Charlie Bartlett

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Yelchin delivers one of those performances that pop eyes... It's a breakthrough role.

Variety Ronnie Scheib

Rollicking story of a rich kid whose wildly successful bid for popularity has him playing drug-distributing shrink to an entire high school boasts pitch-perfect faceoffs between upstart Anton Yelchin and alcoholic principal Robert Downey Jr. that could fuel a chemistry lab.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

I would classify Charlie Bartlett as a smart teen film. It's more ambitious and overall more successful than its '80s forebears even though the resemblance is unmistakable.

USA Today Claudia Puig

A refreshingly entertaining character study that refuses to dumb down its youthful cast or bury their concerns in service of a catchy soundtrack.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

What the movie lacks in technical polish (it's not very handsome-looking) and dramatic perfection, it makes up for in unusual social sophistication.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

With its rebellious themes and pharmaceutical props - Ritalin, Prozac, Xanax all get doled out - Charlie Bartlett isn't going to win any awards from parent-teacher groups. But the underlying message of the film, with its nods to "Catcher in the Rye" and - '70s throwback here - "Harold and Maude," is a good one.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

It reminded me of "Pump Up the Volume" in many ways.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The film functions as a high-wire act that can leave you giddy with laughter.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Starts to get a bit preachy as it works its way toward a climax heavily influenced by "Rushmore," but it's still well above average for this type of film.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Jon Poll's harmless, occasionally entertaining debut feature.

Empire Sam Toy

After a strong start, the story ceases to challenge itself and its characters, offering easy options and a Prozac-soft finish.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Like most wannabe heroes of the eager-to-please teen comedy, poor little rich boy Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) is too charming by half and not nearly quirky enough.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

If the attention span of Charlie Bartlett didn’t wander here and there, the movie might have been a high school satire worthy of comparison with Alexander Payne’s “Election.” But as it dashes around and eventually turns soft, it loses its train of thought.

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

Instead of a unique directorial style and a memorable soundtrack, we get a movie that, visually and aurally, pretty much goes by the book.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Robert Downey Jr. is an uncomfortable sight as the school's hard-drinking, overstressed principal.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Sequences like the silly montage of Charlie on Ritalin (which just looks like the precious doodles of a former editor), grievously underdeveloped characters, and heavy heapings of sap instead of snark keep Charlie Bartlett from making the dean’s list.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Watching Charlie Bartlett only makes Wes Anderson's work seem more accomplished by comparison, because it underscores that thin line separating the agreeably fanciful from the overbearingly precious.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Decent acting forestalls the inevitable collapse for a long time.

San Francisco Chronicle David Wiegand

A relentlessly earnest teen film.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

For the most part, it's an uneven if amiable and occasionally inspired comedy about getting through adolescence that hits some false notes along the way.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Actually, occasionally, does feel good. Now if only it had something to say.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Spending more time with Downey's character would have benefited this movie no end.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The movie feels forced, cliched and derivative.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The dismal high school comedy Charlie Bartlett has the look, feel and sentiment of a made-for-video cheapie that might have been grudgingly whipped together by Robert Downey Jr. as some sort of court-ordered community service project for his many drug busts.

Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson

Are teenagers really supposed to identify with a clumsy caricature such as Charlie, who, in spite of all his expulsions and school crimes, comes across as a gawping, perpetually surprised infant in an adult body?