Jason Schwartzman stars as Max Fischer, a tenth grader at prestigious Rushmore Academy. Though the kingpin of seemingly every school club (including the Max Fischer Players, whose repertoire includes a production of "Serpico"), he is one of Rushmore's worst students and has been placed on sudden-death academic probation. Bill Murray co-stars as Mr. Blume, an alumnus and kindred misfit spirit who bonds with the enterprising Max. But when they both fall in love with first-grade teacher Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), the battle lines are drawn. Blume is a poignant departure for Murray, but his relationship with Max strains credulity, although his performance was widely heralded (earning him a Golden Globe, but he was rightly snubbed by Oscar). The film itself is overrated, but it is a refreshingly unpredictable and off-center pleasure that confirms director Wes Anderson's (Bottle Rocket) status as a filmmaker with a uniquely quirky vision. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[Blu-ray Review—Nov. 22, 2011—Criterion, 93 min., R, $39.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1998's Rushmore sports an excellent transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to those on the DVD release, including audio commentary (by director Wes Anderson, co-writer Owen Wilson, and star Jason Schwartzman), an episode of The Charlie Rose Show with Anderson and costar Bill Murray (55 min.), a “making-of” featurette (17 min.), audition footage (9 min.), the “Max Fischer Players Present” theatrical adaptations staged for the 1999 MTV Movie Awards (5 min.), hand-drawn storyboards and a film-to-storyboard comparison, a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Dave Kehr, and trailers. Bottom line: Anderson's beloved second film returns to DVD and makes a fine debut on Blu-ray.]
Rushmore
(Touchstone, 93 min., R, avail. June 29, <b>DVD</b>) Vol. 14, Issue 3
Rushmore
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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