Rushmore is a pretty standard coming-of-age tale that never seems to be going anywhere, but Wes Anderson's quirky style's always present affectionate side is simply irresistible. Full of colorful characters who are nicely characterized, although that leads to a messy jumble of subplots. Jason Schwartzman's lead performance as eccentric extracurricular activity extraordinaire, Max Fishcher, is a rightfully chaotic jumble of angst, self-admiration and, most of all, lost aspirations. The other most notable performance is Bill Murray's as the lovable mess-of-a-man, Herman Blume. Presented as a light-hearted comedy, but, in fact, having a strong emotional presence. That conflict of content leads to both comedy and emotion falling short on a number of occasions. Wes Anderson's style has a eminent likability that makes it to where no matter how messy things get it still has a way of always charming you back in. His second feature ended up making a comedic star out of Schwartzman, being a perfectly timed indie comeback for Murray and a nice predecessor to perhaps his most complete work - The Royal Tenenbaums (2000).