Rushmore (1998)

I've heard a lot of good things about Wes Anderson's Rushmore over the years but, for some reason or another (I can't recall any of those at the moment), I never checked it out. 

The film follows Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a nerdy, precocious 15-year-old kid who earned a scholarship to the exclusive prep school Rushmore, where he is not doing very well in any of his classes as he doesn't bother to study and spends all of his time enjoying (too) many extracurricular activities. His life takes an unexpected turn as he befriends a depressed middle-aged local industrialist, Herman Blume (Bill Murray), and falls for a recently widowed teacher, Ms. Cross (Olivia Williams). 

If you like your films with a plot, you should probably stay away from Rushmore as its plot is almost non-existent. There are just a lot of events happening kind at random and it's kind of hard to understand why they are happening, but just like any other Wes Anderson movie I've seen (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Hotel Chevalier, which is a short film, are the only I haven't seen yet), a plot doesn't have to be that complex nor doesn't have to make a lot of sense to be compelling and captivating, and Rushmore is both. 

One of the many reasons for that is the characters. Once again, Anderson, with the help of his co-screenwriter Owen Wilson (fun fact, they wrote the screenplay to Rushmore way before they made their debut with Bottle Rocket, did you know that?), brought to the screen quirky, intriguing and developed characters that may not be realistic and may not be instantly likable, but you'll end up loving anyway despite their many flaws.

Buena Vista Pictures

Max, who is introduced in a very nice way with clips of him in all the many clubs he has either joined or founded at Rushmore, is beautifully delivered by Jason Schwartzman who, in his debut, brings to the character some kind of arrogant, lazy and yet charming presence that fits Max like a glove. His performance may not be Oscar worthy but it's definitely believable. Bill Murray is great as always as Max's adult friend, Herman, a disillusioned man in search of a home, doing a good job both as the good guy and the villain. Olivia Williams too does a really nice job as she probably is the only one who brings to the film a very appreciated human presence.

The humour is great as always. It's dark, witty, subtle and offbeat and Anderson finds a great balance between that and the drama, making of Rushmore a film that is both funny and touching.