Rushmore

You had me at hello.  In the first scene at the prep school Rushmore Academy, Bill Murray is giving a talk to the class.  As I looked at it, I thought "that looks like St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Houston", my church in the 90s.  The next scene looking back, yes that's looks like it.  The next scene, coming out of the chapel where I was married, Perfect!

Jason Schwartzmann plays Max who is a student at Rushmore.  He's the model student when it comes to extracurriculars, but is otherwise doesn't apply himself in the books or with the social scene.  Perhaps that is because he is somewhat happy just to be there, as a son of a barber on scholarship.  He is embarrassed enough about this to lie and make up stories about his family.  His mother is dead and he is an only child.



He impresses Bill Murray, who is Herman, the father of 2 other students, enough that they become friends.  Max also is smitten with a teacher, Ms. Cross and tries desperately and somewhat effectively to ingratiate himself.  She ends up associating with Herman, much to Max's dismay and Max ends up getting kicked out of Rushmore and enrolling at Grover Cleveland H.S. which is quite the fish-out-of-water experience.

Directed and written by Wes Anderson, it is a template for later high school indie films like Juno & Napoleon Dynamite which of course is high praise.  The student/teacher adult-level dynamic also reminded me of another good high school film, Election.

You'll note than none of these are coming of age, boner comedies, like American Pie, Porky's and such.  More cerebral.

Excellent * * * * (highest)

Don Jon - opens Sept 27

Cousin Jon said he is looking forward to this.  With Scarlett Johansson, it should be fun to watch.

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The Way Way Back

The title of this movie is a key to its storytelling.  The story by its unfolding makes it hard to pick when the story is set.  There's 80s music, 70s cars, 90s beach settings and cell phones.  Liam James plays Duncan the 14 year old son of _Pam (Toni Collette).  He's a complete loser from our initial meeting and is treated as such by everyone around him, including himself.  To escape this familial hell that is forced on him via beach vacation, he takes off and finds... Water Wizz, a blue-collar water park.

There he finds a new family, Sam Rockwell as Owen, the father figure, Maya Rudolph as the mom and everyone else as the extended family.  Being hired to work at Water Wizz gives him a nice escape all day from the drama at home.

Steve Carrel plays the evil stepfather (so to speak) as the potential new dad.  Of course he proves himself to be completely unworthy in all respects.   Has there every been a movie when the stepfather IS worthy?  Note that usually the real father in these movies is conveniently dead or otherwise missing.

A nice little Indie coming of age movie.   I thought it was more of merger of memories  into a dream.  That's why it seemed like the different places in time all came together. 

* * * 

Blue Jasmine

In the Pantheon of Great Female Lead Crack-Ups, along with Scarlett O'Hara and Gloria Swanson, the character Jasmine might think she should be included.  But alas, she overplayed her hand and goes Full Retard.  And that unfortunately is an automatic DQ.

Cate Blanchett plays Jasmine whose world has crumbled from her New York society life after her husband Hal was discovered to be...  Bernie Madoff.  So she loses everything (somehow) and has to move to San Francisco to live with her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins).

It's sort of a Sex in the City after the financial meltdown.  The shell remains (or rather the Chanel) but the spirit is gone, if there was any to begin with.  Jasmine drinks and pops prescription pills so often and reflexively that you can't appreciate if the mental illness is real or just a prop.

Men are Slime of course here.  They're either cheaters, or ineffective and abusive, or wimps, or unambititious, or dupes.  Ginger's two children are window dressing, used primarily as a Greek chorus to further the beginning of the story.

Hard to say how this can be more than the Ruth Madoff Story with the specificness of Jasmine's demise.

* * 1/2