Max Fisher (Jason Schwartzman) is fifteen. He doesn't act fifteen; he's more like fifteen going on forty. Not only that; he's a dead ringer for Ben Stein (the "Bueller? Bueller?" guy who now hosts a game show and a talk show on Comedy Central). Not only does he look just like Ben, he has the same smug, stuffy monotone. Everybody raved how great Bill Murray was in this film (more on him later), but one has to wonder if the teenage actor behind the character is anything like Max. Nobody seemed to notice Jason Scwartzman, and that's a shame, because he's the next great character actor.
Max is a genius, but like a lot of geniuses, he stinks at school. He's a master at the extracurricular bit, but his grades endanger his future at Rushmore Academy. He's thisclose to getting kicked out. He's your classic nerd, with the black frame glasses and awkward shuffle. His one good friend is an eight-year old. He thinks big, but he doesn't have the guts to act out his big thoughts, until he meets Miss Cross (Olivia Williams).
Miss Cross is an elegant and very British first grade teacher. Has any fifteen-year-old boy not had a crush on a teacher? Williams looks just like the teacher that every guy fantasizes about, secretly or otherwise. Max is oblivious to the age difference between he and Miss Cross; she's sort of amused by the whole thing until she realizes that Max isn't kidding.
Bill Murray plays steel tycoon Herman Blume. This is probably the role of his career. I'm accustomed to seeing him as the Peter Venkman type in every movie and he's so good as the unhappy millionaire that I can't even believe it was Bill Murray. Blume is the father of Ronnie and Donnie, twins who are in Max's class. Not surprisingly, Herman is stuck in a loveless marriage and falls for Miss Cross.
What follows is almost exactly like the last forty minutes of Election. Herman and Max are locked in a bitter battle over the prim and frighteningly passive teacher. Unlike Matthew Broderick, though, Max knows when to quit. And unlike Reese Witherspoon, Schwartzman is a realistic teenage kid. Witherspoon's Tracy Flick was so over-the-top unlikeable and unsympathetic that I wanted to knock her off. Max has his moments, too, but he's a real kid, not some Wily Coyote figure out to smoosh the competition at all costs.
Rushmore and Election came out at about the same time, so it's easy to compare the two. Election is satirical and dark, and Rushmore is actually quite sweet. Max is capable of great compassion and caring, especially with his father (Seymore Cassell). The father-son bit in movies is often tricky, but this one is touching without being schmaltzy.
Wes Anderson won Best Director at the Independent Spirit awards, and it's easy to see why. His direction is subtle and striking. He co-wrote it, too, and I really admire him for making a movie about a teenager that doesn't involve pies or kegs.
An offbeat comedy about one quirky student s obsessive pursuit to win over a teacher s heart. Director and co-writer Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket) tell...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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