I envy Max Fisher for a number of reasons. He has the courage to follow his dreams, and sticks his neck out in the name of his "art" no matter what the consequences. Unfortunately, his entire universe is about to collapse because he's just too damn old to remain at Rushmore: a private high school he has been attending for the past six years.
   He has started, or is a member of, every club or extracurricular activity at the school. With the exception of fencing, however, these are limited to things like stamp-collecting and bee-keeping - not sports. The montage where we see Max chairing all of these various societies, while 60's mod rock plays in the background, sets a theme for the rest of the movie. Max feels he "belongs" at Rushmore only because he can manipulate it's universe.
   The real world terrifies Max. "Well that's OK," he tells the headmaster when his poor grades are brought up, "I'll just take a post-grad year." When the headmaster replies that they don't offer a post-grad year at Rushmore, Max realizes he is about to be thrown to the wolves.
   It's no accident this movie has developed a massive cult following. Wes Anderson has created a group of characters so complex and addictively interesting that you can't help getting caught up in their dilemmas.
   There's Magnus, the bullying one-eared Scotsman who admires Max as much as he abuses him. Mr. Blume, the apathetic millionaire who would rather spend time with a 15-yr-old than his horrifically unsympathetic family. Rosemary, the grieving widow who becomes caught in a perceived love-triangle between Max and Blume - Even the bit players in this movie (Margaret Yang, Max's father, Dirk) will keep your attention and force you to empathize with their various situations.
   This deeply layered and loveable movie was co-written by the brilliant Owen Wilson and comes with my highest reccomendation.