I just started thinking about depression, which was prompted by watching the great quality film “Charlie Bartlett”, or “Charlie Brown tee hee” as Kirstin calls it.

Couple things to note about the actual movie: Since it was set in a high school, with high school kids, it (along with any other movie set in a high school, might I add) takes place in the super-cliche type of high school, perfectly lampooned in Not another teen movie. You know the one, overly emphasized cliques, brutal beatings at the hands of overdeveloped bullies, et cetera. Suburban high schools that are more dangerous than any high school in compton, no big deal. That crazy high school always kind of bugged me, but I do suppose that it is just a movie, so I’ll let it slide.
Also, You kind of have to ignore the fact that Charlie would get taken down in like 2 or 3 days. I don’t want to spoil it, but it’d happen.

Other than that, it has a few short stories on a number of different issues often plaguing the average teenager, or teenager’s parent, as well as the not-so-average version of each. They didn’t really dive super deep into each character– they couldn’t in just a movie– but they let you taste enough of each character for you to relate your own youth to, and also to draw inspiration from the typical, but milestone problems that are solved in this movie. You can say what you want about the plausibility of the whole thing, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t have to be plausible to the point of it really being able to happen– it can’t– because it only has to be plausible enough for you to relate to it, and to gain something from it. For me, it does those both quite well; even on some of the conundrums that I have yet to experience.

Review aside, it did make me think about depression, as I mentioned earlier, and about how little it really takes for things to get to someone. Especially when those little things come from some of the big things in your life. It’s easy to forget about the big picture, or “the universe”, as Charlie lightly refers to it. Honestly, it doesn’t always help to zoom out like that at the time of the crisis, perspectively speaking, but it often does help you gain a new light on the matter afterward, which enables you to mitigate your next crisis, if it ever does come. No matter how you come out of a low spot, however, each time should be looked at as a challenge that can be overcome, because as sad as the fall is, the rise is that much more glorious. There is something to be said about watching someone finally realize what matters, where their priorities lie that probably cannot be expressed in mere words, but I will try: It is gorgeous.

kl