The Education of Charlie Banks: Critic Reviews

50%

MovieWeb: 2 reviews

48%

RottenTomatoes: 27 reviews

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Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly (Top Critic)

59

Ritter, who's like the young Ethan Hawke on a bender of violence, is an actor to watch.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Jeannette Catsoulis New York Times (Top Critic)

60

Thanks to sincere performances (most notably from Mr. Ritter and Eva Amurri as Charlie's upper-crust crush) and clever writing (by Peter Elkoff), the movie never becomes maudlin.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Vadim Rizov Village Voice (Top Critic)

If it's a failure, at least it's a laudable one instead of cynically by-the-numbers.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Joe Neumaier New York Daily News (Top Critic)

40

Another nicely understated performance from Jesse Eisenberg anchors this shambling drama, the latest film from Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Andrew Sarris New York Observer (Top Critic)

I fully recommend The Education of Charlie Banks to anyone looking for something truly and subtly different.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Kyle Smith New York Post (Top Critic)

38

The Education of Charlie Banks wants to be The Great Gatsby of college movies. It falls a tad short.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Greg Quill Toronto Star (Top Critic)

63

An earnest, if romanticized, examination of the American class system in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the eternally confounding politics of acceptance and exclusion.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Liam Lacey Globe and Mail (Top Critic)

50

One of those voice-over memory stories about a college student coming to terms with the bully who haunted his childhood.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Stephanie Zacharek Salon.com (Top Critic)

There's enough sweetness, and enough just-under-the-surface intelligence, in "The Education of Charlie Banks" to suggest that Durst may have a future as a filmmaker.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Michael Rechtshaffen Hollywood Reporter (Top Critic)

Travels in some unexpected, thoughtful directions.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Robert Abele Los Angeles Times (Top Critic)

40

Too often Durst's direction is overly earnest, heavy in long takes, atmosphere wise but scene foolish.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Brian Orndorf DVDTalk.com

34

Would've made a swell student film for Durst, a safe haven for the rocker to work out his film school inclinations. As a feature-length requiem for the disturbed soul, this picture is woefully ineffective.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Chris Cabin Filmcritic.com

80

perceptive and gripping
Full Review » 3 years ago
Liz Braun Jam! Movies

50

It's just a shame the story wasn't handled as a simple memoir, rather than some sort of cautionary tale.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Jurgen Fauth About.com

60

A surprisingly amiable coming-of-age tale that is especially remarkable for its honesty about class.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Matthew Nestel Boxoffice Magazine

70

The cast is superb in their performances.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Scott Mendelson Film Threat

60

A film that succeeds at being good without really succeeding in being worthwhile.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Ben Mankiewicz At the Movies

There are some things to like about The Education of Charlie Banks, but also plenty that detracts from what could be an interesting story.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Ben Lyons At the Movies

You take one scene that doesn't quite get there followed by another scene that doesn't quite get there, all of a sudden you've got a movie that doesn't quite get there.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Pete Hammond Hollywood.com

40

Unnerving and uneven college drama is well-acted but doesn't seem to know what it's trying to say.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Dave White Movies.com

34

Full Review » 3 years ago
Geoff Berkshire Metromix.com

60

If Banks had actually opened pre-Longshots it would have signaled a surprisingly smart start for Durst's filmmaking career.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Kam Williams NewsBlaze

75

If you're at all intrigued by the idea of exploring angst and anomie among the entitled upper crust, then this Ivy League variation on Fight Club just might satiate that effete brand of bloodlust.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Amy Nicholson I.E. Weekly

42

The film's potential cynicism is suffocated with a TV movie flatness, occasionally--and egregiously--spackled with sentimental music that makes it sag when it should slice.
Full Review » 3 years ago
Marshall Fine Hollywood & Fine

If The Education of Charlie Banks were a better movie, it would be a star-making vehicle for Jason Ritter.
Full Review » 3 years ago