did another date night with the wife last night. i think i like her like her... weird. we've wanted to see the new Landmark Theaters in the westside pavilion and finally found a movie worth going there for... Charlie Bartlett. i guess i'm supposed to warn you that there's spoilers in this review... but then again, if you've ever seen a movie before, i'm not giving anything away that you wouldn't already know.
first things first, the theaters were nice. inside, they're your typical new design with stadium seating, huge screens, good sound, and that guy that comes out and talks to you before the flick starts. "wait, wait. if there's a problem with the movie projection, i should get up and do what? i'm confused!" they're very arclight-esque... but the lobby and surroundings are smaller and less design-centric. only real problem: when you walk out of the theater after the movie, they have fluorescent lights in the floor that are at worst blinding and at least really uncomfortable for the first few steps out of the darkness. hey, landmark - get a dimmer! then again, maybe if the movie was better, the lights wouldn't be so bad.
and onto the movie... Charlie Bartlett starring Anton Yelchin. wife and i have been a fan of his since he played Birdy on the too-short-lived drama Huff on showtime. but Charlie Bartlett is no Huff. it's the kind of movie you watch and think, "hmmm, it seems like a really good idea. where did they go so wrong in the execution?!" the most glaring problem for us was the near total lack of a realistic high school experience. apparently, the writer and director never went to high school and used cheesy, early '80s movies as their only research... right down to the bad, bully character that has tattoos and gains satisfaction acting in a play, the high school party that could never occur in any high school anywhere (live band playing in a packed theater?!), and the dating the principal's daughter storyline (spoiler: they actually really like each other!). it had so many devices that were so unrealistic, it completely took you out of enjoying the story of a rich, prep school kid that gains acceptance by being a quasi-school psychiatrist. kids line up for his advice... literally dozens deep, and the principal Robert Downey, Jr. has NO clue what's going on in the restroom stalls?!?! and there was some sub-plot about students being pissed that security cameras were installed in their outdoor student lounge. okay, i'll buy kids might be angry about security cameras... but it's in a student lounge that is so not what a real student lounge would be like if i believed public schools actually had "student lounges." our two favorite parts (for all the wrong reasons): charlie returning to school to the ridiculous cheers of the student body, who line the hallway and clap as he walks to his locker... and the moment when charlie and the bully/new business partner sell ritalin to the kids at the dance and the kids freak out like they dropped bad acid (though that was a nice way to work in some boobs!).
very disappointing movie... i urge you, if you're looking for a coming-of-age type of flick, to rent Outside Providence... which is roughly this story in reverse. a bad kid goes from public to private school. then again, i would like someone else to see this movie 'cause i think it'd be really fun to one-up each other with "ooh, remember that stupidness when..."
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