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Charlie Bartlett
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Charlie Bartlett (2007) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   14,925 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Jon Poll
Writer (WGA):
Gustin Nash (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Charlie Bartlett on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 February 2008 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama more
Tagline:
Popularity is a state of mind. more
Plot:
A rich kid becomes the self-appointed psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school. full summary | full synopsis
User Comments:
A comedy with a message, wildly entertaining more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Anton Yelchin ... Charlie Bartlett

Robert Downey Jr. ... Principal Nathan Gardner

Hope Davis ... Marilyn Bartlett

Kat Dennings ... Susan Gardner
Tyler Hilton ... Murphey Bivens
Mark Rendall ... Kip Crombwell
Dylan Taylor ... Len Arbuckle

Megan Park ... Whitney Drummond
Jake Epstein ... Dustin Lauderbach

Jonathan Malen ... Jordan Sunder
Derek McGrath ... Superintendent Sedgwick
Stephen Young ... Dr. Stan Weathers
Ishan Davé ... Henry Freemont

David Brown ... Officer Hansen
Eric Fink ... Thomas
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language, drug content and brief nudity.
Runtime:
97 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Colour:
Colour
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Hope Davis plays Charlie's (Anton Yelchin) mother. She also played Anton Yelchin's mother in Hearts in Atlantis (2001). more
Goofs:
Continuity: The sign on the door for the boys restroom periodically changes from reading "BOYS RESTROOM" to "BOYS WASHROOM" because in Canada, where the film was shot, they use the word "washroom" instead of "restroom". more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Charlie Bartlett: Thank You. Thank you very much. Thank you. How you all doing tonight. It's great to see all of you here. My name is Charlie Bartlett.
more
Movie Connections:
References Killzone (2004) (VG) more
Soundtrack:
Poison/Safe more

FAQ

What game(s) was Kip Playing?
more
66 out of 92 people found the following comment useful:-
A comedy with a message, wildly entertaining, 13 May 2007
9/10
Author: larry-411 from United States

Charlie Bartlett is a comedy with a message. Some may say that's an oxymoron. But Jon Poll, directing from a Gustin Nash script, takes on the task and turns in a hybrid of a film that is so incredibly engaging you'll wonder why few filmmakers take on such a challenge. The audience was so loud and boisterous at the World Premiere screening at the Tribeca Film Festival that it sent the laugh meter off the scale.

Anton Yelchin is Charlie Bartlett, a kid born with a silver spoon in his mouth and an enterprising, albeit mischievous, brain. His antics get him kicked out of one private school after another. But his clever and earnest sincerity is bound to hit the target sooner or later and it does when he is thrown to the public school wolves. The scheme he invents to endear himself to the student body is nothing short of genius, and his performance fits the bill.

Yelchin has made a name for himself playing the smart, sensitive, and innocent tortured kid. Here he gets the chance to stretch his acting chops in a completely different direction. He's confident and anything but vulnerable. The wide range of emotions and the talents he shows here are unsurpassed. He sings, he dances, he plays piano, he does physical comedy and has fight scenes and romantic scenes and just about everything that could be thrown at him. And he looks to be so thoroughly enjoying it, which comes across on screen and proves to be so central to the film. After all, to enjoy a film one must identify somewhat with the protagonist, or at least like him, and Anton does that better than many actors twice his age.

Hope Davis is a riot as his not-quite-all-there mother. It's easy to see the source of Charlie's quirkiness. The relationship between mother and son is playful and mischievous, the kind of "mom as best friend" scenario which often results in tragedy. Here it's played just for laughs, and it works. She is everymom - with a twist of lemon.

Tyler Hilton is perfectly cast as the bully who we know from the start is destined to soften up somewhere along the way. That's what movie bullies do. But he brings an especially charming quality to the role which plays perfectly against Charlie's leanings toward the dark side. It's a delicate balance but Yelchin and Hilton make it work.

Robert Downey Jr. is ironically cast as the substance-addled principal who also happens to be the father of Charlie's love interest. One has to wonder whether Principal Gardner or Downey is speaking in some of the more poignant scenes about alcohol and drugs. It's chilling. Perhaps for that reason alone he is a standout here.

Kat Dennings plays the girl who is out to win Charlie's heart. The dynamic with Downey and Yelchin is a natural source of drama. This is the film's most heartfelt storyline, and Dennings is admirably up to the task.

At times it all feels so real, and it's no wonder -- writer Gustin Nash actually continued to write scenes and dialogue specifically for those actors after the film got underway and it shows.

Charlie Bartlett has the look and feel of a studio film, which should help it find an audience. The subject matter demands an R rating, if only for its content. But it's a film kids need to see. The message is squarely aimed at teens, even younger ones, and parents need to take heed. In the guise of a comedy, a good one at that, Charlie Bartlett has something meaningful to say about the excuses we use to justify our behavior and the chemical coping methods so many of us cling to. And it's d*mn funny.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Charlie Bartlett (2007)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I thought the movie was going to take a darker turn when... ir13373r7h4nu
Was it just me, or did anyone else wonder... mrenigma22
Just AWFUL bLakLuNgZz
Harold And Maude? sarah_smiles84
RUSHMORE copy neaselbows
If Kip had died... chokolat_kake
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