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.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war veteran | national film registry | love triangle | unhappy marriage | unwanted kiss | 

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Taglines:

All's fair when love is war.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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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:

Tres son multitud

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, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,105,219

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 (Jason Schwartzman) asks Margaret Yang (Sara Tanaka) to remove her glasses, and tells her she looks better without them. While this is a staple of many romantic comedies, it was also used in Rocky (1976), and the girl in glasses was played by Jason Schwartzman's mother, Talia Shire. Max's conversation with the Headmaster (Brian Cox), asking to let him stay at Rushmore "for old times' sake", mirrors a similar scene in The Godfather (1972), between Sal Tessio (Abe Vigoda) and Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall). Shire also appeared in that film. Max's play features many similarities to Apocalypse Now (1979) which, like The Godfather (1972), was directed by Shire's brother, and Jason's uncle, Francis Ford Coppola.

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Goofs

When Mr. and Mrs. Yang meet Mrs. Whitney at the play, they ask, "Are you Mrs. Whitney, the English teacher?" She says "Yes" despite the fact that she is the math teacher.

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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, ...

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Connections

References The Godfather (1972)

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Soundtracks

Manoir de Mes Reves
Written by Django Reinhardt
Published by Jewel Music Publishing Company, Inc. (ASCAP)
Performed by Django Reinhardt
Courtesy of GNP Crescendo Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

Quirky comedy with a tender heart

I think if you're looking for a straight up comedy, you'll be disappointed. This is not an easily classifiable film, but one that I love for its unique spin on some interesting characters. I especially like the fact that Max is not completely lovable, but in the end you root for him anyway. I found all the various reconciliations quite touching, and there's an interesting emphasis on friendships between people with lots of differences. Max's sidekick is younger than him, his crush is on a teacher much older, his friendship with Bill Murray's character who could be his father. Lots of heart here.