Rushmore (1998)

2 out of 4

Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, Sara Tanaka

Director: Wes Anderson

Time: 93 mins

A relatively well-received film when it was first released in late 1998, Rushmore ultimately amounts to much ado about nothing. While the first 20 minutes or so were humorous and interesting, the film starts to deteriorate once the romance angle kicks in. One of its problems is that it doesn't seem to know whether it wants to be a comedy, romantic drama, or a tale of redemption with an uplifting finale. It doesn't succeed at being any of those. It also doesn't help that the lead character becomes quite annoying halfway through the film (which is usually a dire sign), and his motivations and eventual road to goodness aren't explained that well. In the end I was almost wondering where Rushmore was going to lead, and when it would finish.

Jason Schwartzman is Max Fischer, a high school student at Rushmore private school. He loves Rushmore so much he participates in a multitude of extracurricular activities, such as the fencing club, the beekeeping club, being the head of The Max Fischer Players (a theatrical troupe), and so on and so on. He is smart, but he spends so little time on study he is barely passing his subjects. He befriends Herman Blume (Bill Murray), a local millionaire, after hearing Blume's speech during a school assembly. Though warned by the headmaster Dr Guggenheim (Brian Cox) he would have to repeat his current year if his grades didn't improve, Max treats such a threat as an opportunity to spend another year at Rushmore. Then he lays eyes on Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), a new teacher, and is smitten by her. Trouble ensues when she rejects his advances, and she and Herman fall in love.

This is when the film starts to fall apart. Max becomes overly obsessive in his pursuit of Miss Cross, even to the point of wrecking Herman's marriage. And then there's Max's father, Bert (Seymour Cassel), who seems to have no idea at all what his son is up to. There is also a girl, Margaret Yang (Sara Tanaka), who seems to like Max, but is cruelly ignored by him. Then, near the end, Max suddenly wises up and becomes a goody-two-shoes who patches everything up between everybody. Huh? What made his character change? What's with the happy ending that came out of nowhere? Unlike another Bill Murray film, Groundhog Day, Rushmore doesn't really show how and why the lead character changed for the better. It may have improved the film if it had.

As Max, Schwartzman is very good as someone who gets what he wants, and can pretty much do what he wants. His crush on Miss Rose is touching but a tad scary. It's a pity his obssessiveness becomes annoying after a while. Bill Murray is a surprise in an understated role. It's nice to see a Murray character stripped of his usual sarcasm and being quite believable. Williams is also quite good as the teacher trying to fend off the advances of a schoolboy, as well as cope with the loss of her husband.

Writer-director Wes Anderson has crafted an earnest effort with Rushmore, offering some original humour and characters. As the film progressed, however, he seems to lose grip of where he wants it to go, undermining what he had created in the first 20 minutes. Rushmore is a watchable but ultimately forgettable film.

(c) Joe Wong (27 June 2000)