Roll-M: Rushmore |
Rushmore (starring Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams; written and directed by Wes Anderson; rated R).
Don’t rush to see Rushmore unless you like quirky little movies that, like Chinese food, seem to satisfy – but an hour later, you’re hungry again. Despite critical acclaim and numerous nominations for Bill Murray, this offbeat film leaves much to be desired. Mainly, believability.
Allow me to speak from experience here. I’ve taken classes in writing, have written for television, and have had the best of mentors, so I know whereof I speak. Rule number one (and one that often prevented me from having my scripts purchased for "Star Trek: The Next Generation") is that to be successful, every story must be believable. Yes, even in something as (literally) far out as "Star Trek," the characters and premise must be – here’s that term once more – believable.
And the main character in Rushmore is anything but that. Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman, superbly cast) is a precocious 15-year-old student at the tony Rushmore private school. Name an extra-curricular activity and chances are he’s the leader or founder. He’s the editor of the school paper and yearbook; the president of the French club, German club, chess club and astronomy club; captain of the fencing and debate teams; leader of the beekeeper’s club, and writer and producer for the Max Fischer Players. Despite all this, he’s flunking all his regular classes. Okay, Mensans, here’s a question: Does this ring true? Could anyone gifted enough to be the poster boy for extra-curricular overachievement also be dumb enough to screw up his grades so badly that he’s booted out of school? I’m not buying it.
But that’s not all. When not pursuing one of the above, our geeky adolescent hero is busy romancing the school’s lovely British first-grade teacher, who – wisely and gently --rebukes his advances (perhaps she’s read about the real-life woman in Oregon who’s now in jail for bearing the child of a 13-year-old). Max’s rival for the older lady’s affections is Bill Murray, another quirky, unrealistic character. Murray’s role is the best of the lot, garnering a fair share of awards -- New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor, Golden Globe nomination, and several others, although no nod from the Motion Picture Academy was forthcoming in the recent Oscar nominations.
If you can suspend disbelief here – not an easy task – you might enjoy some of the humor of this unusual comedy. An hour later, however, you may hunger for a more substantial movie.
TWO AND A HALF OWLS (out of five)