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“There’s more to high school than being well liked.”
“Like what, specifically?”
“…Nothing comes to mind.” – (Excerpt from an exchange between Charlie and his mother in one of the film’s opening scenes. Explains a lot about the premise of the movie)

Everyone has their guilty pleasures. Everyone has songs, movies, or books that they like way more than they think they should. Maybe it’s that catchy pop song on the radio with stupid lyrics that you can’t help but love. Maybe it’s the series of children’s books that seem to have captivated an inordinate amount of young adults. Whatever it is, you feel like you shouldn’t, but you just can’t help being entranced. This is how I feel about Charlie Bartlett.

Charlie Bartlett is a well-meaning rich kid with an all-consuming desire to be liked. He’s been kicked out of every private school he’s ever attended for what we gather are a variety of schemes meant to help boost his popularity. After his most recent expulsion, he enrolls in a public school. He has a brief rough patch, but Charlie quickly pairs up with a tough kid from the other side of the tracks who helps him sell the Ritalin he’s been unnecessarily prescribed to the other kids at a school dance. The success of this initial endeavor ushers Charlie into his new niche as the school’s de facto psychiatrist and pharmacist, running office hours out of the boys’ bathroom.

Of course, what teen movie would be complete without a love interest? Charlie’s is a drama club girl named Susan, played by Kat Dennings, who just happens to be the principal’s daughter. The principal / Susan’s father is a downtrodden alcoholic who hates his job and totally lacks the respect of his students. Charlie faces a variety of predictable problems and tries to handle them the best he can, while learning a few important life lessons along the way. I can’t pretend the plot doesn’t border on the virtual definition of a stereotypical teen movie, but it’s at least a very good one.

Charlie Bartlett doesn’t ask any tough questions or break new ground; in fact, a few of the characters seem like they may have been lifted directly from The Breakfast Club (like the tough kid with the heart of gold who has a thing for the popular girl), but the film succeeds because the film’s main character / leading man is just overwhelmingly likeable. You believe that he truly wants to make things better for the people around him. Although popularity is the driving force behind Charlie’s actions, he comes off as so undeniably good that you can’t help but root for him. This is a good thing because from very early on in the film you just know that everything is going to work out. Anton Yelchin turns in a breakthrough performance as Charlie and fully embodies everything that makes for a good teen star. This is the only movie I’ve seen him in (edit: I take that back, he was in Alpha Dog, but I don’t remember his character so I don’t count it), but I expect that we’ll be hearing from him much more frequently in the near future.

Robert Downey Jr. essentially plays himself if he happened to be principal of a suburban high school. At one point, he ends up sloppy drunk in his bathrobe, shooting a revolver at a remote control boat in his swimming pool. It sounds like something right out of his real life police reports. That being said, it’s a good fit and who could play Robert Downey Jr., the principal, better than the man himself?

Like I said, this movie is a guilty pleasure. I don’t think it’s Oscar worthy or anything like that, but Charlie Bartlett is just one of those films that leaves you feeling happy you watched it. It would be a good pick for a date night at home or a casual weeknight with some friends.

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