After spending time with the family shrink they have on retainer and being erroneously prescribed Ritalin, Charlie has an epiphany to recruit Murphy to become, if not his friend, then his business partner in selling the prescriptions at the school dance. Soon enough, Charlie’s access to mood-altering medication makes him the go-to guy for all of his fellow classmates who begin lining up in the hallway for their opportunity to have a psychiatric consultation with the precocious new kid. By this time, Charlie has not only begun reading psychiatric and medical books to aid what ails his classmates but has also started shrink shopping to get the right pills in the hands of the right students who want to avoid parental embarrassment and HMO woes on their path to mental stability.
Naturally, the long lines for the men’s room begin to garner the attention of Principal Gardner (Robert Downey Jr.), who not only has professional concern for the well-being of his students but is especially irked when he realizes that his daughter Susan has become the target of Charlie’s affections. Worried the boy is just after his daughter for bragging rights, Principal Gardner tries to put a stop to all of Charlie’s extracurricular activities, alienating himself from his colleagues, students, and Susan in the process before viewers begin to realize that — despite their age and situations — Gardner and Charlie have much more in common than one would think. They both desperately want to be liked and are prone to self-medication, with the principal's preference being unwinding with a bottle of booze while piloting a motorized boat in his family’s pool. In a different world, it’s apparent the two could have been friends, but when fatherhood and professionalism enter the equation, all bets are off. However, it’s the genius of the writing by Gustin Nash and Jon Poll’s sensitive direction that they never manage to sweep these issues under the rug, making each character equally vulnerable, equally innocent, and equally culpable in the scheme of things.
Article comments