Rushmore (1998) - 9/10

We watched the Criterion version of Rushmore at the Film in the Forest monthly film series and I had blast talking about this movie for the weird, wonderful fable it is. Wes Anderson's sophomore effort after Bottle Rocket is a movie that I find gets better every time you watch it, something that has such a good script that it doesn't need to get changed at all so that even Bill Murray would do it for free. I like the way the music changes to emphasize each scene and Max character almost makes his own rules to bend the world as he chooses. The kooky characters and scene of the perfect private school all work to balance the play aspect with the idea of coming of age, a rare feat that has as many one liners as effective life lessons. What's cool to think about is the way this movie switches the roles of Schwartzman's and Murray's characters from childish humor to acting all adult so that when they're both swooning over the same girl, you really don't know who to root for. This movie is not for everyone and has a sort of dry humor throughout like you're not in on the joke, but the way that characters all try so hard and are so empathetic make this a truly classic movie.