Charlie Bartlett isn’t your ordinary teenager. In fact, there’s probably never been anyone quite like him – at least since Ferris Bueller. Thanks to his unique personality and an impeccable ability to persuade just about anyone, “Charlie Bartlett” makes a perfect candidate for a new take on the teen drama.

After being thrown out of a prestigious private high school, Charlie becomes the little rich kid thrown into a big dysfunctional public school. On his first day, Charlie is treated like any other unpopular outsider. Finding a way to fit in, Charlie becomes a self-appointed psychiatrist by using his family’s personal shrink to supply his fellow students with prescription drugs. With his newfound respect, Charlie becomes the go-to-guy for just about everything. However, that popularity may be short lived. With Principal Gardner taking notice to the drastic change in the student body, Charlie gets himself in more of a bind seeing that he’s dating the incompetent principal’s daughter.

At the core of the film is the relationship between Charlie and his new principal. Helping it stand out among other teen dramas is the stellar performances by Anton Yelchin as Charlie and Robert Downey Jr. as Principal Gardner. The interaction of these great talents imposes a relationship that is not only important to each character, but is also praise-worthy as well. Here we see, in the places we least expect it, how everyone needs help fitting in sometimes.

In large part, “Charlie Bartlett” is a film about finding your purpose in life. In the smallest sense, it can be simply about fitting in. As Charlie eventually realizes, all the students at this high school are their own outcasts who each have something unique to offer. Getting it to come out is a test for everyone, including Charlie. For as much as Charlie believes it, it’s easy for us to believe it too.