Recommendation: Charlie Bartlett

I have been neglecting the blog of late. School has this annoying tendency to get in the way of more important things. That, and I've been watching a lot of Community. So I'm back after a short hiatus with a recommendation for the 2007 movie Charlie Bartlett. I realize this recommendation is not exactly timely, but as I just recently saw it for the first time, I think it stands to reason that some of my readership may have also missed out on this delightful film.

The story follows a young man name, aptly, Charlie Bartlett, who just wants to fit in at school. He achieves this goal by becoming the self-appointed school shrink. Charlie, played by the adorable Anton Yelchin (whom you may know as Chekov from the new Star Trek), is irresistibly lovable, unless you are the school bully (Tyler Hilton of One Tree Hill) or the principal (Robert Downey Jr.). Will Charlie win them over? Will he become popular at school? Or will he get arrested for being a drug dealer and rabble-rouser?

I'm not going to answer these questions, but I will say that this is a very enjoyable movie. It has some of the tropes of your average high school comedy but manages to turn the genre on its side with a clever and unique plot hook. Plus, as I've said, it's impossible not to love Yelchin as Charlie and want to be his friend. Check out this trailer and tell me you don't want to pinch his little cheeks!