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Rushmore (1998)

DVD Cover (Criterion Collection)
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Overall Rating 71%
Overall Rating
Ranked #986
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A teenager at Rushmore Academy falls for a much older teacher and befriends a middle-aged industrialist. Later, he finds out that his love interest and his friend are having an affair, which prompts him to begin a vendetta. --IMDb
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Review by bluemeanie
Added: June 8, 2005
When Bill Murray was not given a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in "Rushmore", one of the biggest injustices to ever occur in the film industry happened, and left it's mark of shame. In fact, "Rushmore" should have been given many more awards and nominations than it received. Why? Because it is a flawless film--the best film of 1998 and one of the best films of all-time, a brilliant motion picture about love, friendship, and self-esteem. Both hilarious and touching, this film contains zero dull moments and is covered with cynicism and wit unlike that of any other film.

Jason Schwartzmann (Talia Shire's real life son) stars as Max Fischer, a 16 year old attending Rushmore Academy. Though Max is involved in every single club on campus, his grades are terrible and he is on the verge of being removed from the school. Max's pride and joy is the theatre department, as he performs productions of films like "Serpico". When a new teacher comes to town, Max falls head over heels for her. The only problem--so does his friend Herman Blume (Bill Murray), an enormously wealthy businessman who strikes up a friendship with Max after meeting him at a school function.

Some of the funniest scenes involve Max and Herman trying to outbid one another for the affections of Miss Cross (Olivia Williams) and the tactics they use to do so. But, underneath the sharp comedy is a very touching story of an unusual boy trying to fit in and a man trying to come to terms with his unhappiness. There are some very touching scenes between Max and his father, a barber, who Max pretends is a world renowned doctor. Jason Schwartzmann is flawless as Max, and Bill Murray gives the best performance of his career as Herman Blume. There is one scene where Murray jumps into his swimming pool, only to float there, as if contemplating his entire life in that brief moment. It is beautiful to watch.

"Rushmore" was written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson (yeah, the crooked nosed guy) and features such witty dialogue and cynicism, it could possibly be one of the best screenplays of the past decade. Pitch perfect direction from Anderson draws out miraculous performances from the entire cast, and the ending sequence--which features a wonderful Rod Stewart song--is timeless and touching.

This is truly one of the greatest film accomplishments of the past few years, and maybe later on down the road, it will receive the respect that it deserves. I don't think I read a single negative review for this film, and it didn't even receive half as much credit as it deserved. What's sad is when the ones who dish out the recognition are the ones with the absolute worst opinions on films, which was the case with this wonderful, wonderful picture. 10/10.
Tristan #1: Tristan - added November 24, 2008 at 11:02pm
Easily one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

10/10
Optimus Prime #2: Optimus Prime - added February 17, 2009 at 3:35am
Love it. Watched it again tonight, it moved into my top ten faves. 10/10
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