Charlie Bartlett (2007)

Director: Jon Poll

Cast: Anton Yelchin as Charlie Bartlett, Robert Downey Jr. as Principal Nathan Gardner, Hope Davis as Marilyn Bartlett, Kat Dennings as Susan Gardner, Tyler Hilton as Murphy Bivens, Mark Rendall as Kip Crombwell, Dylan Taylor as Len Arbuckle, Megan Park as Whitney Drummond, Jake Epstein as Dustin Lauderbach, Jonathan Malen as Jordan Sunder, Derek McGrath as Superintendent Sedgwick, Stephen Young as Dr. Stan Weathers, Ishan Davé as Henry Freemont, David Brown as Officer Hansen, Eric Fink as Thomas

The transitional age we all suffered through were our formative years,
during High School. This is where you learn what you believe is wrong
and what you didn't believed is even more wrong. It's at this very
trying time, one learns in order to survive, one must adapt, ignore the
obvious and embrace the impossible. This film called " Charlie Bartlett
" deals with all those issues and more. It begins with young Charlie
(Anton Yelchin) a teen who dreams of becoming the most popular boy in
school. The reality is definitely the opposite. Although rich and
spoiled by his dotting mother, Charlie who has caused so much trouble
in private schools, has been transferred to public education. Here he
begins by being out of place, out of step and out of touch. Between
becoming a bully's (Murphey Bivens) daily punching bag and dreaming of
popularity, his efforts only land him in the arms of a shrink who
proscribes a plethora of pharmaceutical drugs. Realizing their true
value with the student body, he not only starts selling drugs, but
becomes a peer confident. The change of life brings many rewards, and
growing popularity but unfortunately closer to the troubled Principal
(Robert Downey Jr.) and his rebellious daughter (Kat Dennings). All the
characters have issues and our hero makes use of his substantial gifts
of persuasion. The movie is surprisingly interesting and should not be
underrated. It's a fun film and one which holds the attention of multi
generational audiences. Recommended to anyone with an open mind. ***