A quirky, clever and charming movie from rookie director Anderson, who flies in the face of convention by making the hero of this high school-based comedy a slightly geeky academic who's anything but the all-American kid. Max Fischer is a brilliant but mixed-up scholarship kid at the Rushmore Academy, with a frenzied timetable and an uncanny knack of baffling both students and teachers alike. He attracts the attention of Blume (the superb Bill Murray), a rich, bored, middle-aged parent, apparently going through a second adolescence, who decides to become his sponser, and the pair develop a fascinating relationship. Things begin to sour, however, when Max falls for his widowed teacher, only to find himself ousted in favour of Blume, and events start to spiral wildly out of control. Beautifully written, perfectly played and highly original.