Rushmore

One of the surprise success stories of the year. Wes Anderson’s Rushmore takes the notion of “revenge of the nerds” to its logical conclusion. Something like the film Woody Allen might have made at the age of fifteen, Rushmore is a quirky and highly original little picture that showcases a volatile central performance from its unlikely hero – bespectacled teenager Max Fischer (Schwartzmann), a profoundly nerdish kid so geeky he’s almost cool, who overcomes a succession of misfortunes to come out on top of the pile.

The film is occasionally a shade too twee and cutesy for comfort, but it’s agreeably warped and twisted by comparison with yer average “teen” movie, and certainly beats She’s All That into a cocked hat.

The plot, as such, revolves almost entirely around Fischer’s apparently doomed attempts to seduce his schoolteacher (Olivia Williams) which results in much hilarity at his expense, as a stupefied Williams is forced to keep coming up with novel ways of rebuffing his amorous advances. (“What do you really think is going to happen between us? Do you honestly think we’re going to have sex???”). Meanwhile, Bill Murray chips in his best turn in some time as Fischer’s best mates/surrogate dad, and if the script is played a little too obviously for “heartwarming”, it does manage to attain a genuinely touching poignancy on more than one occasion.

Wry, sharp, and a good deal more subversive than it initially appears. Rushmore is a welcome and worthwhile addition to this year’s canon of Stateside indie gems.