Rushmore
[3.0/4.0]
Rushmore Academy is a prestigious private school and is also the main passion of one of its worst students, Max Fischer. The reason Max is a bad student is not because he lacks intelligence or because he cannot apply himself. Rather, it is because he has devoted all of his energy in participating in a multitude of extracurricular activities to the extent that his grades are sagging. Max's most focused talent is as a playwright, and it was his proficiency with drama at a young age that was the basis for his admittance to Rushmore, not wealth like most of the other students. Just as Max is being threatened with expulsion unless his academic performance improves, he meets Rosemary Cross, a second grade teacher, and is instantly smitten. Although a romance between the two would seem impossible to anyone else, Max's unbounded determination and self confidence compel him to pursue her. Age never appears to be a barrier for Max, as his best friend in school is much younger than him, and he has established a friendship with an older, wealthy Rushmore alumnus, the industrialist Herman Blume. However, Max's friendship with Herman becomes a rivalry because Herman has also become romantically interested in Rosemary. Herman's age and wealth does not necessary give him an advantage over Max, because Herman is married, and he is also a jaded man with a stiff personality.
The setup for the story is not an original one. Countless films have been made about the misfit teen who pursues love and stumbles through many obstacles along the way. Usually these films provide a skeleton plot and an overdose of sophomoric humor. This film, thankfully, is a different entity entirely. The characters are more than stereotypes, the humor does not insult the viewers intelligence, and the plot is never predictable. In fact, it is not really even a "teen comedy" as it initially might appear to be. Although the humor is based mostly on the quirkyness of the characters, it does not resort to cheap jokes for easy laughs. The drama provides plenty of substance. The younger children characters, which are usually relegated to cute comedy sources, are developed as full characters.
Bill Murray gives an exceptional performance as Herman, who is different from the manic characters that Murray usually plays. Herman exists most of the time with a blank, world-weary expression. This is a difficult role to play, since body language and timing need to be utilized properly, and a lesser actor would not have been able to pull it off. Newcomer Jason Schwartzman is also successful as Max. He is able to express Max's youthful zeal without going overboard.
Recommended. This is a fresh, entertaining story that shows that films based around high school students need not be moronic. It has involving drama and is also a consistently funny comedy.
(c) 1999 Murali Krishnan The Art House Squatter http://ArtHouseSquatter.com
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