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| In this episode: Rushmore | My Damn Web Addresses! | Coming Up... |
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RUSHMORE
Quirky? Sure. Funny? Sure. Odd? Sure. Sad? Sure. Wacky? Sure. Smart? Sure. Bittersweet?
Sure. Heliocylindrical? Dude. Whatever. All these words (barring the latter) describe
Rushmore. What I really wish I could do is describe exactly the tone of the
movie. But if I could do that, I'd somehow destroy the delight that it is. It's a surprise,
even after all the good things you've heard about it. Frankly, I have no idea how a movie
like this slipped through the cracks here at Disney—it's a Touchstone movie—because it
is so non-mainstream and so non-Hollywood. Definitely more of a Miramax-type release. But,
hey, if Miramax can release something like Gordy, Touchstone can release Rushmore.
You may have heard a lot about how Bill Murray was expected to get a supporting actor nomination for this work here. I thought he was fantastic, but I don't know if it was exactly Oscar-worthy. Bill plays a very sad, rich man who has a cheating wife (or so it's implied) and two asshole jock sons (thankfully not implied but forcefully and hilariously demonstrated). Bill morphs his usual sad puppy look into some actual emotion, and you really pity this unfortunate man. It is a very good performance and nice to see Bill do something different. Granted, I never saw his previous "serious" side in The Razor's Edge, but I have a feeling this performance is more—how you say—sublime. It's funny and sad. Aw, hell, maybe he did deserve a nomination. The center of the movie is the nerdy Max Fischer, played by Jason Schwartzman. What a hoot! Max is a kid who is so wrapped up in extracurricular activities that he's flunking out of Rushmore, the private school he attends. He is a self-centered nerd, the worst kind, who is trying to cover his adolescent awkwardness with activity and faux intelligence. (How snotty to use the phrase "faux intelligence" to describe faux intelligence. I apologize.) You have to admire Max's drive and his accomplishments, even though he's often cruel and accomplishes nothing but mediocrity. Max is not very likable, but he's immensely sympathetic, and Jason plays him perfectly. Of course, no one talked about getting this kid an Oscar nomination, probably because it'd be in the Best Actor category. I guess you could argue, too, that if Bill didn't deserve a nomination, this kid didn't either. Fair 'nuff. But I thought he was very good. The mutual love interest for both Jason and Bill is a teacher at Rushmore, Rosemary Cross, played by Olivia Williams. She does a fine job, though with her warm presence it's hard to outshine the wacky hijinks of Bill and Jason. That is partly purposeful, to demonstrate how the two get stupid all over themselves trying to win her affection. As trite as that situation sounds, however, Rushmore pulls it off with some fantastic writing and original plot points. The atmosphere also helps. Thank God this isn't another bright, sunny L.A. movie or another super-pretty person private school caper. Part of the pleasure of Rushmore is absorbing its real-looking world. Another part of the pleasure is absorbing the surrealism thriving in this real-looking world. I guess you could say this is like Welcome to the Dollhouse, a great movie about another awkward childhood, but Rushmore has that surrealism that brings it out of black comedy and into a lighter place. Director Wes Anderson's first feature, Bottle Rocket, was a goofy pleasure as well, but not nearly as solid or enjoyable as this one. In Rushmore, he's got a strong grip on the style and the pace and the characters, and it all wraps up nicely together. The end gets a bit over the top and perhaps even a bit unbelievable, but it's the culmination of that surrealism I was chatting about just back yonder. Rushmore is a fantasy, and fantasies are allowed to go over the top. Take Max Fischer's plays. Yeah, the gawky weirdo writes plays that he produces at school, and they are gems of awfulness. His final play—an impressively staged but embarrassingly written rip-off of both Apocalypse Now and Miss Saigon—is part of the over-the-top ending. It's hilariously absurd in both its execution and how seriously it's taken by the audience. Surreal! Over-the-top! But fitting and amusing and funny. It makes Rushmore's own awkward conclusion more muted and so more believable. I don't know how long Rushmore will last in theaters since it didn't get Oscar nominations, so if you got it where you live, you should see it at once. It is a widescreen movie, so it will be butchered on video, especially by Disney. Rush, don't walk, to Rushmore. BONK. Ow! Who threw that brick?
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