"Charlie Bartlett"

Seen on: February 23, 2008

The players: Director: Jon Poll, Writer: Gustin Nash, Cast: Anton Yelchin, Kat Dennings, Tyler Hilton, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis

Facts of interest: Anton Yelchin also starred in "Alpha Dog."

The plot: A private-school reject (Yelchin) comes up with a great plan to become an underground shrink at his new high school.

Our quick thoughts: High school life can be tough. But wouldn’t it help if you had someone you could actually talk to about your troubles? You know, someone your age maybe who feels your pain and may have a brilliant suggestion or a little pill to make you feel better. In Jon Poll’s coming-of-age comedy “Charlie Bartlett,” a clever high school reject becomes the school’s most popular kid by offering first-class advice to anxious students seeking help.

Written by Gustin Nash, “Bartlett” qualifies as a funky experiment that distances itself a little from the conventional high school comedies dealing with the same old bitter rivalries. In a nutshell, the story focuses on an outsider wanting to fit in. All main character Charlie desires is for people to like him, and he feels he can achieve this by helping his classmates face their problems and challenge their fears. In the film’s funniest scenes, Charlie offers private therapy sessions to fellow students by running a practice and pharmacy out of the men’s bathroom.

Unfortunately, the movie runs into unexpected trouble during its second half. It starts off incredibly strong with tons of energy and a high dosage of laughs and original dialogue, but then all of a sudden takes a drastic turn and dives into a nearly melodramatic last part. Not that this spin severely damages the film or reduces the level or entertainment, but it kills some of that delicious innovation the audience is supplied with at the beginning. The simplistic thematic and predictable moral are a little too obvious as well.

Anton Yelchin, who recently starred in Nick Cassavetes’ “Alpha Dog,” delivers a refreshing, yet quite eccentric performance as Charlie Bartlett. He plays his role with incredible ease, and his catchy lines are perfectly timed and credible. Hope Davis tries a little too hard as Charlie’s wacky mom, but her scenes with Yelchin work just fine. Also on board are Robert Downey Jr. in the fabulous role of the drinking high shool principal, and Kat Dennings, who stars as his daughter and Charlie’s flame. In case you were wondering, she played the weird piano girl alongside Hilary Duff in “Raise Your Voice.”

Freaky quote: "My family has a psychiatrist on call, how normal can I be?" – Anton Yelchin

The final word: “Charlie Bartlett” is an overall entertaining film that keeps the laughs coming and centers on a story with some truth to it. Nash’s script is flawed and slows down the pace of the plot during the second half, but the enthusiasm of the cast will keep you intrigued until the end of the session. And who knows, maybe Charlie has a solid word of advice for you too.