Tribeca - Charlie Bartlett
I was convinced that after Live! my last three movies were going to feel really anti-climatic. Which would have been true if not for this great movie. Take your typical teen coming of age story these days. The protagonist doesn’t fit in anywhere, wants the girl he can never have, blah blah blah. It has been done hundreds if not thousands on times. So the fact that this film completely throws all of that out for a much more realistic approach is fucking sweet. The premise is simple. Charlie is a smart, rich kid who keeps getting kicked out of prep schools for acting up. The movie starts with him getting tossed from his latest school, which results in him heading over to the local public school. Oooh you say, this is totally going to be rich-kid-learns-to-be-cool movie. Well, not quite that either.
In fact, the movie seems to flirt with and dismiss pretty much ever teen movie stereotype on its way to creating a film that actually captures what it feels like to be a teen. Not because it is the most realistic movie, but because it captures the essential yearning for validation that is such a part of growing up. The essential core of being a teenager is desperately trying to find your place in the world and heavily resenting any adult who tries to tell you what it is, and this film captures all of that. And it manages to be hilarious as well. When it is not being serious.
The casting of Robert Downey Jr. as an alcoholic school principal is pretty damn funny as well. But he continues to prove that he is just a gifted actor. Between this and “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang†he is fast becoming an actor whose presence can drag me to see a movie. Five out of five for being smart, funny, and accurate about what its like to be a teenager. It was apparently a good year at Tribeca for smart movies about teenagers growing up. I’m all for it. This comes out August, probably in a limited release. Go see it. Support non-sucky movies.