High school high

>> Charlie Bartlett’s strong writing and
great performances make it more
than just another teen movie

by MALCOLM FRASER

It’s been a while since the high school comedy has had a landmark (arguably since Bring It On), so it’s a pleasure to report that Charlie Bartlett not only deserves its hype, but has more to offer than just good old-fashioned laughs and cringe-inducing memories.

Anton Yelchin plays the title character, a rich screwup who’s been kicked out of every private school in his unspecified town, forcing his clueless mother (Hope Davis) to enroll him in the local public school. There, he quickly overcomes hostility to his prep-school ways by going into business as an ad hoc psychiatrist and dealer of prescription drugs. He has to evade the wrath of the short-fused, alcoholic principal (Robert Downey Jr.) while pursuing Downey’s daughter (Kat Dennings) and trying to deal with, or rather avoid, issues of his own.

There’s a strong hint of Ferris Bueller to the Bartlett character, a comparison the movie’s marketers have ruthlessly exploited. While I wouldn’t dare front on the John Hughes classic, the truth is that Bartlett is a much more developed character than Bueller. Director Jon Poll, a veteran editor, and writer Gustin Nash (both making their feature debuts) give him a lot of charm, but also vulnerability and depth, which Yelchin ably captures. When he gets the school bully (Tyler Hilton) on his side with an inspirational speech, it’s hilarious, but when we see him reworking the speech in the mirror beforehand, it’s somehow poignant.

Similarly, where Jeffrey Jones’s evil principal in Bueller was a cartoonish (if brilliantly funny) villain, Downey is sympathetic as a man hopelessly failing to keep his school, and his daughter, under control. His ability to make the character human is all the more impressive considering that his presence has two levels of self-reflexive remove: not only as a Brat Packer in a post-Hughes teen comedy, but also invoking his personal history as he lectures the kids on the evils of drugs while twitching at his own hypocrisy.

Bartlett starts off as an above-average teen comedy (one that’s not above the occasional topless scene or retard joke) and evolves into a bittersweet and low-key comedic drama, subversive without being overly clever and pulled off with genuine heart and soul. Highly recommended.

Charlie Bartlett opens
this Friday, Feb. 22

>> Movie Listings