"Charlie Bartlett" received a 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 130 critics and with a consensus: "With engaging performances marked by an inconsistent tone, "Charlie Bartlett" is a mixed bag of clever teen angst comedy and muddled storytelling". Metacritic gave the film a score 54 based on 25 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews" Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" wrote "If the attention span of "Charlie Bartlett" didn't wander here and there, the movie might have been a high school satire worthy of comparison with Alexander Payne's "Election". But as it dashes around and eventually turns soft, it loses its train of thought ... never coalesces into the character-driven, serious comedy with heart that you want it be."