Rushmore
Director: Wes Anderson
Stars: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Luke Wilson
Tagline: Love. Expulsion. Revolution.
Wes Anderson’s RUSHMORE is a comedy that tends to get overlooked when talking about great back to school movies. Perhaps it’s because protagonist Max Fischer (Schwartzman) spends more time with extracurricular activities – like writing and producing school plays based on Al Pacino’s SERPICO and Vietnam movies like PLATOON and FULL METAL JACKET – than doing actual schoolwork. Sentenced to academic probation, Fischer becomes infatuated with the new teacher at Rushmore Academy (Williams) and befriends industrialist Herman Blume (Murray). This is a great coming-of-age story with shades of J.D. Salinger’s THE CATCHER IN THE RYE with style and tone reminiscent of the works of Hal Ashby (HAROLD AND MAUDE). The comedy would also help establish a second career for Bill Murray who, after commercial hits like GHOSTBUSTERS, took an interest in independent cinema working with Sofia Coppola on LOST IN TRANSLATION and Jim Jarmusch with BROKEN FLOWERS. Oh, and I can’t say enough about the great soundtrack with catalog tracks from Chad & Jeremy (“A Summer Song”), Cat Stevens and Faces’ “Ooh La La” among others. Add them to your playlist. Now!
Memorable Quote: “I miss Rushmore. I miss… the seasons.”
