Being Charlie

Being Charlie (2015) is a drama movie directed by Rob Reiner and it tells the story of a former drug addict moving back home and making peace with everyone in his hometown. This movie was a first time watch for me and it was pretty good.

Positives for Being Charlie (2015): The movie does a good job at telling its story and getting its message across in an effective way. I also really liked the performances from the cast particularly Nick Robinson, Morgan Saylor, Devon Bostick, Susan Misner, Ricardo Chavira, Common and Cary Elwes. Nick Robinson is really good as this former drug addict and he is able to pull out a lot of emotions. I enjoyed the various interactions he has with the other characters. You also have a subpllt with Cary Elwes as the father and who is running for governor that creates with some good tension between the two men. And finally, I like the ending with Robinson and Elwes making peace with one another.

Negatives for Being Charlie (2015): The movie isn't very ambitious with its message and it feels very standard. The movie also relies on too many cliches that bog down the story for no reason. And finally, the movie never kicks into that next gear to make itself even better and get some more emotion from the central message.

Overall, Being Charlie (2015) is a decent enough drama movie with a good message and a great cast that sadly plays everything out safely, but I would still get this movie a good recommendation.

There are some films from this director I liked, I consider them my favourites, but this is an average film. I always like his film story lines and characters, something better than what other filmmakers fails to do. This is another interesting theme and this time it was about the drug addiction. The story of a guy named Charlie, who just turned 18 and being released from a rehab camp for underage people. But his father who runs for the governor wants him to go for adult's rehab right away. He does not want to, but after no other option, he joins and meets a troubled girl Eva. A little romance blooms and followed by how it all ends bring a full stop to the narration.

Looks a good theme, but the purpose was confusing. Of course, the drugs related issues, especially the film focused on the road of recovery from such addition. But it stayed more real than cinematic twists and turns. One way you will know how it all ends, but some of the characters were unpredictable. The end was good, concludes with a little message. Nick Robinson was really great. Initially I thought it was Jack O'Connell's film, mistook Nick Roinson as him from the poster. Lacks depth in narration, but really a nice film. At least you should watch it for Rob Reiner, if you're not convinced enough.

6/10

"Acceptance is the first step to recovery." Charlie (Robinson) is a drug addict who has been in and out of rehab. After escaping from his current treatment clinic he returns home, only to fall back into his same routine. Now, given the choice between another try at rehab or going to jail Charlie attempts to turn his life around. What he finds is that rehab is easier than dealing with his famous father (Elwes) in the middle of his run for Governor. This is a very tough movie to watch, due to the actions of Charlie and his father. You are rooting for Charlie the entire time, and you really feel when he is faced with a choice and you feel the tenseness that he does. The movie makes you really feel the roller coaster of emotions that Charlie is on and that really adds to the involvement and impact of the movie. Overall, great acting, writing and directing makes this less of a movie and more of an experience. I recommend this. I give it a B+.

And I wish Charlie 'not to be'. Oh, this flick is predictable and mostly boring! It has some good moments mostly within the first half hour but overall it's so been done before.

The opening of the story is certainly an attention grabber with Charlie leaving that 'Christian rehab center and smashing the stain glass window! Then being given a ride with a woman suffering cancer. Something surely of substance is going to unfold before us -- no not at all. Charlie calls a friend and the friend takes him home to Bel-Air to his very wealthy family. From this point on everything about this story is so predictable. Who couldn't figure out the father would put his political career first and the mother would be the go between for father and 'druggy' son? Of course there's the on again off again doped-up girl for Charlie, his friend Adam who accepts Charlie for what he is (and by-the-way Adam is the only character in the whole move with a personality), and Charlie is on the street then off the street then on the street.

The ultimate message here is that no one can change their life until they decide to do it themselves. This is symbolically shown when Charlie sweeps up the broken bottles at the beach house - his life at 18 years old is also a broken mess and it's time to clean it up. An hour and a half to get to the message everyone already knows. The end.

This movie came across to me as quite the downer, and didn't seem at all to be a Rob Reiner directed film. Nick Robinson is believable as the defiant and sarcastic Charlie Mills. He's 18-years-old and a drug addict and has gone to one treatment facility after another, only gaining brief periods of sobriety.

Nick is from a very well-to-do family with his father (Cary Elwes), a former movie star running for Governor of California. The bulk of the film will center on Nick's rehab attempts, as he continually flaunts and disregards the recovery program's and counselors recommendations, thinking he has all the answers. Unfortunately, it will take a tragedy to finally get his attention.

There's lots of unlikable characters here, plenty of drug use, raw language, explicit sexual references, and some nudity.

Overall, I had trouble caring about the characters here, and just found the movie to be more irritating than enjoyable.