DVD Review: The Education of Charlie Banks: Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter, Eva Amurri, Chris Marquette, Sebastian Stan, Gloria Votsis, Danny A. Abeckaser, Dennis Boutsikaris, Miles Chandler, Sam Daly, William DeCoff, Amanda Donaghey, Fred Durst: Movies & TV
DVD Review: The Education of Charlie Banks: Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter, Eva Amurri, Chris Marquette, Sebastian Stan, Gloria Votsis, Danny A. Abeckaser, Dennis Boutsikaris, Miles Chandler, Sam Daly, William DeCoff, Amanda Donaghey, Fred Durst: Movies & TV
Amazon.com
The nervous charisma of indie leading man Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland) carries The Education of Charlie Banks, a story of doomed ambition, hopeless yearning, and lingering guilt. When teenaged Charlie Banks (Eisenberg) witnessed a handsome bully named Mick (Jason Ritter, Freddy Vs. Jason) beat up two other boys, he tells the police–but then, feeling like a rat, withdraws his testimony so that Mick gets released. A few years later, when Mick suddenly appears at Charlie’s dorm for a visit, Charlie lives in dread that his betrayal will be revealed. But as Mick successfully woos the girl Charlie’s in love with, Charlie and Mick grown enmeshed in mutual envy and reluctant admiration. The Education of Charlie Banks aspires to be a preppy version of The Great Gatsby (just to make that clear, the characters twice make references to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel), peppered with philosophical allusions to Hannah Arendt and Jacques Derrida. Unfortunately, despite Charlie and Mick’s backstory, these kids just don’t have enough of a past to seem driven or haunted–they just flounder like any other bunch of boozing, horny college students. Mick comes across as a junior-varsity Tom Ripley, more stalker than star-crossed. Still, it’s a surprisingly smooth-flowing movie from Fred Durst, the former lead singer of rap-metal band Limp Bizkit. Also featuring Eva Amurri (Saved!). –Bret Fetzer
Get to Know the Cast From The Education of Charlie Banks 
Eva Amurri (Mary)
Jason Ritter (Mick)
Jesse Eisenberg (Charlie)
Stills from The Education of Charlie Banks (Click for larger image)
Product Description
The Education of Charlie Banks, which marks the directorial debut of Limp Bizkit’s front-man Fred Durst, is a riveting tale about college students learning to deal with life, love, and ultimately facing their fears. This coming-of-age drama spans from the playgrounds of Greenwich Village to the idyllic greens of Vassar College.
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Taut Drama of Loyalty & Personal Responsibility,
By The Movie Man “tenebre89″ (Maywood, New Jersey USA) -
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What’s this?)
“The Education of Charlie Banks” focuses on Charlie (Jesse Eisenberg) who’s attending an Ivy league school when Mick (Jason Ritter), an old acquaintance with a history of violence, unexpectedly shows up. Fascinated by Charlie’s privileged lifestyle, Mick quickly wins over Charlie’s friends and girlfriend, Mary (Eva Amurri), as he insinuates himself into Charlie’s life. There is an underlying tension throughout the film, based on what we know about Mick, what we suspect, and the forces operating to come into inevitable conflict. Eisenberg (”Adventureland”) turns in a natural performance complete with downcast eyes, jerky gestures, and awkward gait. The film is a variation on the coming-of-age movie for which Hollywood has a passion, since it layers on themes of personal responsibility, loyalty and peer pressure, and doesn’t just settle on a first-love melodrama. Ritter’s Mick is especially good as a guy whose charm allows him to fit in and be accepted where he doesn’t truly belong. Bonus extras include audio commentary with director Fred Durst and Jason Ritter.
Good acting, good characters, but missing something…,
By Bryan Barrow (Santa Cruz, CA USA) -
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What’s this?)
I was impressed by the performances of the core cast, especially Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Ritter, but the dialogue/storyline, while interesting, could’ve been better. I think the writer was trying be a little too subtle exploring the issues of class, appearance, honor and redemption/forgiveness.
While he’s no Hitchcock, Fred Durst did a decent job as a first time director.
I’d recommend this one as a rental, but not one to purchase for repeat viewings.
The Education of Charlie Banks,
By DJ Deathwish (Tucson, AZ) -
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What’s this?)
I’m not going to waste space with a synopsis, since there is one right on this page, so I’ll just give you my thoughts. I found this movie to be terribly uneven and uneventful. What you would expect is a darkly tinged coming of age tale, what you receive is a director trying too hard to make this into a classic, which it just could not be. The film is overly long and perhaps if more time was spent in the editing room it may run a bit smoother and not lag in so many places. It’s not particularly well acted, the script is linear and flat, and the direction is mediocre at best. I really wanted to like this because it sounds great, but let’s face it; it’s been done before and done much better. But it’s not all bad, unfortunately the bad does outshine the good aspects here.
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