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:

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

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Taglines:

"She was my Rushmore"

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bill Murray genuinely found Keith McCawley and Ronnie McCawley, who play his sons, annoying (much like their screen characters), and many of the scenes where he lashes out at them and insults them were improvised.

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Goofs

When Mr. Blume is on the diving board there is a shot looking down on him and his cigarette is very close to burned up; but in the next shot he has almost half a cigarette left.

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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 Bottle Rocket (1996)

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Soundtracks

Jersey Thursday
Written by Donovan
Published by Peer International Corporation (BMI)
Performed by Donovan
Courtesy of Donovan Music Ltd. / Peer-Southern Productions

User Reviews

Wes Anderson creates his style

Having seen many Wes Anderson films before this one, it's harder to appreciate how fresh and original Rushmore was in 1998. That being said, I can still appreciate the great characters, idiosyncratic style, and fabulous soundtrack. Bill Murray owes Anderson a debt of gratitude for reviving his career and Anderson owes Murray for bringing some heavyweight comedic talent to his film and putting him on the map. Rushmore is definitely weird, but ultimately sweet and rewarding.

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:

$17,196,103

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:

2.39 : 1