Being well-liked is a concern for most people, especially during high school. For Charlie Bartlett, it is his only goal. The film Charlie Bartlett tracks a teenage boy as he attempts to gain popularity and helps people contend their personal demons as they experience the awkward time between adolescence and adulthood. Using edgy hilarity and inspirationally uplifting victories, the film follows Charlie as he comes to find the reward in genuinely helping people.

Charlie (Anton Yelchin) is a truth-teller and fearless schemer, always coming up with a new plan to be appreciated by his peers. He has just been kicked out of yet another private school — this time for producing fake IDs for other students. His wonderfully aloof mother, Marilyn (Hope Davis) informs him that public school is the only option he has left.

Public school, of course, is no treat either. As Charlie begins to understand the school’s social hierarchy, his honesty and charm positions him as the resident psychiatrist. Charlie discovers that the kids who surround him — the outcast and the popular alike — are secretly in desperate need of help, and his entrepreneurial spirit takes over. Using the boys’ restroom as his office, Charlie becomes an underground shrink who listens to the private confessions of his schoolmates, using the pills he’s proffered from his own psychiatric sessions to help treat his ‘patients.’

Charlie encourages his classmates to take on other challenges, including new school rules created by the increasingly disenchanted Principal Gardner (Robert Downey Jr.). Gardner quickly develops an antagonism toward Charlie once he learns that the student has appointed himself the school psychiatrist; further, the struggle turns personal when Charlie starts dating the principal’s beautiful and bold daughter Susan (Kat Dennings).

Meanwhile, at home, Charlie keeps charming his way out of an inevitable confrontation with his adoring but utterly overwhelmed mother. While she is honest and loving, Charlie is often left to his own devices and ends up learning how to behave like an adult.

Charlie is a unique character, dealing with his turmoil in an unusual yet refreshing way. Rather than becoming angry or depressed, Charlie is able to overcome almost everything with straightforward optimism. Charlie isn’t focused on his studies, but he wants to inspire change. When he becomes interested in something, he fearlessly goes for it, and his classmates catch on to this enthusiasm. Still, he is not invincible. Charlie is tender and emotional with a relatable side, especially when dealing with issues regarding his father.

The film also dives into darker comedic territory. It is very much about the world we live in today where kids across America use or overuse psychiatric drugs.

As Charlie’s world and fledging psychiatric practice unravel, he begins to discover that there’s a whole lot more to making a difference than handing out pills. Having focused on being popular, it never before occurred to Charlie that he could be making a profound difference in people’s lives.

Robert Downey Jr. plays a very convincing world-weary divorcé with an alcohol problem who uses dry humor to get his point across. At times he ignores his daughter, is apathetic about his work and drinks himself into a stupor. Given his past drug and alcohol record in his real life, he portrays this persona effortlessly. As his character begins to understand more about the people around him, he comes to realize what is really important.

Kat Dennings is beautiful as Charlie’s love interest, Susan. Through the dysfunctional relationship with her father and her budding relationship with Charlie, she uses her strong personality to not only stand up for herself, but also play an integral part in Charlie’s growth.

The characters in Charlie Bartlett are truly representative of authentic teenagers, without glossing over the awkwardness and clumsiness that goes along with puberty. Screenwriter Gustin Nash wrote the screenplay while working at a store in a mall. It was there that he noticed the disparity between the teens wandering the mall. From the cheerleaders to the outcasts, he wanted to depict the truth of these characters. He accurately captured the benefit that teenagers often have over adults. Teenagers aren’t stupid at all times, and sometimes, such as the case with Charlie, they know just what they’re doing when they mess with themselves.

The film is smart, touching and funny, including a hilarious scene where Charlie reacts to having been over-medicated with Ritalin. Charlie may seem like the typical rich kid who needs to rebel to be accepted, but Charlie Bartlett is done in a new, fresh way. After listening to everyone else talk, Charlie decides to take some of his own advice, finds romance and learns to accept who he is.