Rushmore

This is the first "Wes Anderson Film", meaning the first one with all the trademark quirks and camera movements showing up noticeably. Jason Schwartzman makes his debut here as the lead, Max Fischer, a student at the prestigious Rushmore Academy. He's not from a well-off family like the rest of his classmates; his father is a barber, his mother died when he was 7, and he recieved a scholarship to attend the school when he was in second grade because he wrote a play. The school is his life and he seems to be a part of every single extra curricular activity they offer, even starting numerous ones himself, like his "Max Fischer Players", a theatre group in which he stages awesome stage versions of movies like "Serpico". Although Max is undeniably street smart in the prep school enviroment, his grades are downright below average which leads him to constantly being on the verge of expulsion. Bill Murray enters the picture as Herman Blume, a local multi-millionaire whose sons attend the school. Blume and Max share a mutual love for Rushmore, and Max's over mature personality matches up well with Blume's childlike nature.

The focus of the plot is Max's infatuation with a 1st grade teacher at Rushmore, Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). She's too old for him, but that doesn't stop him from trying to work his way into her affections. He tries to break ground on a school aquariaum without permission from the headmaster (Brian Cox) which leads to his expulsion and journey to public school. I'll try to refrain from describing the plot from now on, since with the level of detail that goes into a 90 minute Anderson movie, I could write a short novella just rehashing it.

Anyway, Jason Schwartzman has been compared to Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock in this role, but I don't really see it aside from similar haircuts and big noses. Max Fischer is more reactionary than Braddock ever was and he's always has some sort of plan or action to take to lead to his next big thing. He's is very similar to Owen Wilson's Dignan from "Bottle Rocket" in this way. The movie is split into months, from September to December and for the first two so much goes on that it's surprising that only a month has passed. When Max is expelled and put into public school, the month of November goes by in 10-15 minutes of the movies time. Max is very aware of his class status at Rushmore and tries to do anything and everything to make up for not having money. He has the kid who played Dennis the Menace in the 1993 movie (Mason Gamble) as his assistant/gofer. He uses Rushmore more as livingspace than a school. We almost never see him in class, but he's constantly accomplishing something on campus. When he's thrown out for having bad grades and for overbounding his steps once too often, the change from prep to public school is astounding. The world Wes Anderson creates with proscenium curtains opening to present scenes, Max running around in his Rushmore blue blazer, closeups of books, letters, and other writings, is contrasted with basically the real world. Max walks into a public school filled with the first minorities of the movie, still wearing his blue blazer as a security blanket, and is immediately out of place. The way he's able to adapt and combine the two worlds is remarkable and entertaining.

Bill Murray takes a liking to Max Fischer after giving a speech at Rushmore which Max enjoyed. Murray's Blume is a wealthy, intelligent man, but has an unhappy marriage and twin boys who annoy the hell out of him with their brash ways. In Max he finds a kindred spirit, a boy he wishes were his own son, but also a friend who's smart enough to have conversations with. When Max falls for Olivia Williams' Miss Cross however, Blume and Max find themselves in a love triange. Murray is subtle, understated, and very funny in "Rushmore". Only five years removed from "Groundhog Day", he looks quite aged with his grey hair and thin mustache. The way he'll offhandedly insult someone never gets old.

The soundtrack is great of course. All British Invasion songs from bands like the Rolling Stones, Kinks, and Cat Stevens. Mark Mothersbaugh scored "Bottle Rocket", but this is the first time where his music stood out as good enough to listen to without watching the movie.

As a movie its pretty good, I'm actually not sure if I'd place it over "Bottle Rocket" after watching them back to back. Having seen "Royal Tenenbaums" recently it's defintely not better than that.

Bottle Rocket

I begin my look at Wes Anderson's body of work with his debut feature, "Bottle Rocket". In 1992, four years before its evolution into a full length film, Anderson shot "Bottle Rocket" as a 12 minute short that basically covered the first quarter of the movie. Same characters and actors and similar bits of dialogue. The movie version of "Bottle Rocket" redoes those scenes a little sharper, and it's evident from this early piece of work that Anderson was able to handle all aspects of a shoot. As his first film, there are many differences from the rest of output. The overall quirkiness is down a whole ton and the color palette that is strewn among his movies from "Rushmore" on is missing here. Same with the Futura font that labels scene breaks in his later films.

As a product of its time, the mid 90's, "Bottle Rocket" holds up exceedingly well. Shot at a time where every college graduate with a greater than average interest in film and a movie camera was trying to make his or her own picture and sending it to Sundance, "Bottle Rocket" isn't dated and is shockingly good for a debut. It's the least "Wes Andersony" of Andersons films which leads me to believe that it would be the best film for the average moviegoer to relate to.

Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson are the two main leads, both in their acting debuts. The short has their actual film debut, so if you want to see those two actors at their youngest, check it out. To me, their is no perceivable difference in their performances from the short to the film. That said, both are amazing in this and have arguably never been better, Owen especially. Owen is Dignan, a wannabe thief who tries to drag his friend Anthony (Luke) along with him. The criminal element of this film for the most part is treated harmlessly. They pull off a bookstore robbery and then go "on the lam" for a few days to a motel with their other friend Bob (Robert Musgrave), their getaway driver. There, Anthony falls in love with their room's housekeeper. Eventually they all end up back in their small Texas town to start over again. James Caan appears as Dignan's idol, a local businessman who's an actual successful criminal. Caan enlists the three men to pull of a heist for him which ends up being the climax of the movie. The plot, like all Anderson movies is less important than the character development.

Owen Wilson has made a career playing cocky know-it-all control freaks, but none have had any close to the depth Dignan has here. Owen plays against his real life brother in many scenes that have the feeling of being improvised, they're so natural. He doesn't feel forced, and his charisma shows even here at his most inexperienced. With his short, army haircut he doesn't look like a movie star and it's easier to take him seriously. He's funny, but the more scenes he has, the more you're able to understand what drives him, what motivates him and although he has flaws, the character is fully realized by the end. A character like Dignan is a major factor in lifting this above the features Hollywood was producing in 1996. At no point does anything he or Anthony does feel cliche or done just to move the plot along. We follow the characters and if the movie drags, Anderson assures us that eventually things will pick up again. Nothing is force fed. Also, Owen co-wrote the movie with Anderson which is almost definitely the reason for Wes Anderson movies being the showcase for his best acting work.

The presence of the Wilson brothers is the main way to tell this is a Wes Anderson movie. Other than the two of them, it just seems like a hidden treasure, a movie that didn't get enough press despite it's awesomness and was left to rot on blockbuster shelves. Luckily, Anderson followed this up with Rushmore and other directors and actors took notice of Owen and Luke and proceeded to cast them in numerous projects following the release of this movie. Martin Scorsese named "Bottle Rocket" as one of his favorite movies of the 1990's and proclaimed Wes Anderson as the "next Scorsese."

Next up; Rushmore

Wes Anderson

I have a somewhat eclectic taste in movies, at least I seem to think so. Although I do love many older films, there are also dozens that leave me feeling bored. At the same time, there is an effortless feel (probably due to the impact of having so many theatre actors in Hollywood back then) that I find so enjoyable. Most of the newer movies I love have a nostalgic feel to them and seem to exist in their own worlds.

Anyway, my first sense of continuity for this blog will be a rundown of Wes Anderson's six films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, Royal Tennenbaums, Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited, and Fantastic Mr. Fox) over the next few days or so. I be doing more theme write ups for frequently. I'm starting with Anderson because I find all his films interesting and want to rewatch them again. Will start with Bottle Rocket late tonight or early tomorrow.