Rushmore

Released 1998
Stars Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, Sara Tanaka
Directed by Wes Anderson

A pubescent troublemaker with an avid imagination for the eccentric, Max Fischer is the anti-Holden Caulfield of the '90s. The teenager participates in every possible social function while alienating himself from the establishment, principally his elite private school, Rushmore. Fischer is the geek son of a barber, although he lies and says his father's a brain surgeon. He stacks his intellect against authority figures, and develops an obsessive crush on a Grade one teacher and widower, as well as a friendship with a middle-aged tycoon. Despite a genuine aptitude for organisation -- his fraternising includes being president of the Bee-keeping Club, the Fencing Team, the French Club, the Debating Team and so on -- he's flunking out of Rushmore.

Jason Schwartzman, who plays Fischer, is an undeniable bonanza; he's awkward and severe, sophisticated yet infantile, and he can act. Bill Murray's Herman Blume adeptly plays a deflated version of Ben Braddock 30 years after The Graduate. Blume sees himself -- his failure and his potential -- in Fischer. A luckless, beaten man, Blume finds himself falling for Fischer's love interest. When Blume is turned to face his reflection in a barbershop mirror the realisation of his downfall is completely absorbing. Plot pitfalls include a hapless slide from joviality to sheer cruelty and contempt, as Fischer's and Blume's desperation becomes evident. These guys can do anything but are determined to fail.

Summary by Elspeth Haughton for the Apollo Leisure Guide