54
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttYelchin delivers one of those performances that pop eyes... It's a breakthrough role.
- 80VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibRollicking story of a rich kid whose wildly successful bid for popularity has him playing drug-distributing shrink to an entire high school boasts pitch-perfect faceoffs between upstart Anton Yelchin and alcoholic principal Robert Downey Jr. that could fuel a chemistry lab.
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliI would classify Charlie Bartlett as a smart teen film. It's more ambitious and overall more successful than its '80s forebears even though the resemblance is unmistakable.
- 60Village VoiceVillage VoiceLike most wannabe heroes of the eager-to-please teen comedy, poor little rich boy Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) is too charming by half and not nearly quirky enough.
- 58Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumRobert Downey Jr. is an uncomfortable sight as the school's hard-drinking, overstressed principal.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenSequences like the silly montage of Charlie on Ritalin (which just looks like the precious doodles of a former editor), grievously underdeveloped characters, and heavy heapings of sap instead of snark keep Charlie Bartlett from making the dean’s list.
- 50Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanDecent acting forestalls the inevitable collapse for a long time.
- 30Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonThe movie feels forced, cliched and derivative.
- Are teenagers really supposed to identify with a clumsy caricature such as Charlie, who, in spite of all his expulsions and school crimes, comes across as a gawping, perpetually surprised infant in an adult body?
- 25Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldSeattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldThe dismal high school comedy Charlie Bartlett has the look, feel and sentiment of a made-for-video cheapie that might have been grudgingly whipped together by Robert Downey Jr. as some sort of court-ordered community service project for his many drug busts.