RUSHMORE
A movie review by Joe Barlow
(c) Copyright 1999
STARRING: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams,
Sara Tanaka, Mason Gamble
DIRECTOR: Wes Anderson
WRITERS: Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
RATED: R
RELEASED: 1998
RATING: *** 1/2 (out of a possible ****)
If Wes Anderson's "Rushmore" isn't black comedy, it at least has a healthy tan. In an era when bodily functions are too often mistaken for humor, it's a great joy to encounter a film that draws inspiration from the ordinary and mundane, then turns them into something witty. In "Rushmore," laughs come from unexpected places, while satire is stretched to the point of absurdity. It's a funny story, but it never sacrifices its characters for a cheap laugh.
Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is a brilliant fifteen-year old with a flair for theatrics. He's delighted to be a student at Rushmore, a prestigious private school. Max, who won an academic scholarship because of a one-act play he penned about the Watergate scandal, is so enthusiastic that he throws all of his time and energy into extracurricular programs, becoming a member (and often the president) of nearly ever club on campus. He also leads a successful campaign to reinstate Latin, after the language is dropped from Rushmore's curriculum in favor of Japanese.
Max has basically missed the point of the word "extracurricular," however: these activities occupy so much of his time that he never gets around to studying, and he soon finds himself in danger of losing his scholarship. Max pleads with the school's dean ("Couldn't you just let me float by, for old time's sake?"), but is nonetheless placed on academic probation. If he fails one more class, Max will be forced to consider the unthinkable: public school.
But Max has another distraction: Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams), a new Rushmore teacher. Max develops an instant crush, and it's not hard to see why: Rosemary is wise, passionate, beautiful, and, in Max's eyes, the perfect woman. Who cares if she's twice his age?
Well, she does, for starters. As Max gradually tries to convert the budding friendship into something a tad more amorous, his pal Herman Blume (Bill Murray), a Rushmore alumnus, tries to talk him out of pining for a relationship they both know will never happen. Max sees the logic in Blume's words... but when he discovers that Herman is seeing Rosemary on the sly, he declares all-out war on his former friend.
These scenes are scathing, yet director Wes Anderson handles them with a light touch. Max and Herman are too caught up in their own petty bickering to realize what's painfully obvious to the audience: neither of them deserve Rosemary. Fortunately, she's aware of this fact.
"Rushmore" is a delicate balance of humor and drama. Even though the plot description may sound like something from the Marx Brothers, the movie feels real; even at its zaniest, we never lose sight of the pain and confusion of our two suitors. Yet the film never plays without the hint of a smile. (There's a great moment, for example, in which Max starts to realize the seriousness of his academic probation. "Maybe I'm spending too much time starting clubs and putting on plays," he solemnly muses. "I should be spending more time scoring chicks.")
What impressed me the most was the way in which the film conveys both touching drama and ridiculous dialogue simultaneously. When Max and Rosemary realize they've each lived through the death of a loved one, Max bluntly announces, "I guess we both have dead people in our families." His lack of tact works as screwball comedy, yet remains touching in its honesty. Or, during an angry confrontation with Herman: "I saved Latin. What have YOU ever done?"
Much has been written about Bill Murray's performance here, and justly so. We all know Murray can be funny; what's impressive about his role as Herman Blume is the fact that he often attracts big laughs by playing the straight man. Herman is perhaps the most downbeat character Murray has ever played, and the amount of subtlety and restraint he shows is admirable-- a lesser actor might have chosen to shoot for the moon, but Murray hits exactly the right tone: Blume is a rather boring middle-age man stuck with a life and family he despises, and a more upbeat performance would've been disastrous to the character's believability. This role indicates a maturity I've never before seen in Murray's approach.
Newcomer Jason Schwartzman is also splendid as Max, a confused but highly intelligent young man whose hormones tell him things his brain would just as soon not hear. Watch how devoutly he pursues Rosemary, turning away the affections repeatedly offered by Margaret (Sara Tanaka), a sweet girl just the right age for him. Max is the sort of person who would rather dream of the impossible than accept the reality that's offered. We feel sad for him, but we can relate: many of us are guilty of the same crime.
I never once knew where "Rushmore" was headed, and though I tried to guess on a few occasions, I was wrong every time. This is a movie that's smart enough to know that the things in life which appear simple often end up being insanely complicated, and in this simplicity lies the story's success. Anderson has crafted a clever film that deviates from the beaten path in almost every conceivable way. I applaud him for it.
E-Mail: jbarlow@earthling.net Joe Barlow on Film: http://www.ipass.net/~jbarlow/film.htm
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