Wealthy teenager Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) is failing miserably at fitting in at a new public high school run by the world-weary Principal Gardner (Robert Downey, Jr.). As he begins to better understand the social hierarchy, Charlie's honest charm and likeability positions him as the resident "psychiatrist" dishing out advice, and the occasional prescription, to his fellow students in need. Along the way, he decides to take some of his own advice, thus wielding a witty dark comedy about the angst-filled years before college.