / 97mins / (16)

"I know you get a kick out of doing things that might get you in trouble." Charlie Bartlett is part Ferris Bueller, part Rushmore, part Pump Up The Volume and part Igby Goes Down - an ’80s’ high school movie with ’00’s cynicism and if that sounds like right up your street, wait. With his father in jail for tax evasion, white bread Charlie (Yelchin) has been expelled from too many schools to mention; his kooky mother (Davis) throws him one more lifeline - a public school run by the unsure Principal Gardener (Downey Jnr.). After a testy first few days, Charlie settles in to his new surroundings; his experience with psychiatrists helps him dole out advice to troubled students and his ability to get his hands on prescription drugs helps those he can’t verbally cheer up. He soon becomes a god on campus, but when he falls for Gardener’s foxy daughter (Dennings), the principal takes on Charlie and his disciples. Charlie Bartlett is a ‘best of’ John Hughes, a film that ticks all the high school movie boxes without any depth to back it up, and Hughes was never the deepest filmmaker to begin with. When it works it’s funny and invokes feelings of nostalgia in people of a certain age; when it doesn’t, it’s second-hand and doesn’t ring true, and unfortunately, it’s the latter that stays in the memory. Yelchin, whose understated performance in Alpha Dog promised a diamond in the rough star, is great until he’s asked to change tact and step up in the last act. The same goes for the film - just when it seems like it’s going to strap on a pair, it chickens out and retreats into the corner for a good cower. Downey Jnr. Is fun but there’s no reason for him to be there and, if I was to hazard a guess, the principal role was very much a secondary character until Downey Jnr. Singed on and his scenes were puffed out. A decent effort but must try harder.

Review by Gavin Burke