Reviews
Charlie Barlett (15)
"My family have a psychiatrist on call, how
normal can I be?" asks Charlie Barlett, the
latest in a long line of troubled teens whose
growing pains provide fodder for screen writers.
Charlie (Anton Yelchin) has an additional
problem. He's a rich kid, who lives in a big
house and is driven around in a chauffeured car.
Oh yes, his father is in prison and his mother
Marilyn is slightly bonkers. Expelled from the
latest in a long line of private schools, he's put
into the public school system. These are the
usual ragtag collection of misfits, bullies and,
equally inevitably, the girl who takes a shine to
the newcomer. She also happens to be the
rebellious daughter of the school principal
(Robert Downey Jr), who likes playing with his
model boat in his home's swimming pool.
Finding anyone normal is as likely as finding
Steven Seagal in a romantic comedy. Charlie
discovers a way of being liked - he sets up as a
psychiatrist in the school toilets and, armed with
pills prescribed by a succession of his shrinks,
offers both advice and drugs to anguished
teens. He's soon the most popular boy in school
with even the school bully falling under his spell.
Yelchin works hard to make the rich and
enterprising Charlie someone you want to root
for. Davis, as ever, does wonders with the
sketchily written role of his mother. And it's good
to see Downey Jr, away from the superhero
excesses of Iron Man, on top form as the quirky
and knowing principal.
Stars: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr, Hope
Davis.
Running time: 97 mins
Rating: Three stars
4:53pm Friday 16th May 2008
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