Review of Rushmore (1998) by Brett H — 31 Aug 2015

Rushmore is the break-out film for both star Jason Schwartzman and director Wes Anderson who established his off-beat, and wickedly funny style early on and has pretty much created his own genre to be identified with! Schwartzman completely owns the screen as a hilariously original character who excels at everything extra-curricular but absolutely fails when it comes to his academics and his quick-witted and pompous attitude lead to some of the funniest moments in the film.

Bill Murray is also excellent here playing a varied and somewhat villainous role that reinvigorated his career and started a long-standing friendship with director Wes Anderson and subsequently appeared in every film he's made.

The story is very simple with unattainable love being the big conflict, but with Anderson's brilliantly quirky style and hilarious brand of dark comedy the bigger moments are the exchanges between the characters with flawless dialogue.

Schwartzman's character Max also writes and performs in elaborate plays that use as many special effects as an actual film and these are easily my favourite scenes in the film; the ending Vietnam play is outrageous! Wes Anderson films are one of a kind and if you're a fan of his work or off-beat films in general, this is a must-see.