Charlie Bartlett is a very sweet little movie about a creative and resourceful (and rich) misfit determined to fit in at his high school. It’s quirky, surprising, and amusing. In a sea of painfully formulaic high school movies, here’s one that manages to defy expectations consistently from start to finish. They even made an attempt to pull the whole thing together at the very end, like an upper-echelon romantic comedy; it didn’t totally work, but I’m impressed at close they came given how quickly they had to reveal Charlie’s depths at the very end. All the acting is solidly good, and the dialog is definitely above average.

In the mood for an intelligent and fun comedy about high school? Good luck finding one in theaters, but Charlie Bartlett streams on Netflix – I recommend it!