Rushmore (1998)
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87% of critics liked it
(85 reviews) -
91% of users liked it
(163,084 ratings)
After the highly acclaimed independent film Bottle Rocket, director Wes Anderson followed up with a quirky Touchstone Studios film entitled Rushmore. Written by Anderson and friend Owen Wilson (an actor in Armageddon and Anaconda), they created the story of Max Fischer, a highly eccentric… More After the highly acclaimed independent film Bottle Rocket, director Wes Anderson followed up with a quirky Touchstone Studios film entitled Rushmore. Written by Anderson and friend Owen Wilson (an actor in Armageddon and Anaconda), they created the story of Max Fischer, a highly eccentric 15-year-old boy who attends the tenth grade at Rushmore Academy. Played by Jason Schwartzman (Talia Shire's son and Francis Ford Coppola's nephew), Max is a poor student with big dreams and a love of extracurricular activities. Max is editor of the school newspaper and yearbook, president of the chess, astronomy, French, and German clubs, captain of the fencing team, and director of the school play. Max is also a compulsive liar, telling everyone that his barber father (Seymour Cassel) is really a brain surgeon. Suddenly Max falls in love with Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), a first-grade teacher at the school. He also makes a new friend in business tycoon Mr. Blume (Bill Murray), an eccentric millionaire who also loves Miss Cross. The love triangle heats up as Max refuses to believe that his age has anything to do with Miss Cross refusing his romantic advances. Also Max's scheme to erect an aquarium on the school baseball diamond gets him booted out of Rushmore Academy. As his life crumbles around him, he is forced to grow up and accept the consequences of his actions and his lies. He throws himself more into his extracurricular activities, hoping to redeem himself by staging the most ambitious school play ever attempted. ~ Arthur Borman, Rovi
- Directed By
- Wes Anderson
- Written By
- Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson
- Genres
- Comedy
- In Theaters
- Sep 17, 1998 Wide
- Studio
- Touchstone Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
The director treats eccentricity with compassionate respect: no winking, no nudges to even like the boy. The filmmaking, meanwhile, is beautifully disciplined.
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Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
You also have to admire the creepy arrogance of Schwartzman's performance.
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David Edelstein, Slate
What I wanted was a larger perspective, something more insightful than the one-thing-after-another existential whimsy.
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Todd McCarthy, Variety
A wickedly funny high school comedy for most of its running time, Rushmore is a bracingly fresh and original outing.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
A peculiar, poignant comedy, with an outstanding character turn from Murray.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Jason Schwartzman
as Max Fischer
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Bill Murray
as Herman Blume
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Olivia Williams
as Rosemary Cross
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Seymour Cassel
as Bert Fischer
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Brian Cox
as Dr. Guggenheim
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Mason Gamble
as Dirk Calloway
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Sara Tanaka
as Margaret Yang
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Stephen McCole
as Magnus Buchan
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Ronnie McCawley
as Ronny Blume
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Keith McCawley
as Donny Blume
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Connie Nielsen
as Mrs. Calloway
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Kim Terry
as Mrs. Blume
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Ed Geldart
as Security Guard
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Luke Wilson
as Dr. Peter Flynn
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Kumar Pallana
as Mr. LittleJeans


