"My top schools where I want to apply to are Oxford and the Sorbonne. My safety's Harvard."

Rushmore
1998; USA; 93 min.

Director: Wes Anderson
Screenplay: Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson
Music: various artists

Cast:
Max Fischer - Jason Schwartzman
Herman Blume - Bill Murray
Rosemary Cross - Olivia Williams
Bert Fischer - Seymour Cassel
Dr. Nelson Guggenheim - Brian Cox
Dirk Calloway - Mason Gamble
Margaret Yang - Sara Tanaka
Magnus Buchan - Stephen McCole
Mrs. Calloway - Connie Nielsen
Dr. Peter Flynn - Luke Wilson

When we viewed the trailer for "Rushmore" and were asked to write about our expectations for the film, I wrote the following: a romance, a nerdy boy (overachiever), school environment. It turns out that I had captured the plot of the film in those three phrases. While most other students in Art of Film would probably rate "Rushmore" their least favorite film to date, I quite enjoyed it. Throughout the film, I began to fall in love with the dorky, know-it-all Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman). Maybe that's just me, but I really liked his character. Anyhow, the plot begins with Max, the son of a barber, Bert Fischer (Seymour Cassel), who attends Rushmore (a fancy academy) on academic scholarship. He is searching for a book one day in the library and finds a quote written in the book by another person. Max, being the persistant problem-solver that he is, tracks down who has taken out the book and finds that it is Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams), an elementary teacher at Rushmore. However, his friend, Mr. Herman Blume (Bill Murray), an administrator at the school, is also in love with Rosemary. Trouble and animosty ensues between Blume and Max throughout the film.

While some people found Max's pursuit of the Rosemary creepy, I thought that it was actually pretty innocent and sweet. He truly loved Rosemary, and in the end, I was secretly (well, I guess not so secretly now) rooting for them. However, (SPOILER ALERT) they don't end up together. So, on to my thoughts on some of the elements in the film that I saw while viewing "Rushmore":

- Mr. Blume: The name sounds exactly like the word "bloom." Is this a symbol for Blume's development throughout the film?
- Ms. Cross: In many ways, Max tries to "cross" society's boundaries with Ms. Cross in his pursuit of a much older teacher.
- Max Fischer: Max is fishing for success, and aims to be with Ms. Cross.
- Max has the same phone extension at both schools (#23).
- When Max is expelled from Rushmore, he goes to Grover Cleveland. Is there a significance between having him kicked off the mountain (Rushmore) of presidential greats to a lesser known president?
- Pathetic fallacy alert: There's a thunderstorm at one of the turning points in the film. (Pathetic fallacy has to be the oldest trick in the book for film!)
- Motif: Water & Fish (Fish! Like Max Fischer! Coincidence? I think not!)
- Motif: Curtains closing (Do the curtains closing throughout the film lead up to Max's play and the last scene of the film?)

The film reminded me of "Juno." I think it was probably due to the retro, vintage nature of the film combined with the deadpan humor. The film presented the idea that the younger you are, the more worldly you are (ironic, huh?). This idea is prevalent in "Juno" also. The high school environment was non-realistic, but I guess that's part of the film's charm. The film presents comedy as being equated with harmony. This idea means that all relationships are restored and come together in the end.

On the movie poster above, it says that "Rushmore" was "the best comedy of the year." I know that's just one critic, but I was around in 1998, and movies weren't so bad that this one would be considered the best. However, I did enjoy watching "Rushmore." I loved the line in the film, "She's my Rushmore, Max." / "Yeah, I know. She was mine too." I also really liked the sequence where the viewers were shown the names of influential, important people in philosophy, literature, history, etc. I thought that aspects of the film were funny, the music was appropriate (especially the lyrics to various songs) and would probably recommend this film.

iRate: 3/5 aquariums
Trailer: http://www.alltrailers.net/rushmore.html