Review of Rushmore (1998) by Blake P — 08 Sep 2012

"Rushmore" is easy to appreciate. I guess I'm not in a member of the cult fan-base the film so famously has, but as I watched, I couldn't help but admire the creativity put into it. Wes Anderson, a director who I believe is the go to for a unique film, doesn't let us down here.

Creating simply brilliant characters, the immature but eccentric 15-year old protagonist Max (Jason Schwartzman) that is such a one-of-a-kind you can't help but remember him, and the always subtle Bill Murray portraying industrialist Herman, in the end are really the biggest benefit of the film.

It's simply just another coming-of-age flick, with one of those silly male rivalry sub-plots that adds to the humor. In the end, "Rushmore" is whimsical, but as with most of Anderson's films, it's just as luminously creative as it is tiring.

I loved all of the unique editing and artistic set-pieces-- but I eventually grew tired of the endless witty one-liners that at one time were so inventive. By the end, the humor is so forgettable that all you remember is "Hey, Bill Murray had a good line in there!".

And there are a few instances of times where the film could get a bit darker, but Anderson and co-writer Owen Wilson don't explore it. To me, "Rushmore" stands out of the crowd, but because it sticks to basics and carries such an interesting style, it's almost a required taste.

I appreciated "Rushmore", but that was about it.