WARNING: Spoiler Review! If you haven’t seen this movie and plan on it, you’ve been warned.

I went to see Charlie Bartlett last night. I usually go to a movie every week or so, but I hadn’t been in nearly a month. It was a great movie. Anton Yelchin plays Charlie Bartlett, a wealthy private school student who is expelled for running a lamination mill in his room where he created fake IDs for hundreds of classmates. He then decides to attend public school, still wearing his private school uniform on the first day. He tries unsuccessfully to make friends, and realizes that the best way to gain popularity is to offer free medications to fellow classmates.

Charlie begins listening to his peers’ problems in a makeshift “office” in the men’s restroom, and when he found out their issues, he goes to his psychiatrist and tells him he has the same symptoms as his classmates in order to get prescriptions he can in turn pass on to them. He makes a huge profit, wins the love of the entire student body, and largely helps them medically when no one else would listen or they had no one else to turn to with their problems.

After a while, Charlie starts dating the principal’s daughter, landing him in even more hot water than he’s already in with school administration. His drug scheme is finally busted when a classmate tries to commit suicide by overdosing on Ritalin. He ends up going to jail for a short time, but makes amends with the principal and everyone else.

This was a great story told at an interesting angle, so if you’re up for some hearty laughs, a fast-paced, fun story line, and a sprinkle or two of drama, check this film out.

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