Having finally watched this film, I’ve now exposed myself to Anderson’s entire oeuvre (yeah, I know it’s only 5 feature length films, and one short film, but still…).  All were a hit except for that one misstep, ‘The Life Aquatic,’ and we’ll pretend that never happened.

Rushmore was written through a team effort from Anderson himself and his college buddy Owen Wilson (which explains the Luke Wilson cameo).   The film follows Max Fischer (played by Jason Schwartzman) and his overly ambitious endeavors at his prep school, Rushmore.  This is Schwartzman’s first film, and has since entertained us with his hilarity in movies like I Heart Huckabees and Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. At Rushmore, Max befriends Herman Blume (Bill Murray), the father of some of his fellow classmates, and falls in love with elementary school teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams).  The three promptly fall into a quirky love triangle in classic French New Wave style.

I like to think of Wes Anderson as a sort of Tim Burton on Prozac.  Not to say Anderson is any less original than Burton, but he has a totally original, distinctive, and pleasing style.  His more recent projects The Darjeeling Limited, and The Royal Tenenbaums follow in the same suit.

Rushmore is hilarious and doesn’t depend on the crassness and potty humor trend that comedies seem to be following these days.  Murray and Schwartzman make a great team and I wish they’d work together again, (Side note: although they both haven’t actually been in the same film together since, they both went on to star in films directed by Sophia Coppola who is Schwartzman’s cousin.  Once again, proof that all the things I love are interconnected).

I’ve heard this film described as a ‘boy movie.’  But it’s not true.  This film is for everyone!

3 out of 4 stars

Rottentomatoes: 86% – Cream of the Crop: 76%

Rated R for language and brief nudity.

(If you decide to buy this film, be sure and get the Criterion Collection edition, and read the blog ‘Stuff White People Like’ about Wes Anderson films.)