Charlie Bartlett

"Viagra! Virgin! Vino! Vagabond! Vagina!"

A witty teenager garners 2008's first golden prize

On its surface, Charlie Bartlett appears to be just another teen comedy. In fact, many other critics have slammed it, one calling it “The poor man’s Rushmore”. If you look at the cover, I might have to agree. But I’m certain that particular critic didn’t bother to watch the film, because if he had watched it, he would’ve been hard pressed to even compare the two films. While Rushmore is, more or less, a coming of age film, Charlie Bartlett touches a much different surface; it is a mellow comedy that touches on the importance of youth and the imperfections of humans.

Charlie Bartlett follows the title character as he is expelled from his private school (which is something of a habit for him) and enters, for the first time, a public school, and his struggles, and ultimately, success in being accepted. This film does a fine job of elevating simple humour into something much funnier. I was trying to figure out where I had seen this kind of humour before, and it finally hit me – Charlie Bartlett is the comedic version of Hannibal Lector, with maybe the charm of Ferris Bueller and the wits of Daria Morgendorfer.

There are two important aspects to this film; the first focuses on the importance of youth. Edgar Lee Masters once wrote, “Genius is wisdom and youth”, in his magnum opus Spoon River Anthology. If such is the case, Charlie Bartlett emulates genius. The title character is very mature for his age, and, largely, has been unable to enjoy his youth, which is a major progression in the film. The second major theme is the idea of humanity. No one is perfect, and that is something that portrayed not only through the title character, but through almost every character with whom he interacts.

Anton Yelchin plays the title character, and I can’t say enough good things about this young star. He tackled this role, free of flaws. He made the character real, lovable, and memorable. I like him as much as Max Fischer, though comparisons really cannot be made. Yelchin also gets special snaps for a monologue that you must see to believe. If Yelchin were English, he would’ve been in very high demand to play in The History Boys.

This film had everything I look for in a good film. It had good light hearted humour, superb acting, simple, yet powerful themes, and lots of memorable quotes. I know fellow critics will shun this one, but, I am a shameless person, and I give films what I think they deserve: I give it an A-.