Charlie Bartlett
| Charlie Bartlett | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jon Poll |
| Produced by |
Sidney Kimmel Barron Kidd Jay Roach David Permut |
| Written by | Gustin Nash |
| Starring |
Anton Yelchin Kat Dennings Robert Downey Jr. Tyler Hilton Hope Davis |
| Music by | Christophe Beck |
| Cinematography | Paul Sarossy |
| Edited by | Alen Baumgarten |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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February 22, 2008 |
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Running time
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97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12 million |
| Box office | $5.2 million |
Charlie Bartlett is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Poll. The screenplay by Gustin Nash focuses on a teenager who begins to dispense therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to the student body at his new high school in order to become popular.
The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on May 1, 2007, and was shown at the Cannes Film Market, the Maui Film Festival, and the Cambridge Film Festival before going into theatrical release in the United States and Canada on August 3, 2007. The movie had received mixed reviews from critics and was a technical box-office failure, earning back only $5.2 million of its $12 million budget.
The son of a depressed but doting mother (Hope Davis) and a father who is serving time for tax evasion, wealthy teenager Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin), - after being expelled from several private academies for various infractions - enrolls in a public school run by embittered alcoholic Principal Nathan Gardner (Robert Downey, Jr.), who was formerly a history teacher. Unable to fit in with most of his fellow students, Charlie forms an alliance with school bully Murphy Bivens (Tyler Hilton) and offers him half the proceeds from the sale of a variety of prescription drugs Charlie obtains by feigning physical and emotional symptoms during sessions with different psychiatrists.
Before long, his natural charm and likability positions him as the school's resident therapist, who offers advice within the confines of the boys bathroom. Charlie's social life noticeably improves as he gains the confidence and admiration of the student body and begins to date the principal's rebellious daughter, Susan (Kat Dennings).
Complications arise when seriously depressed Kip Crombwell (Mark Rendall) attempts suicide by swallowing a handful of anti-depressants provided by Charlie. Charlie befriends Kip after having an in-depth conversation with Principal Gardner. Charlie discovers Kip is writing a play about adolescent issues and pitches it to Gardner who is, at first, unsure but agrees when Kip says that it would make him less inclined to attempt suicide again. The students then have trouble with the student lounge; security cameras get installed, and they start a riot.
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