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For a film that apparently wants to bring a new spin to the teen comedy genre through the unusual plot of a kid serving as his peers' psychiatrist/druggist, Charlie Bartlett is extremely generic. It explores important issues of the teenage years, such as having anxiety over being accepted by others, being bullied, having suicidal thoughts, yet none of these things are brought to us in ways we haven't seen before. One of the film's main problems is that it wants to bring all these serious issues across with a side of comedy, and it would've been great if this had been pulled off successfully (see the British film The History Boys), but instead, the exploration of those serious issues and the attempt at comedy collide fruitlessly, keeping both from working as effectively as they should. The drama is only engaging on certain occasions, while the comedy really only gives room for a few "hehe" moments, but nothing that'll make anyone bust a gut.
The only performances here that are uniformly good are that of Kat Dennings (as Charlie's love interest and the principal's daughter), who brings a flair that would otherwise render the romantic aspect of the film as a total bore, and that of Mark Rendall as Kip Crombwell who manages the tough task of not coming across as a cliched emo kid and actually gives us the chance to sympathize with him. As the title character, Anton Yelchin is pretty uneven, though I'm glad he took on this role, because I do think he has a lot of potential (after watching him play the kidnapped boy in the severely underrated Alpha Dog), and hopefully this movie will help him move towards more recognizable roles in which his true talent might unfurl more effectively. Yelchin is very funny during the scene in which Charlie tries out for the talent show (playing the role of a girl who is explaining to his dad that she just got her period), but in most of the dramatic scenes, he seems to be staring blankly rather than conveying the emotions we need to see. Likewise, the usually great Robert Downey, Jr. looks extremely bored, for some reason. I don't necessarily agree that he needs to stop playing the alcoholic (especially considering how great he was in last year's Zodiac). He should take whatever role he wants; he just needs to do a better job than he's done in Charlie Bartlett.
The final scenes of the film involve a musical number by one of the characters. This scene feels completely misplaced and unnecessary to the film, and the fact that it is placed during the climax makes it an even worse sin. While I appreciated the sporadic quirks, it's hard to help feeling that Charlie Bartlett could've been a lot better. If you think this is the kind of movie you might be interested in, you might be better off waiting for the DVD, as it's the kind of film that might seem less disappointing on a smaller screen, when you don't have to pay $10 for it.
5/10
