Max Fischer is the most unpopular student at Rushmore academy. But that doesn't stop him from running the school. At 15, Max is either president, or vice president of every club on campus, many of which he also founded. From calligraphy to bee-keeping to fencing, Max does it all. Most of his time is spent with the drama club (a.k.a "The Max Fischer Players"), putting on ludicrously elaborate productions. Max isn't waiting for adulthood to try and get all there is out of life. He's doing it now, and he has the enormous self-confidence to pull it off. When asked about the secret to happiness, Max offers this advice: "find something you love to do and do it for the rest of your life." For Max, it's going to Rushmore.

Trouble is, Max is spending so much time on extra-curricular activities that he's failing out of school. Who has time for algebra when there are more important things to be done, like writing and directing a stage-version of Serpico.

Rushmore follows a few months in Max's life, starting with the day he meets Herman Blume, a former Rushmore student, who's now one of the school's major benefactors. Like Max, Herman was not a rich kid, and the two forge an odd friendship. Soon after, Max falls head over heels for a young teacher, Miss Cross, and winning her heart becomes his next big project. Miss Cross studies fish, so, naturally, Max organizes a plan to build an aquarium on campus. But the teacher ends up falling for Mr. Blume, and things get ugly.

What follows is one of the funniest, most refreshingly original movies in recent memory. Director Wes Anderson said in a recent interview that he and screenwriting partner, Owen Wilson, start with interesting characters, then create a movie around them (the pair also made the crime comedy Bottle Rocket). In Rushmore, the formula works. Max is one of the most indelible screen characters to come along in a while. A lot of credit has to go to the kid who plays him, Jason Schwartzman (he's Talia Shires son, and more importantly, Francis Coppola's nephew). His Max ranks up there along side Ferris Bueller and Benjamin Braddock from The Graduate as one of the all-time great coming-of-age protagonists. Bill Murray, as the sad-sack Mr. Blume, also gives one of the best performances of his career. Instead of going over the top, as usual, Murray gets laughs by playing to the more darkly funny aspects of his role.

Anderson directs the film with lots of energy. A '60s classic rock soundtrack drives the scenes and Anderson more than once has fun with the device of showing his hero walking in slow-motion over a grooving guitar riff. The sight of the nerd-as-badass is one of the movie's biggest laughs. The script also has satisfying twists and turns. I honestly couldn't tell where the movie was going, or how it would turn out. Rushmore is full of surprises, and that counts for a lot these days.

(c) Copyright 1999