His troubles multiply, however, when he takes up with the principal’s (Robert Downey, Jr.) daughter, Susan (Kat Dennings). The principal is pretty unpopular with the kids, and even his own daughter is lippy and distant with him. He turns to drinking, which only gets worse with time. Susan is crazy about Charlie, though, continues to see him, and even lures him into giving up his virginity.
Charlie is on top of his game, fully in charge of his high school, until a tragedy occurs that leaves his sense of power and control shaken to the core. Only if he sees the error of his ways, humbles himself, and changes course, will things at the high school have any hope of moving forward with true change.
Charlie Bartlett is one of the most thought-provoking movies ever made about teens. If you have junior-high or senior-high kids, and you are experiencing the sullenness and withdrawal of your sons, or the lippiness and prickliness of your daughters, you’ll see instantly that these moviemakers have perfectly portrayed some key emotions that plague the children of our culture. The young protagonist sees the issues and tries to meet the needs of his peers in whatever ways he can, but he finds, as we all do, that the world’s system does not have the answers. In the end, he and the others do find a way to move forward, but it falls short of the fulfillment that we, as believers, know is available to us all through Christ.
What’s sad is that no one tries to meet the kids’ needs with a spiritual solution. But isn’t that typical of life in our public schools? It would have been so wonderful to see a Moms in Touch group quietly praying for the children (as in our public school), and rejoicing when God touches lives in remarkable ways.
Overall, Charlie Bartlett is a well-made, funny but sad, targeted look at the very real emotions that plague our children. It is very worth the ride as an enlightening case study on the cynicism, meaninglessness, relativism, disillusionment with authority, and desperate search for authenticity that many teens deal with daily.
CAUTIONS:
- Drugs/Alcohol: Beer, wine, smoking cigarettes and marijuana, and prescription drugs shown often. One character is an alcoholic who drinks constantly and gets in trouble. All substance abuse is rebuked in the end.
- Language/Profanity: Numerous (about two dozen) obscenities and a few profanities.
- Sex/Nudity: Topless girls (hyped up on Ritalin) seen running through high school hallway; girl seduces guy into losing his virginity; nothing overt shown.
- Violence: Bully beats up other kids and videotapes it. Includes punches, bloody noses, kids crammed into lockers, etc. A man fires about four shots out of a gun and accidentally pushes a student into a pool. He rushes to make sure he doesn't drown; the student survives. A man attempts suicide by taking a large dosage of anti-depressants.
- Worldview: The hearts of high schoolers are empty, and no one is giving them good answers for their angst.