''Being Charlie'' is a 2015 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Rob Reiner
Robert Norman Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1971–1979), a performanc ...
and written by Matt Elisofon and Nick Reiner. The film stars
Nick Robinson Nicholas, Nicky or Nick Robinson may refer to:
* Nick Robinson (journalist) (born 1963), British political journalist
* Nick Robinson (paperfolder) (born 1957), British origami artist
* Nicky Robinson (rugby union) (born 1982), Welsh rugby player ...
,
Common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
,
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...
,
Devon Bostick
Devon Bostick (born November 13, 1991) is a Canadian actor. He played Rodrick Heffley in the first three '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' films, starred in the Atom Egoyan-directed film ''Adoration'' (2008) and portrayed Jasper Jordan on the dystopian ...
,
Morgan Saylor
Morgan Frances Saylor (born October 26, 1994) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Dana Brody in the Showtime series ''Homeland'', 2019's '' Blow the Man Down'' and for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Leah in the 2016 ...
,
Susan Misner
Susan Misner (; born February 8, 1971) is an American actress and dancer. She has appeared in a number of TV series as a guest star, as well as several recurring roles.
Career
Misner portrayed Grace Davidson on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to ...
and
Ricardo Chavira
Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Carlos Solis in the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012). He also played Abraham Quintanilla in the Netflix original s ...
. It was screened in the Special Presentations section of the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival
The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naom ...
on September 14, 2015. The film was released on May 6, 2016, by Paladin.
Plot
On his 18th birthday, troublesome addict Charlie, who has been in and out of rehab for years, walks out of a youth rehab facility in rural Utah. He does so without incident as he is legally an adult. As Charlie starts to walk toward the road, he turns back and throws a rock through a stained glass window of the facility's chapel.
Hitchhiking, Charlie is picked up by a man and his sick mother. The man agrees to drop him at a bus station after dropping her off home. However when he discovers Charlie has stolen his mother’s oxy cancer treatment, he throws him out of his truck.
Charlie calls Adam, his best friend and dealer, to come pick him up. When he arrives home to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, his parents stage an
intervention.
Charlie's father was a Hollywood star who’s running for governor of California. Now, given the choice between another try at rehab or going to jail in Utah for damaging the stained glass, Charlie is forced to go to adult
rehab.
There, Charlie meets beautiful but afflicted Eva, another enabler. He also meets the typical group of wisecracking misfits, and the surprisingly down-to-earth ex-jailbird drug counsellor.
A man at Charlie's most recent inpatient facility who seems the most eager of the group, one day is just gone. Hoping the doctor would give him painkillers, he punched a concrete wall and simply walked away when he didn't get the medication he wanted.
The time at the inpatient facility moves by quickly—there's a routine—group meetings, yoga sessions, visits from and meetings with family members, tell your story to get a new chip every month. When Charlie moves to an outpatient house, the routine continues, albeit with some freedom.
The head of the house where Charlie stays tries to explain the problem with having a romance during recovery: Recovery is and must be selfish, as addiction is selfish. Hence Charlie’s relationship with fellow addict Eva might not work out. Juxtaposing that blunt but compassionate support is Charlie's mother, who tries to give him the love and encouragement of two parents.
After Charlie and Eva have their weekend pass together, while he’s on cloud nine, the look on her face whenever he offers advice or talk about love tells a different story. Fear, desperation and, sometimes, just blankness. At one point, Eva tells Charlie that the program isn't working. He tells her it's different this time. "It is different," she responds, and there's a moment of clear misunderstanding: He thinks it's different because they have each other, while she realizes he doesn't get her.
Without warning, Eva leaves. Charlie abandons the outpatient home to find her. Taking a vehicle from his dad’s for the search, he tracks her down to Venice Beach. He declares he loves her, embracing her, but she seems vacant. Taking her to the beach house, although Eva slept in his arms, by morning she’s left, and emptied two bottles of wine. She’s gone for good.
Outside of the program, Charlie falls off the wagon. He's on the streets for close to two weeks when he’s robbed. Broke, he seeks out Adam. They party, but at the end he ODs. Charlie is exonerated, but it makes the news. The next day is the election, so he takes off for the beach house.
Looking unlikely that David will win his gubernatorial run, he accompanies his inebriated wife to rest, when an aide seeks him out to inform him of his victory. A huge distraction from what really matters, he accepts his win alone.
The next day, David seeks out Charlie. They make peace, and Charlie plans to head out into the world. We see as the credits roll, he has become a standup comic.
Cast
*
Nick Robinson Nicholas, Nicky or Nick Robinson may refer to:
* Nick Robinson (journalist) (born 1963), British political journalist
* Nick Robinson (paperfolder) (born 1957), British origami artist
* Nicky Robinson (rugby union) (born 1982), Welsh rugby player ...
as Charlie Mills
*
Common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
as Travis
*
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...
as David Mills
*
Devon Bostick
Devon Bostick (born November 13, 1991) is a Canadian actor. He played Rodrick Heffley in the first three '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' films, starred in the Atom Egoyan-directed film ''Adoration'' (2008) and portrayed Jasper Jordan on the dystopian ...
as Adam
*
Morgan Saylor
Morgan Frances Saylor (born October 26, 1994) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Dana Brody in the Showtime series ''Homeland'', 2019's '' Blow the Man Down'' and for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Leah in the 2016 ...
as Eva
*
Susan Misner
Susan Misner (; born February 8, 1971) is an American actress and dancer. She has appeared in a number of TV series as a guest star, as well as several recurring roles.
Career
Misner portrayed Grace Davidson on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to ...
as Lisanne
*
Ricardo Chavira
Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Carlos Solis in the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012). He also played Abraham Quintanilla in the Netflix original s ...
as Drake
Production
On April 22, 2015, it was announced
Nick Robinson Nicholas, Nicky or Nick Robinson may refer to:
* Nick Robinson (journalist) (born 1963), British political journalist
* Nick Robinson (paperfolder) (born 1957), British origami artist
* Nicky Robinson (rugby union) (born 1982), Welsh rugby player ...
,
Morgan Saylor
Morgan Frances Saylor (born October 26, 1994) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Dana Brody in the Showtime series ''Homeland'', 2019's '' Blow the Man Down'' and for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Leah in the 2016 ...
,
Common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
,
Devon Bostick
Devon Bostick (born November 13, 1991) is a Canadian actor. He played Rodrick Heffley in the first three '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' films, starred in the Atom Egoyan-directed film ''Adoration'' (2008) and portrayed Jasper Jordan on the dystopian ...
,
Susan Misner
Susan Misner (; born February 8, 1971) is an American actress and dancer. She has appeared in a number of TV series as a guest star, as well as several recurring roles.
Career
Misner portrayed Grace Davidson on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to ...
,
Ricardo Chavira
Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Carlos Solis in the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012). He also played Abraham Quintanilla in the Netflix original s ...
and
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...
would star in the film.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in April 2015, and ended on May 7, 2015.
Release
The film premiered at the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival
The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naom ...
on September 14, 2015. The film was released on May 6, 2016, by Paladin.
Reception
''Being Charlie'' received negative reviews from critics. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has a rating of 23%, based on 43 reviews, with a rating of 5.09/10. On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
References
External links
*
{{Rob Reiner
2015 drama films
2015 films
American drama films
Castle Rock Entertainment films
Films directed by Rob Reiner
2010s English-language films
2010s American films