Rockhurst Sentinel

Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Lifestyle

His latest scheme to solve the problem of likeability involves acting as a student psychiatrist. He listens to his peers' problems and then claims the symptoms to be his own before the prescription happy hands of his own family psychiatrist. Our protagonist is a charming, drug-pushing teenager.

Certainly, the potential for comedy is littered about such a premise. The problem with the movie is that its dramatic depth lies within this same premise. As opposed to the troubling, suicide-inducing struggles found within "In Bruges", the drama of "Charlie Bartlett" encircles the various problems of teenagers, who's problems are, unfortunately, very adolescent in their nature. A suicide struggle is similarly interlaced within the plot, but it is due to a vaguely accentuated sense of "not fitting in."

The movie is, therefore, terribly corny at times, and it makes you extremely appreciative of the fact that you're out of high school. It has plenty of funny moments, but the annoyances of the various characters' painfully "high-school" problems overshadow the film's comedic elements.

For all of these reasons, I'm giving "Charlie Bartlett" the Wait For Rental rating.

Until next time…


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