Review of Rushmore (1998) by Halfwelshman — 29 Aug 2012

Rushmore is funny, individual and highly influential in its style, seemingly inspiring just about every quirky school-based comedy of the 2000s, from Napoleon Dynamite to Juno. It's definitely Jason Schwartzman's film, and Max Fischer is one of the most annoying egotistical brats ever committed to celluloid, but somehow he still remains a compelling protagonist thanks to Schwartzman's innate charm and undeniable skill as a character actor.

Bill Murray and Olivia Williams are also great, with Murray giving one of his best performances in a role that is both comic and quite tragic, and Williams giving the film its real heart and humanity.

The script, by director Wes Anderson and his permanent collaborator and longtime friend Owen Wilson, is brilliantly energetic, sharp and gag-laden, as well as being rather tender in places, and is far more successful than their screenplay for their debut film, Bottle Rocket.

Occasionally the extreme kookiness of the characters and plot (often one of the film's greatest strengths) causes the film to lose a bit of focus and pace, but this rarely detracts from the fun of the whole experience - Rushmore is a really great film, with a top-notch cast, great writing, humour and poignancy aplenty.