Rushmore 1998

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: A true original: a film that stands apart from the crowd, goes its own way and all but dares you not to like it. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: ...Anderson has an idiosyncratic sensibility, the rare ability to create a world that is completely his own. Unique worlds, however, can be off-putting enough to discourage civilians from spending time there. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: If happiness is finding something you love to do and doing it forever, one of my somethings might just be watching this oddly uproarious little flick. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: There's a danger of overselling Anderson's sweet-hearted, loony little fantasy, but everything -- from the soundtrack of '60s Brit bands with their jangly anthems of angsty love to Robert Yeoman's slightly hyper-real photography -- fits perfectly. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: There's an unshakable confidence about this coming-of-age fable that matches that of its central character, Max Fischer. Read more

Susan Stark, Detroit News: Read more

Jonathan Foreman, New York Post: A quirky, sometimes hilarious and often touching comic fable. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: What I wanted was a larger perspective, something more insightful than the one-thing-after-another existential whimsy. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: The hint of genuine pathos [Murray] brings to Rushmore tempers Schwartzman's brash, sometimes off-putting antics, gracing an already great comedy with surprising depth and heart. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: This film is so not-from-the-cookie-cutter, so unaccommodating of our expectations, that we can't anticipate where Anderson's going to take us. Every scene is a discovery or sly diversion. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: The director treats eccentricity with compassionate respect: no winking, no nudges to even like the boy. The filmmaking, meanwhile, is beautifully disciplined. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: One of the most original, good-hearted comedies in a long time, Rushmore is the sort of movie where the strangest sequences of discords somehow keep managing to reach giddily improbable resolutions. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Rushmore has a good deal of content and human qualities to spare, but what makes it such a charming and satisfying experience is its style. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: Schwartzman is cautious but stubbornly optimistic, while Murray is possessed by the mania of near-despair... They make the best and most disconcerting odd couple that American movies have produced in a long while. Read more

Dave Kehr, New York Daily News: One of the freshest, richest, most original films to come out of Hollywood in a very long time. Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: It's a particular treat for its skewed, hilarious memories of a cutthroat boyhood. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Rushmore is intended to be hip and funny, but it's not really either. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: [Rushmore is] structured like a comedy, but there are undertones of darker themes, and I almost wish they'd allowed the plot to lead them into those shadows. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Along comes Rushmore, and, well, I don't know what the hell it is exactly, except that it's a work of loopy, original comic genius. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: There's a sweet humanity about the picture, though it's anything but sentimental. It's odd, definitely odd. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: You also have to admire the creepy arrogance of Schwartzman's performance. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: A peculiar, poignant comedy, with an outstanding character turn from Murray. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: A wickedly funny high school comedy for most of its running time, Rushmore is a bracingly fresh and original outing. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: The sensibility is in no way derivative, although the friendly score and engagingly quirky performances suggest the warm, puppy-dog humanism of a young Jonathan Demme. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Rushmore is an almost indefinable genre of its own. A comedy with a menacing edge? An ironic romance? Hard to call. Anderson, the director and co-writer, and Wilson, co-writer, have a vision like no one else's. Read more

Rita Kempley, Washington Post: An inspired second feature from director Wes Anderson and co-writer Owen Wilson, the picture shares the offbeat rhythms and disarming humor of their overlooked debut, Bottle Rocket. Read more