The Education of Charlie Banks (2007)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The truth is If I had known in advance this was a movie directed by Fred Durst, I would've said 'I'd rather read the yellow pages than wasting my time in something made by Fred Dust'. It was a good thing I didn't learn about it till the end of the movie.I'm watching all of Sebastian Stan's movies, and of course this one was on the list, so I decided to spend this hot summer night watching this movie.And what a surprise!I honestly don't know where to begin. OK, I know where to begin.The director of this film, Mr. Fred Durst. All those that know me know how much I hate Limp Bizkit (still do) and especially Fred Durst. But I have to be fair, and after watching this movie I have to say why the hell isn't this guy making movies instead of making awful music? I have to bite my tongue now, and say congratulations for a job very well done. I wasn't really expecting it.But don't expect me to say the same thing about the band lol.The settings, edition, and picture of the movie are beautiful. The music was very well chosen and perfect for every scene.The actors: the cast is perfect. Especially the way Jesse Eisenberg played Charlie, and Jason Ritter played Mick. You get immersed so easily in the story and with the characters that you want to be one more of the group. The choices we make and how they shape our life, our future. The way things can affect your life, especially family, money, growing up in a good environment, friends, motivations, opportunities… you see all that in this movie. This movie tends to play with your emotions and makes you hesitate, if I had been in Charlie's shoes, what would I've done? Was he right or wrong? If someone don't have many opportunities in life and grew up in a poor environment, is the other person guilty for life or should that person get a second, even a third opportunity? Should we just sit down, judge them and throw them away… or should we take the time to make the difference even if its not an easy thing to do?Since my reason for watching this movie was Sebastian Stan, I have to say I loved Leo, he's the friend we would all love to have, fun, friendly, easygoing, charming and did I say fun? Sure he did one bad thing but hey we're not perfect, are we? I loved the way Sebastian played Leo and I would've loved to see more scenes with him in the movie. oh and when I saw the ocean I thought 'it would be great if they all grab Leo and throw him off into the water', seconds later bang! They did it, I was laughing. Love, friendship, fun, experimentation, loyalty, friendzone, lessons of life, its all here.Highly recommendable!

This film is an okay coming of age story. Jason Ritter and Jesse Eisenberg play childhood friends who meet up later on at Charlie's Ivy League college three years later after an incident. The story begins in their neighborhood in Greenwich Village section of New York City. Charlie's father owns and runs a bookstore but we don't know much about Jason Ritter's Mick character. The story is about bullying and intimidation. Charlie witnesses a crime but recants and that is all I'll say about it without spoiling it for other readers. Three years later, he's in college with his friend, Danny. Mick shows up and takes over his territory in a manner of speaking with friends and the girl he likes. The film is okay but not brilliant. The writing is a bit weak at times. There doesn't seem to be much suspense when we know the secret from the beginning. Anyway, Ritter and Eisenberg do well with the weak script.

Others here have expressed that this Indie film was good and I agree. I think it could have been better. I also agree, the educational part was not about Charlie Banks, who seems very passive and self centered with many short rather flippant comments. He really doesn't rise very high on the intellectual ladder. However, I also felt as a privileged kid who had all his little ducks in a row, and egocentric as most of these people are, the film seemed to project a kind of real life situational social drama.What exactly Charlie learned? Well, I was mystified how a moocher could live and walk about an Ivy League campus without some security officer kicking him out. I suppose this does happen where friends allow for social reasons something like these triangles to happen. But, gosh uncle Elmer how did he eat and live in a dorm room that was rented for two legitimate male students.I suppose the moral crisis comes late in the story, and in fact, Charlie and his Mich buddy were not physically matched for fighting. I would have thought Charlie would have attempted to undermine Mich earlier in the film, rather than passively sulking and accepting this man's total illegitimacy as a college student.However all these picky concerns did not over all make me dislike the flick. I have known students like Charlie before and wondered if they actually had any moral compass other than their own egocentric interests in sex and pleasing their parents.I rated it above my standard 5 to a 7. The film is worth a look !

I was genuinely surprised by Durst's directorial debut.The characters were rich and Jesse Eisenberg did a fabulous job of taking the lead as Charlie.The setting was nice and Durst seems to have gone into great detail in trying to capture the essence of college life in the 80's.Eisenberg ,definitely the star of the show , does a fabulous job getting across as Charlie.He is a wonderful actor and I am glad to see he is back to his "Indie" roots(Squid and the Whale was fabulous.Didn't know why he was associated with Cursed...).The screenplay could have been better but the storyline was not over- complicated and kept you captivated till the end.Durst seems to have a great touch at this which has surprised me but then again he never ceases to surprise us all.He seems to have his hand in everything these days.Kudos to Durst and hope to see him in the future with stronger actors and better budgets.