Rushmore

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Herman Blume: What's the secret, Max? Max Fischer: The secret? Herman Blume: Yeah, you seem to have it pretty figured out. Max Fischer: The secret, I don't know... I guess you've just gotta find something you love to do and then... do it for the rest of your life.

Rushmore is a 1998 film by Wes Anderson, starring Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, and Olivia Williams. It follows the exploits of Max Fischer, 15-year-old student at the eponymous academy. He is incredibly bright but scatterbrained, preferring to do extracurricular activities instead of actual schoolwork. He is friends with Herman Blume, a local businessman who is unhappy with his life. When a new teacher arrives at Rushmore Academy, Rosemary Cross, an odd love triangle develops, with Max hopelessly lusting after Rosemary while she and Herman begin dating. The two friends soon become bitter enemies, working to ruin each other's lives. However, since this is a comedy, and not a particularly dark one, the tone remains lighthearted and whimsical throughout.

The movie has a childlike sense of awe and general quirky atmosphere, which went on to become Wes Anderson's signature style. It also allowed Bill Murray to establish himself as a dramatic actor, though he would continue to work with Anderson in later films.

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This work contains examples of:

• Bittersweet Ending:

Max: At least nobody got hurt. Rosemary: Except for you. Max: Nah. I didn't get hurt that bad.

• Brilliant but Lazy: Max.
• Elaborate University High
• Elevator School
• Escalating War: Max and Herman's battle gets hilariously out of hand.
• Extracurricular Enthusiast: Max Fischer's extracurricular activities at Rushmore Academy include: Yankee Review editor-in-chief, French Club president, representing Russia in the model UN, Stamp & Coin Club vice-president, debate team captain, Lacrosse team manager, Calligraphy Club president, Astronomy Society founder, fencing team captain, track & field J. V. decathlon, 2nd Chorale choirmaster, bombardment society founder, Kung Fu Club yellow belt, Trap & Skeet Club founder, Rushmore Beekeepers president, Yankee Racers founder, Max Fischer Players director and the Piper Cub Club. Yeah, and he saved Latin - what did you ever do?
• High School Hustler
• Hot for Teacher
• Incredibly Lame Pun:

These are O.R. Scrubs. "O.R." they?

• Jerkass: Max at times. It gets really bad when Rosemary brings a date to Serpico and Max gets a bit of liquor in him.
• Modern Major-General
• Not So Different: "I always wanted to be in one of your fucking plays."
• Parody Sue
• Pretentious Latin Motto: "Sic transit gloria", as opposed to "Sic transit gloria mundi".
• Retraux
• Shout-Out: Among the plays that the Max Fischer Players perform are Serpico, and Oliver Stone's Heaven And Hell. The film also contains many references to The Graduate, Peanuts, Jacques Cousteau and the photography of Jacque Henri Lartigue.
  • The Max Fischer Players also produced a number of specially commissioned pieces for the 1999 MTV Awards adapting the biggest films of that year in their own unique, ingenius style. These included Armageddon, Out of Sight and The Truman Show.
• Transfer Student Uniforms: Max, after he's expelled from Rushmore Academy.
• Triang Relations: Type four.
• Violent Glaswegian: Magnus Buchan.
• With Friends Like These...: Max and Herman.