A refreshingly entertaining character study that refuses to dumb down its youthful cast or bury their concerns in service of a catchy soundtrack.Read Full Review »
75
ReelViews: James Berardinelli
I would classify Charlie Bartlett as a smart teen film. It's more ambitious and overall more successful than its '80s forebears even though the resemblance is unmistakable.Read Full Review »
75
Boston Globe: Wesley Morris
What the movie lacks in technical polish (it's not very handsome-looking) and dramatic perfection, it makes up for in unusual social sophistication.Read Full Review »
75
Philadelphia Inquirer: Steven Rea
With its rebellious themes and pharmaceutical props - Ritalin, Prozac, Xanax all get doled out - Charlie Bartlett isn't going to win any awards from parent-teacher groups. But the underlying message of the film, with its nods to "Catcher in the Rye" and - '70s throwback here - "Harold and Maude," is a good one.Read Full Review »
60
Village Voice: Ella Taylor
Like most wannabe heroes of the eager-to-please teen comedy, poor little rich boy Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) is too charming by half and not nearly quirky enough.Read Full Review »
60
The New York Times: Stephen Holden
If the attention span of Charlie Bartlett didn’t wander here and there, the movie might have been a high school satire worthy of comparison with Alexander Payne’s “Election.” But as it dashes around and eventually turns soft, it loses its train of thought.Read Full Review »
58
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Lisa Schwarzbaum
Robert Downey Jr. is an uncomfortable sight as the school's hard-drinking, overstressed principal.Read Full Review »
50
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Carina Chocano
For the most part, it's an uneven if amiable and occasionally inspired comedy about getting through adolescence that hits some false notes along the way.Read Full Review »
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