Charlie Bartlett
All actors and roles (10)
All team (50)
Short description
Charlie Bartlett is a teenager from a wealthy family who has been expelled from a series of private schools, largely because of his unusual sense of humour and his schemes for winning popularity. His mother enrols him in a public high school, where he struggles to fit in and quickly draws the attention of a bully, Murphy Bivens. Rather than stay an outsider, Charlie sets himself up as an unofficial counsellor to his classmates, listening to their problems and offering advice, which makes him unexpectedly popular. His activities bring him into contact with the school's principal, Nathan Gardner, and with Gardner's daughter Susan.
The film is a comedy drama directed by Jon Poll, working from a screenplay by Gustin Nash, and produced by Jay Roach, David Permut and Sidney Kimmel. Anton Yelchin plays Charlie, with Robert Downey Jr. as Nathan Gardner, Hope Davis as Marilyn Bartlett, Kat Dennings as Susan Gardner, Tyler Hilton as Murphy Bivens and Mark Rendall as Kip Crombwell.
Released in February 2008, the film runs 97 minutes and was made on a budget of about 12 million US dollars, against a worldwide box office of roughly 5 million. On IMDb and TMDB, audience ratings sit at 6.7 out of 10 from 716 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 5.8 out of 10 from 131 reviews, a modest gap between professional and viewer responses.
What's left behind the scenes
- Charlie Bartlett (the name of the protagonist and the film's title in English) is named after British psychologist and the first professor of experimental psychology at Cambridge, Sir Frederic Charles Bartlett (1886-1969). In one way or another, this somewhat unusual name is a reference to the comedy *Ferris Bueller's Day Off* (John Hughes, 1986).
- The film features the song If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out by British performer Cat Stevens. The same song has appeared repeatedly in the dark comedy *Harold and Maude* (Hal Ashby, 1971), which also told the story of a wealthy young man with serious problems.
- Charlie’s limousine is a classic 1969 Mercedes Benz Pullman. Only 200 of these cars were ever made.
- A live band called Spiral Beach is playing at the party. Three songs by this band are included on the film's soundtrack.
- Preparing for the role of the school team captain, Jake Epstein trained with a real football club.
- A family photo in Director Gardner's office depicts Susan Downey, the wife of Robert Downey Jr., who played the role of the director.
- The performers of the first three victims of Murphy – Bart Bannister, Terry Gotham, and Phuc Nguyen – are not credited in the film. The actor who played the bartender George is also uncredited.
- The psychiatrist in the final episode of the film is named P. Sarossi, in honor of cinematographer Paul Sarossi.
- Murphy says he would like to go somewhere with Whitney, and towards the end of the film they actually go on a date. The actors who played these roles, Tyler Hilton and Megan Park, are husband and wife.
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