Skip to main content
Charlie (Nick Robinson) is the newly 18-year-old son of an ex-movie star with political ambitions named David Mills (Cary Elwes). David is cold, distant and more focused on his gubernatorial campaign than his family. Charlie, on the other hand, is a heroin addict. A smart, sardonic, oddly good-looking heroin addict who does things like stand up to authority, listen to Moms Mabley albums and engage in a romantic fling with another smart, sardonic, oddly good-looking heroin addict (Morgan Saylor).
Films dealing with themes of addiction face unique obstacles because drugs can easily play into countercultural motifs, and counterculture will always seem at least a little appealing. So even in an anti-drug film, the addict often comes across as cool and rebellious. Many such films struggle with the complexity of having a central character who is likable enough to garner audience support, but far gone enough in inner turmoil to accurately represent the desolation of addiction. Being Charlie is no exception.
Complete with a long, pensive walk along the oceanfront, the film falls into well-worn devices found in many coming-of-age stories, but it's not without charmed performances. Charlie and his drug-dealing BFF, Adam (Devon Bostick) offer much-needed comic relief with their gallows humor. In a friendly effort to encourage Charlie's rehabilitation, Adam drops a Nazi slogan in casual conversation. The joke works in context, but it should be noted that if this type of humor offends your PC sensibilities, maybe you shouldn't be watching a movie about heroin addiction in the first place.
Among the film's darkest moments is a scene featuring Charlie freebasing with a soda can in a dingy restroom as his family crumbles under the weight of a son's addiction. The tension in moments like this is bolstered by the fact that Being Charlie was directed by Rob Reiner and co-written by his now-22-year-old son, Nick Reiner (along with Matt Elisofon), who struggled with drug addiction and homelessness as a teenager.
While the semi-autobiographical nature of the film makes some of Charlie's more charming characteristics seem a bit suspicious, there's something to be said for an artist's ability to work with such personal subject matter—let alone Rob and Nick Reiner's ability to work together on a film about a father and son who can barely stand each other.
The vast degree of personal and familial strength that went into making this film should be respected. That said, this is a movie about a rich, white teenager giving up heroin and slowly realizing that being a rich, white teenager might not be so bad after all.
Critic's Grade: C+
See it: Being Charlie is not rated. It opens Friday, May 13, at Fox Tower.
Willamette Week