Minor irritant: Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) does not amuse
10 April 2012
Expelled from school for illegal entrepreneurial activities, Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) goes to a psychiatrist on the advice of his over-medicated mother (Hope Davis) and, entering high school, uses the drugs prescribed for him to win new friends and the attention of the principal’s daughter (Kat Dennings).
The principal is an alcoholic (Robert Downey Jr) who is battling his own demons while objecting to the match.
The film, supposedly an edgy Prozacera comedy, falls down on almost all levels; even Downey can do nothing much about it. The screenplay is part of the reason, but the ever-optimistic Bartlett is as irritating a protagonist as it is possible to be.
Charlie Bartlett
Cert: 15
