rushmore!

Max Fisher (Jason Schwartzman) is the "king" of Rushmore Academy. He's the president of every club imaginable, he's a playwright, and he's failing out of school. After being given another chance by the headmaster (Brian Cox), he is expelled and sent to public school, where he begins his endeavors again. This time, his eye falls on Ms. Cross (Ollivia Williams), a widowed elementary schoo teacher, and he falls in love with her. Considering he is only fifteen years old, ms. Cross has to repeadely reject and remind Max that they will never be in a relationship, and that they are just friends. Blume (Bill Murray), is a bitter chainsmoking business man with two obnoxious sons who go to Rushmore with Max. Thestory continues as Blume begins a relationship with Cross, and Max does everything in his power to "get her back".
Max creates a string of lies and manipulations, from telling people his father is a neurosurgeon and not a barber, to not telling Dr. Guggenheim (Cox) that he has commissioned an aquarium to be built on cmpus. In the most bizarre and random events, Max's character shines thorugh with his awkwardness and his clear motivation by things other than academic pursuits. The plot really wasn't what makes teh movie, though.
Small, quick remarks made by characters were funny in a strange, dry way. Bizarre moments wehre children painting natuer outside exclaim "It's a...a jellyfish!" make you laugh, for whatever reason. Truthfully, what makes this movie get by is Max's awkwardness and almost fantasy-life that he lives, creating a whole world for himself within the world he really lives in. Without that detail of Max's character, the film would be lost.
there is compassion for the characters, from Max to Blume to Cross. max is struggling in adolescence, regardless of the facade he creates with his extracurricular success. He loves Cross, and doesn't know what to do with it, or how to act (or not act). Blume is clearly unhappy, clearly does not get alog with kids, and seeks friendship in people like max, who I think he uses to make himself feel better. Even with his superiority complex, Max is his competition for Cross' affections and time. Cross is a widow and it is only realized how unhappy she truly is when it is learned eh lives in her huband's old bedroom.
Director Anderson's slow motion creates a beautiful mood at the right times, and it is itersting in the way he uses the same effect to evoke different emotions. I had high expectations for this movie, and, frankly, it was not up to the standard I had envisioned. It was not the humor I expected. It was not the story I thought it would evolve into. It was, however, the characterization that created such humor. Because all of the characters have such stragne traits, and so many of the scenes have ridiculous and completelty unrealistic events, the only thing one can do is laugh. THe film was worth seeing, but at this point, I'm stil l trying to figure out for which particular reasons.