Rushmore (1998)

Simply A Masterpiece

good film but with many flaws

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Wes Anderson is a director who has his own style of film making. That style is unique and amazing. Often, contradicting the cinematic rules.Rushmore is the high school where our hero studies. He is very smart and active in all the extra- curricular activities. He is excellent in everything except studies. In the school library, he finds a note in the book that he reads, that leads him to a teacher. They become friends. Later he gets attracted to her.Style of making is the most important factor in this movie. You are going to watch it for Wes Anderson style.#KiduMovie

I often indulge in watching cinematic landmarks and milestones, and I praise these films for their groundbreaking achievements of both large and subtle scales. However, every now and then I come across a film that is even better than these milestones, but isn't truly a landmark. Simply put, some movies can just be really damn good, and "Rushmore" is one of the damn-goodiest movies I have ever seen.I have praised a lot of films that contain a perfect balance of plot and character, and "Rushmore" is among the best examples of this. Each of the main characters is likable, but still multilayered. There are moments in which you despise the two male leads and (highly unconventional) romantic rivals, but you can always understand and forgive them. The characters are as quirky as the story, which is simple, yet complex. It could never go over one's head, but it still requires some patience and attention. The story is a mish-mash of humor, quirk, and (for some) surprising relatability. By the time the film is almost over, it has exploded into comic chaos, but there is still always room for heart in Wes Anderson's world. I may have gotten teary eyed from laughing, but also from nearly crying; not because this is a sad movie, but because it is a powerful one with a huge heart. The last shot sums it all up perfectly; it is poetic, comic, quirky, and lovely all at once.

This is where Anderson really got into his rhythm. Bottle Rocket was admittedly a little mellow; the characters were petty criminals but it felt like we were being pushed to like them, to embrace their endearing qualities. Here, Anderson toes the line ever so closely with Max Fischer, the 15 year old subversion of the teacher's pet who is one of the worse students at Rushmore Academy, but gets an A+ for extracurricular activities. He's a bit of a pompous asshole but he thinks he's god's gift to the private school; "We don't offer it yet," he so quick-wittedly corrects the headmaster. He didn't gain acceptance at the prestigious academy because of academic success, but because he wrote a "little one act about Watergate" and has since taken over the drama club. Max Fischer seems to think that because he is the president of so many successful clubs (in his mind), because he can speak a few lines of Latin, and because he brought Cross' classroom to life with her own little aquarium it makes him mature enough for an relationship with her. This is of course not true, but still he persists pass the boundaries of appropriateness. What Max seems to be doing iv vicariously overcompensating for his lack of parental support; he is like a stand in parent himself, giving haircuts, making conversation with the mums of the students, bossing around his actors like rowdy little children. He convinces himself he is not like the ramble that is Herman's children. His father is only a lowly hairdresser, so he constructs his own little world to replace his disappointment. He tricks Cross with fake blood in order to stage a moment of intimacy. When Margaret Yang casually admits that she lied about her science project, it visibly shocks Max into a change. Would Max, up to that point, ever admit something that he perceives as vulnerable and disarming? There is no place for weakness or underachievement in his life. When he joins his cast on-stage for the round of applause, with the pseudo-artistic broken nose for good measure, the moment is slowed down to soak in all his glory. When he gives a cordial speech to his new public schoolmates, the camera slowly zooms until he is the only one occupying the frame. This is the Max Fischer show after all.What Rushmore excels at is balancing the two dilemmas of Max and indeed the older Herman Blume. They both are chasing the same woman, but while their ages are years apart, they are both remarkably childlike and immature about the whole affair. They descend to tricks and sabotage and underhanded gestures in order to get ahead of the race, and are both quite self centred. There's a moment when Max introduces Herman to his father and his barbershop, after all the lies about him being a hotshot surgeon ("My father may only be a doctor, but we manage"), where Max finally shows some humility and unveils what his life really is like, and Murray's reaction is just fantastically telling. It's an obvious turning point for the man who seems to be a perfect prototype for an older Max had he not gone through the film's events - crotchety, lonely, for so long basking in the shallow vanity of his own achievements until he hits breaking point and begins self-loathing. 10 million? Guess so. It's not until Max admits his flaws that Herman can too. This is also the film where Anderson really embraced his own stylistic tendencies. The opening montage of all the different clubs Max is part of, with matching text, is as vivid and engaging as any introduction to a Wes Anderson character. There are only brief snapshots but he uses the compositions of those group portraits to their fullest extent in order to portray Max as a person who isn't in it for the enjoyment or camaraderies but for personal achievement. It is also his first film to use the intertitle to chop up the segments of time; parting stage curtains emblazoned with the passing months creates a sense of precise direction, as if it was Max overseeing the production with his own obsession with perfection and control. It just feels a whole lot more confident than Bottle Rocket. There's the lateral and horizontal camera movement at hard 90 degree angles that he has become know for; see the long-take follow shot unveiling Max's takeover of the baseball field as if he owns the place and is entitled to it, and his many lonely wanderings in the school hallways and ground. See how Max and Rosemary stare down the camera as they talk to each other, with a feigned sense of intimacy that I'm sure is very real in Max's mind. The slow motion and curtain close is used in the final scene. It is serenaded by The Face's Ooh La La, which I think is very fitting. This also marks, in my opinion, Anderson's blossoming ability to choose the most appropriate song for his films. Max is a different kind of mature now, but don't we all wish we could return to that one moment with the knowledge and experience of now? In his first kind-of-romance, he learns some harsh lessons, but is able to take those with him into the future. Glory fades, but underneath is a 15 year old boy with a lot more to him than just the clubs he heads.

Schoolboy Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman)and millionaire Herman Blume (Bill Murray) are both on a collision course when they both fall in love with schoolteacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams).Normally I'd write a bit more of a plot summary for most films that I'm reviewing but I think the above summary pretty much sums up the entire story for the film. Essentially it's a very slight coming-of-age story with a slice of The Graduate thrown in for good measure.I think the biggest selling point for this film is that it's a very easy film to relate to - I'm sure there are many people who have had a crush on a teacher at some point in their lives (I suspect this applies to more people than will care to admit it). It's this aspect of the film that makes it very easy to identify with Max - all the schemes that he plans and the numerous ways that he tries to impress Ms Cross are quite amusing and daft, but are mostly believable given the fact that he's besotted with Ms Cross. This essentially is what I'd class as the good parts of the film so I'll now address some of the issues that I had with the film.....First of all there's Bill Murray's character Herman Blume; I didn't think that he was developed particularly well - the film occasionally hints on problems he's having with his two sons, but never really expands upon these problems. Also unlike Max, Herman isn't as easy to identify with. I also struggled understanding why Ms Cross would be drawn to Herman quite so easily - the film never really shows him 'wooing' her so I didn't really understand how he ended up hooking up with her. Therefore I was given no reason to care when they broke up.I was also disappointed with how little I laughed whilst watching this film; it's one of those films that contains many awkward scenes, but doesn't manage to make many of these awkward scenes funny. Therefore the film contained many awkward moments, but very few funny moments - the only scene that made me laugh was Max's drunken outbursts round the table.Nearly all the cast put in fine work; Schwartzman is excellent here and makes many of his scenes memorable. Bill Murray was also good here (even if his character is a little underwritten). The supporting cast (consisting mainly of teenagers) were all superb as well.Rushmore's 'easy to relate to' premise should have made it a winner, but to me much of it was a bit too quirky and awkward (it's almost like Anderson was so focused on these two aspects that he completely forgot about number three - HUMOUR). Rushmore deserve some praise for it being accessible to a wide audience, but for me there were way too many problems with the film and nowhere near enough laughs for me to truly be able to enjoy it.