Searching for a talent for himself and aim in life, Charlie Bartlett, a young smart high school student from a rich family, who struggles against being expelled from many schools, makes his mind and becomes the school's psychiatrist, the thing that inspires his life.
The characters remain halfway between genuine comic creations and realistic individuals, and the whole narrative feels artificial, stuck in the tension between being a morality play and a freewheeling comedy.
Charlie Bartlett is a refreshingly entertaining character study that refuses to dumb down its youthful cast or bury their concerns in service of a catchy soundtrack.
Watching Charlie Bartlett only makes Wes Anderson's work seem more accomplished by comparison, because it underscores that thin line separating the agreeably fanciful from the overbearingly precious.
Guardian
October 18, 2008
The promising themes peter out as the film loses direction, though, and Bartlett is neither sympathetic enough to root for nor dumb enough to laugh at.
Those waiting for the arrival of the next Juno may want to skip Charlie Bartlett, a relentlessly earnest teen film about a 17-year-old misfit who's been tossed out of one prep school after another for bad behavior.
Imagine an R-rated Ferris Bueller with only the most annoying parts of the younger Matthew Broderick's screen persona emphasized and you'll draw a bead on Bartlett.
Times-Picayune
September 04, 2009
There are sweet moments, and there are funny moments, but it all just becomes so eye-rollingly calculated that it's hard to appreciate.
