Touchstone, Rated R
Directed by Wes Anderson
Written by Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson

Rushmore, I'm convinced, will go down as one of the greatest comedies of the decade. Director Wes Anderson gave us a quite good first effort with Bottle Rocket but has improved dramatically with Rushmore. The film is about Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman, in an impressive first film role), an intelligent 15-year-old student at Rushmore Academy, who spends all his time on extracurricular activities and none on schoolwork. He's actually one of the worst students there. However, he is something of a Renaissance man as we see early on that he is editor of the yearbook, president of the beekeeper's club, founder of the fencing team and director of the Max Fischer Players, among many, many other things. Soon, he is put on academic probation and meets one of the elementary school teachers, Miss Cross (Olivia Williams). Max quickly falls in love with her and she begins to notice it, as he's not too subtle about it ("Max, has it ever crossed your mind that you're far too young for me?"). Max has also become friends with a business tycoon named Mr. Blume (Bill Murray, in an Oscar-worthy performance, it's a crime the Academy left him out). Blume sees a little of himself in Max, and soon he falls in love with Miss Cross as well. Max discovers that the two are seeing each other and strives to get revenge upon Blume.
This is a fantastic character study with one of the best uses of the 2.35:1 ratio since Halloween. The fact that Max wants to be an adult is driven home by the size of the screen, which makes him look like that much more of a kid. Blume, in turn, would rather be a kid. A sequence in which he dives into a swimming pool (one of the many probable references to The Graduate) shows him wanting to escape the world of adulthood but he is soon reminded of it by a small child swimming by him (this kid ends up making conspicuous appearances throughout the movie, a great example of the movie's humor). Anderson and co-writer Owen Wilson have their own unique brand of humor and for me, it worked, except for the subplot involving Max's chapel partner, which seemed to distract from the main plot. Max's ambitious school plays are a highlight of the film, however and 95% of the scenes work perfectly. The cinematography also contributes to the humor. The cast is spot-on and I hope I can see more of these people in the future, as Bill Murray is the only one anyone will recognize (Luke Wilson and Mason Gamble have had starring roles in some much lesser movies though). Anderson even throws in some subtle references to Bottle Rocket. It's a rare kind of comedy, the kind that involves real thought yet isn't exactly Shakespearean either. It is an original, and that fact deserves more credit than anything these days. *** 1/2