Rushmore (1998)

The extracurricular king of Rushmore Preparatory School is put on academic probation.

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers:

Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson

Stars:

Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 16 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Schwartzman	...	Max Fischer
Bill Murray	...	Herman Blume
Olivia Williams	...	Rosemary Cross
Seymour Cassel	...	Bert Fischer
Brian Cox	...	Dr. Nelson Guggenheim
Mason Gamble	...	Dirk Calloway
Sara Tanaka	...	Margaret Yang
Stephen McCole	...	Magnus Buchan
Connie Nielsen	...	Mrs. Calloway
Luke Wilson	...	Dr. Peter Flynn
Dipak Pallana	...	Mr. Adams (as Deepak Pallana)
Andrew Wilson	...	Coach Beck
Marietta Marich	...	Mrs. Guggenheim
Ronnie McCawley	...	Ronny Blume
Keith McCawley	...	Donny Blume

Storyline

Max Fischer is a precocious 15-year-old whose reason for living is his attendance at Rushmore, a private school where he's not doing well in any of his classes, but where he's the king of extracurricular activities - from being in the beekeeping society to writing and producing plays, there's very little after school he doesn't do. His life begins to change, however, when he finds out he's on academic probation, and when he stumbles into love with Miss Cross, a pretty teacher of the elementary school at Rushmore. Added to the mix is his friendship with Herman Blume, wealthy industrialist and father to boys who attend the school, and who also finds himself attracted to Miss Cross. Max's fate becomes inextricably tied to this odd love triangle, and how he sets about resolving it is the story in the film.

---

Plot Keywords:

love triangle | high school | vietnam war veteran | national film registry | coming of age film | 

---

Taglines:

All's fair when love is war.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Latin French

Release Date:

19 February 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rushmore

Filming Locations:

Forest Club - 9950 Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$43,666, 13 December 1998

Gross USA:

$17,105,219

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,195,500

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Empirical Pictures, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Max lights a cigarette for Miss Cross while they are talking on the bleachers. She is smoking an American Spirit.

---

Goofs

In the first close-up shot, the box with the "Perfect Attendance" and "Punctuality Award" pins appear from left to right. But when Max reads out the names of the pins (in the same order as above), he points at them from right to left.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Student: If, and only if, both sides of the numerator is divisible by the inverse of he square root of the two unassigned variable.
School Professor: Good. Except when the value of the "X" coordinate is equal to or less than the value of one. Yes Isaac?
Student: What about *that* problem?
School Professor: Oh, that? Don't worry about that.
Student: Wait. Why?
School Professor: I just put that up as a joke. That's probably the hardest geometry equation in the world.
Student: Well, how much extra credit is it worth?
School Professor: Well, considering I've never seen anyone get it right, ...

---

Connections

References Chinatown (1974)

---

Soundtracks

Nothin' In The World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl
Written by Ray Davies
Published by Jayboy Music Corp. (ASCAP)
Performed by The Kinks
Courtesy of Castle Copyrights Ltd.
By Arrangement with Celebrity Licensing Inc.

User Reviews

One of the finest films ever made.

One of the greatest films ever? I don't think that's an understatement, and I'm not just saying it cause I'm a Bill Murray fan and he happens to be in it. Granted, he brings to the movie his usual subtle quirkiness, but that humor isn't out of line with the general mood of the film. The whole thing is seriously funny and somehow seriously real, but at the same time doesn't always take itself seriously. Seriously. The idea of the movie doesn't come off sounding like a very captivating plot: high school geek and middle-aged millionaire fall in love with the same first grade teacher. Not exactly material for a high-grossing box office hit. But I don't think plot necessarily matters when it comes to making a quality film. It has a fantastic script, believable character development, and top-notch acting, and that's what counts in making a memorable film. Why do we love Rushmore? Max and Mr. Blume are the same person, Mr. Blume is just older and wealthier. They are both creative, romantic characters whose motives are ultimately selfish. My guess is if you appreciate this film, it's probably because you're the same way. This movie is about us. We are the boys who do everything we want to and nothing we're supposed to. The ones who go to college and get by on as little effort as possible, but somehow still pull through. At one point or another we all believed we could make our fantasies a reality, and watching this film makes us optimistic about those things again.

Also, I don't think a soundtrack makes a film, but it can certainly help set the mood. Yes, I have to agree with the other commenters for Rushmore: great soundtrack. But you already know that and it's been said a hundred times, so I think I'll just leave it at that and not beat it into the ground any more than it already has.

Right. Good movie, watch it if you haven't yet.