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Starring: Hope Davis, Jr. Robert Downey, David Fraser, Derek McGrath, Stephen Young $17.99 Features:
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Editorial Review:
The kids at Western Summit High have "issues," and newcomer Charlie Bartlett is coming to their rescue. With a briefcase full of prescription pills and a head full of pop psychology, this rebel with a cause brings hilarious help to the student body and unending grief to their neurotic principal, Mr. Gardner (Robert Downey, Jr.). Suddenly, Charlie is the hottest man on campus and he's even caught the eye of Gardner's sultry daughter. An outrageous send-up of today's Prozac generation, Charlie Bartlett has your prescription for laugh-out-loud insanity!
The ghost of Ferris Bueller haunts Charlie Bartlett. In John Hughes' classic comedy, a wily principal chases a clever student all over Chicago. In editor-turned-director Jon Poll's darker-hued enterprise, the hero of the title (Huff's preternaturally poised Anton Yelchin) gets kicked out of private school for selling fake IDs, so his heavily-medicated mother (a reliably excellent Hope Davis) transfers her son to a public institution. Looking like a junior stockbroker in navy blazer and attaché case, he turns into a bully piñata, until he joins forces with surly dealer Murphey (Walk the Line's Tyler Hilton) to sell prescription medication and split the profits (Charlie secures the meds from an assortment of pill-pushing psychiatrists). By listening to their problems and offering well-researched advice, the unlicensed doc becomes the most popular kid on campus. He even captures the interest of self-possessed drama queen Susan (The 40-Year-Old Virgin's Kat Dennings), daughter of booze-soaked Principal Gardner (Robert Downey Jr. in top form). Gardner doesn't trust Charlie, but lacks the evidence to confirm his suspicions--so he sets out to secure some. Once he installs surveillance cameras, the game is on. By the end, the two competitors will have both lost... and won. Aside from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Charlie Bartlett recalls Wes Anderson's Rushmore, except Poll's Gustin Nash-penned satire trades counter-cultural cool for trenchant commentary about quick-fix solutions to deep-seated dilemmas. That means fewer laughs than its forerunners, but Charlie Bartlett presents a more penetrating analysis of today's generation gap. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Beyond Charlie Bartlett
More "School Days" Comedies
The Charlie Bartlett Soundtrack
More from MGM
Stills from Charlie Bartlett
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0 
Daughter loves it: 
A gift for my 19 yr. old and she loves it. He is charming and the show is a remiinder of the old Ferris B. days.
Saved By Some Good Performances: 
"Charlie Bartlett" is a fairly decent high school film that aims to be as quirky and effortlessly funny as Juno and Superbad but falls short, despite some good performances. The beginning of the movie is utterly stale, and made me wonder what I had gotten myself into. Anton Yelchin isn't great as the title character, but he grows on you by the end of the film. The rest of the cast is generally good, though Kat Dennings is great as always and Robert Downey Jr. is phenomenal, and really carried this film on...more info
Surprisingly Good: 
I don't think I can add much to the reviews already submitted. I just want to weigh in with my rating. This is a really good movie.
Yes, it's believable (enough) & no, it's not Ferris Beuhler:
Ferris and Charlie are both charismatic high school boys with authority issues and there the similarity ends. First of all, the big difference between Charlie Bartlett and Ferris Beuhler's Day Off lies in the movies' fundamental attitudes. Ferris Beuhler, a straight-forward comedy, is about the adventures of a charming high school guy who cleverly and somewhat endearingly cons his way out of every mess and challenge that attempts to thwart his intention of taking the day off from school. Charlie Bartlett,...more info
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