I never got the hype for Fargo either. I've only seen it once, though, which is not fair to many movies, and especially so for the Coens. I mean, I got it, it just didn't hit me the way it did most others, and that can happen at times, even with a noticeably great movie.
But it's still better than Rushmore.
(Also, Fargo spawned a great television series. Rushmore led directly to the Hell on Earth that was my pre-release viewing of The Royal Tennenbaums. Never before had my blood boiled in response to? Cinematography! That was a damn, cursed achievement, I can tell you.)
Both films are wry comedies filled with damaged egos, poor decisions, and desperate human folly. Both films have not one, but two characters for the ages who provide us with endlessly quotable lines and whose names we will never forget. But only one movie features the expressive cinematography of Roger Deakins, whose chilly compositions freeze that polite Midwestern veneer to Jerry Lundegaard's face even as the fire of a thousand slights burn just behind his eyes. 'Fargo' is still the best movie the Coens have made because the more specific it gets in its setting, tone, and absurdity, the more we relate to Marge Gunderson and her quiet stoicism. Everyone in it suffers from the same existential crisis explored in 'No Country for Old Men,' but 'Fargo' sports an hero who suffers everyday setbacks without complaining and has the ability to stare that existential terror in the face, take it down, and get back to the important task of supporting a husband whose design was picked for a lesser postage stamp than he had hoped. Because after all, "here you are...and it's a beautiful day."
Curry Powell - 6 years ago
WHY IS RUSHMORE STILL HERE?! Wes Anderson is fine, but this isn’t even his best film. The Coens’ worst film (discounting Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty) is better than Anderson’s best, and Fargo is the Coens’ masterpiece. Stop this madness. Fargo advances.
I'm saving up a really good pitch for Fargo when it goes up against Pulp Fiction in the last round... IT HAD BETTER LAST UNTIL THE LAST ROUND!!
Julian Singleton, Austin, TX - 6 years ago
While the Coens may be masterful filmmakers and their films of the '90s are some of the best the Decade had to offer, I feel like Wes Anderson's masterful coming-of-age film has more spark, character, and imagination in one fingernail than Fargo has in any of its woodchipper-scattered body parts. Both films have endlessly quotable lines but should also be recognized for their sheer visual power. Roger Deakins' snow-strewn camerawork is the source of some of Fargo's most memorable moments, as is Robert Yeoman's giddy zip-pans and dolly shots in Rushmore. But as far as endings go? What Fargo does, No Country does far better a decade later, where Rushmore remains one of the few endings that can stop me in my tracks every time I see it. As Mrs. Cross takes off Max's glasses and they begin to dance, it's as if she's rediscovered Edward Appleby all over again, and the film ends in a perfect slow-motion that seeks to immortalize the two leads' happiness, fleeting as it obviously may be. No need to play Minnesota nice with this pick--Rushmore easily advances while Fargo remains buried in the Midwestern countryside, never to be found again.
JM Bossy - 6 years ago
From Vancouver
Sorry Josh. #JoshDeservesAWin has its limits.
Jacob from Cedar Rapids, Iowa - 6 years ago
I am a huge Coen Brothers fan, but I don't get all the hype for Fargo. I probably need to see it a second time, but after my first viewing, I appreciated the performances and dialogue but actually found it a little boring. Needless to say, it is far from my favorite work of theirs. I saw Rushmore for the first time last year in preparation for reading what Josh had to say about it in the final chapter of his fantastic book. I loved it! It probably isn't my favorite Wes film, but it's definitely in my top 3 and may move up after repeat viewings. Far from boring, this movie had my eyes glued to the screen the entire time. Brilliant performances all around (especially Bill Murray) and a truly emotional experience. I hate to see any Coen film taken to the wood chipper, but Max Fischer wrote a hit play, so Rushmore gets my vote.
Robert Lewis - 6 years ago
This is got to be the most attention the two Dakotas have gotten in a long time -with Fargo actually being a town in North Dakota and Mount Rushmore being in South Dakota. Yes, I know that the movie Rushmore takes place in Texas, but anyone that I ask if they know of the movie Rushmore and they don't assumes it is some movie concerning an action movie about Mount Rushmore.
Andrew Howell - 6 years ago
Oh....ya, sure.....you betcha.
Dave from Atlanta - 6 years ago
This was the toughest. I love, adore, even lurve Fargo. It's one of my all-time favorites, but Rushmore is just so darn optimistic. Max Fischer is the ultimate! Rushmore it is!
David in Chicago - 6 years ago
I voted Rushmore - But don't want to see either go. Anyway the reason I am commenting here is because...
I am advocating for a tool on the Madness page that allows us to track voting in real time after we have already voted ourselves. I am dying to see how the matchups are trending so far!!!!! Please do that next year!
Dammit, someone stole my “How did RUSHMORE get this far???” opening.
FARGO gets Steve Buscemi laid. That doesn’t happen often. Vote FARGO.
Justin MacKinnon in Toronto - 6 years ago
Hate...hate...hate you all Filmspotting Nation! How do you condem to obvivion the spiritual comforter that got you through innumerable 20-something crisises? "If your right hand offends thee, cut it off" you say? What if these are tied for your favorite films of the 1990s? Huh? Huh? The only solution is a Max Fischer stage production of Fargo with Bill Murray stepping in to play Jerry Lundergaard. I wrote a play, Filmspotting, what did you ever do? Well you just destroyed me, God darn it.
Neil Mitchell - 6 years ago
I want to vote against "Fargo" due to it knocking out "Before Sunrise", and as I've said previously I do love "Rushmore", but Wes was yet to reach his peak. So were the Coens, but "Fargo" is the better film, Frances McDormand's performance one of the finest in history, William H Macy's almost equally brilliant. Bill Murray is magnificent in "Rushmore", but I'm not letting spite win, "Fargo" is the better film.
Brett Klinger - 6 years ago
Hot take- I dislike both of these movies but I voted for Rushmore. Maybe it’s time for me to revisit both of these though.
Elijah Davidson - 6 years ago
This wing of the bracket peaked in round two when Eyes Wide Shut faced off against Before Sunrise. Oh well. Vote for Fargo, I guess. Fargo is one of the Coens' best, but not The Best—we'll have to wait for next year's bracket for that—and Wes' best comes next year as well (or maybe the year after).
Devon - 6 years ago
Whoops, accidentally voted in the only match up left where I haven't seen one of the films. Disqualify me if you want but Fargo is in the conversation for my favorite film of all time so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Devon "Jolly Jackboot", Long Island City, NY
Phil - 6 years ago
Oh geez, another film for the wood chipper. Goodbye Rushmore.
Steve Parsons - 6 years ago
When people ask me what my favorite movie of all time is I tell them Rushmore. Seriously. I’m not sure it actually is, but it’s pretty damn close if it’s not. To me it is a perfect film. It’s Anderson’s most emotionally resonant film, and Schwartzman and Murray have a rapport unlike and other two Anderson characters. I love all the little touches and everything about it.
Jacob Meltzer - 6 years ago
My hottest film take is that I absolutely cannot stand Wes Anderson's movies. They're all similar stories set in different locations that all have the emotional depth of a thimble (though I'll admit Ralph Fiennes is brilliant in Grand Budapest). If I want to watch movies from a director whose characters all speak with a deadpan affect, give me the work of Yorgos Lanthimos 100 times out of 100. The only amusing thing about Rushmore is Max's play adaptations of classic movies, precisely because they're so performative and artificial. Unfortunately, so is the rest of the movie.
On the other hand, Fargo is the Coen Brothers' best film. I grew up in Minnesota, so I know firsthand just how perfectly they nail "Minnesota Nice" and the general demeanor (and accents) of people born and raised there. The Coens are known for their complicated and compelling male protagonists, but you could argue their finest character creation is Marge Gunderson. A lot of credit for that deservedly goes to Frances McDormand, but Marge has more dimensions than the average Wes Anderson set: sweet but tough, compassionate yet rational, and always the smartest person in the room. When you factor in other great performances from William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi, Roger Deakins' incredible cinematography, and Carter Burwell's iconic score, you get one of my all-time favorite movies.
Josh Larsen and his Wes Anderson hive need to be stopped. We're talking about the Filmspotting Madness Champion Coen Brothers for crying out loud!
Mike H. - 6 years ago
Rushmore wasn't "my movie". I liked it and thought it was very funny when it came out, but I certainly didn't connect to it emotionally and if I'm honest, I kind of saw it as a quirky little movie in a sea of late 90's quirky little movies. To me it existed in the same universe as, say, Clay Pigeons or Election or even the much better and more subversive film Happiness from the same year. I certainly didn't see it as the grand arrival of a new cinematic genius (I wouldn't feel that way about Anderson until The Life Aquatic).
Regardless I know that a lot of people DO connect with Rushmore in a deep way. Which is great. I still don't quite think that explains how it made it this far into a tournament to (ultimately) crown the GREATEST FILM OF THE NINETEEN NINETIES. Can anyone really feel that way? Perhaps it benefited from being matched up in previous rounds with some of the most played out cable TV staples of the last 3 decades (Se7en and Shawshank)?
Either way, I feel like at this point I'm just voting for which film is going to lose to Goodfellas or Pulp Fiction. My own lack of emotional connection to Rushmore is a moot point. I want to see more smart things written about Fargo before this thing is over so I voted that way.
Kyle - 6 years ago
As much as this bro-heavy tourney needs Marge, I have to go with my heart here and vote Rushmore. n'a rien de sacré?
How the hell did Rushmore get this far?! Not a big Wes Anderson fan and this film is pretty low in the WEs Anderson pecking order. I'm starting to think Josh's lack of interest in the competition is a cover for his behind the scenes meddling
Handy Barker - 6 years ago
What's the secret, Max? Find one Wes Anderson film you really love and do that the rest of your life. And though Coen vs. Wes is Ali/Frazier for Filmspotters, with these two, there's no competition. Though I own both and love both, I've always seen 'Fargo" as basically a Garrison Keillor monologue reworked as a community service punishment project by junior high boys from St. Paul. The wacky tone of Buscemi, Marge, and Jerry is too silly and farcical to get beyond caricature, the antic plot shifts aren't even in the top ten among other Coen films, and it doesn't even have a musical or dream sequence! I remember when this came out, and the only reason "Fargo" got all the attention is all the urban film critics who'd poo pooed the snarky boys' previous films as "sophomorically clowny" realized they better join the Coens, since they certainly couldn't beat 'em. "Fargo" is the vanilla learner's permit Coen film for cinephiles who loved Coppola, and Scorsese and prefer violence to musicals. But for those of us who really know our American Quirk Auteurs, Coen Nordic Blanc is just too plain, so we turn to the man in a red beret who put on a hit show and deserves a drink afterward: Max Fischer.
Andrew Hertz - 6 years ago
Hey Josh...is that your little movie back there in the woodchippa?
Mike Joyce - 6 years ago
Definitely Fargo.
I thought Rushmore was pretty meh.
Chris Huntington - 6 years ago
Ouch! Sophie has nothing on me. Fargo and Rushmore are my top 2 and 3 films of all time respectively. One might argue that should make this easy — I’ve already chosen, right? But the thinking is necessarily different when creating a ranked list where each film survives. Here, I must chose for a film to be annihilated.
I love Fargo, I think it is the Cohen’s best and is absolutely my favorite of their work. Ultimately though, I think the memory of Marge and Norm will suffice.
But I can’t live in a world where I can’t see and be with Max and Herman. The way Anderson’s visual and aural creation coheres into a supremely emotional payoff must be seen to be fully appreciated. I vote for Rushmore to survive.
James McKinley - 6 years ago
This should be easy for all cinephiles out there... Fargo all the way. Looking forward to next year's tournament, we see that the only notable Coen brothers movie for the 2000s is No Country for Old Men (did people like A Serious Man as much as me, I don't think so). Wes Anderson had The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Anderson will get it the next tournament. Side note, Rushmore is extremely overrated... Sorry Josh.
Matthew in Brooklyn - 6 years ago
Filmspotting Madness often gets easier as the super popular films/directors/whatever beat out the lesser seen personal darlings. Rushmore is great, but Fargo is the only movie left in the whole tournament I feel a personal attachment to.
Of all the elite 8 matchups, this is the only one that was really difficult for me. FARGO is probably in my top 5 of all time, and RUSHMORE is ranked behind THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS for me, so that should make it easy, right? Then again, the Coens are still in this with THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and Wes Anderson's movies were every bit as formative for me as theirs. And could I really live in a world without mustachioed Bill Murray doing a cannonball to The Kinks or the formation of the kite flying society? Oh screw it: Rushmore goes in the wood chipper. Give it the three-cent stamp to remember it by.
Nick Colucci in Buffalo, NY - 6 years ago
I fear this may finally be the end for my beloved Rushmore going up against the juggernaut that is Fargo. I had to vote Rushmore though due to it being one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had watching a film in my entire life. I have never been sucked more quickly into an acting performance than I have Jason Schwartzman’s as Max Fisher. He is absolutely electric from the first second he appears on screen. As sad as I would be seeing Rushmore become deleted from existence, I couldn’t really be THAT mad having Fargo as a fall-back. So please, if this is the end for Rushmore, just make it quick and painless and don’t let any DVD, Blu-ray, VHS or Laserdisc copy suffer. (Yes, there are copies of Rushmore on Laserdisc you can still purchase on eBay)
I never got the hype for Fargo either. I've only seen it once, though, which is not fair to many movies, and especially so for the Coens. I mean, I got it, it just didn't hit me the way it did most others, and that can happen at times, even with a noticeably great movie.
But it's still better than Rushmore.
(Also, Fargo spawned a great television series. Rushmore led directly to the Hell on Earth that was my pre-release viewing of The Royal Tennenbaums. Never before had my blood boiled in response to? Cinematography! That was a damn, cursed achievement, I can tell you.)
Both films are wry comedies filled with damaged egos, poor decisions, and desperate human folly. Both films have not one, but two characters for the ages who provide us with endlessly quotable lines and whose names we will never forget. But only one movie features the expressive cinematography of Roger Deakins, whose chilly compositions freeze that polite Midwestern veneer to Jerry Lundegaard's face even as the fire of a thousand slights burn just behind his eyes. 'Fargo' is still the best movie the Coens have made because the more specific it gets in its setting, tone, and absurdity, the more we relate to Marge Gunderson and her quiet stoicism. Everyone in it suffers from the same existential crisis explored in 'No Country for Old Men,' but 'Fargo' sports an hero who suffers everyday setbacks without complaining and has the ability to stare that existential terror in the face, take it down, and get back to the important task of supporting a husband whose design was picked for a lesser postage stamp than he had hoped. Because after all, "here you are...and it's a beautiful day."
WHY IS RUSHMORE STILL HERE?! Wes Anderson is fine, but this isn’t even his best film. The Coens’ worst film (discounting Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty) is better than Anderson’s best, and Fargo is the Coens’ masterpiece. Stop this madness. Fargo advances.
I'm saving up a really good pitch for Fargo when it goes up against Pulp Fiction in the last round... IT HAD BETTER LAST UNTIL THE LAST ROUND!!
While the Coens may be masterful filmmakers and their films of the '90s are some of the best the Decade had to offer, I feel like Wes Anderson's masterful coming-of-age film has more spark, character, and imagination in one fingernail than Fargo has in any of its woodchipper-scattered body parts. Both films have endlessly quotable lines but should also be recognized for their sheer visual power. Roger Deakins' snow-strewn camerawork is the source of some of Fargo's most memorable moments, as is Robert Yeoman's giddy zip-pans and dolly shots in Rushmore. But as far as endings go? What Fargo does, No Country does far better a decade later, where Rushmore remains one of the few endings that can stop me in my tracks every time I see it. As Mrs. Cross takes off Max's glasses and they begin to dance, it's as if she's rediscovered Edward Appleby all over again, and the film ends in a perfect slow-motion that seeks to immortalize the two leads' happiness, fleeting as it obviously may be. No need to play Minnesota nice with this pick--Rushmore easily advances while Fargo remains buried in the Midwestern countryside, never to be found again.
From Vancouver
Sorry Josh. #JoshDeservesAWin has its limits.
I am a huge Coen Brothers fan, but I don't get all the hype for Fargo. I probably need to see it a second time, but after my first viewing, I appreciated the performances and dialogue but actually found it a little boring. Needless to say, it is far from my favorite work of theirs. I saw Rushmore for the first time last year in preparation for reading what Josh had to say about it in the final chapter of his fantastic book. I loved it! It probably isn't my favorite Wes film, but it's definitely in my top 3 and may move up after repeat viewings. Far from boring, this movie had my eyes glued to the screen the entire time. Brilliant performances all around (especially Bill Murray) and a truly emotional experience. I hate to see any Coen film taken to the wood chipper, but Max Fischer wrote a hit play, so Rushmore gets my vote.
This is got to be the most attention the two Dakotas have gotten in a long time -with Fargo actually being a town in North Dakota and Mount Rushmore being in South Dakota. Yes, I know that the movie Rushmore takes place in Texas, but anyone that I ask if they know of the movie Rushmore and they don't assumes it is some movie concerning an action movie about Mount Rushmore.
Oh....ya, sure.....you betcha.
This was the toughest. I love, adore, even lurve Fargo. It's one of my all-time favorites, but Rushmore is just so darn optimistic. Max Fischer is the ultimate! Rushmore it is!
I voted Rushmore - But don't want to see either go. Anyway the reason I am commenting here is because...
I am advocating for a tool on the Madness page that allows us to track voting in real time after we have already voted ourselves. I am dying to see how the matchups are trending so far!!!!! Please do that next year!
Dammit, someone stole my “How did RUSHMORE get this far???” opening.
FARGO gets Steve Buscemi laid. That doesn’t happen often. Vote FARGO.
Hate...hate...hate you all Filmspotting Nation! How do you condem to obvivion the spiritual comforter that got you through innumerable 20-something crisises? "If your right hand offends thee, cut it off" you say? What if these are tied for your favorite films of the 1990s? Huh? Huh? The only solution is a Max Fischer stage production of Fargo with Bill Murray stepping in to play Jerry Lundergaard. I wrote a play, Filmspotting, what did you ever do? Well you just destroyed me, God darn it.
I want to vote against "Fargo" due to it knocking out "Before Sunrise", and as I've said previously I do love "Rushmore", but Wes was yet to reach his peak. So were the Coens, but "Fargo" is the better film, Frances McDormand's performance one of the finest in history, William H Macy's almost equally brilliant. Bill Murray is magnificent in "Rushmore", but I'm not letting spite win, "Fargo" is the better film.
Hot take- I dislike both of these movies but I voted for Rushmore. Maybe it’s time for me to revisit both of these though.
This wing of the bracket peaked in round two when Eyes Wide Shut faced off against Before Sunrise. Oh well. Vote for Fargo, I guess. Fargo is one of the Coens' best, but not The Best—we'll have to wait for next year's bracket for that—and Wes' best comes next year as well (or maybe the year after).
Whoops, accidentally voted in the only match up left where I haven't seen one of the films. Disqualify me if you want but Fargo is in the conversation for my favorite film of all time so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Devon "Jolly Jackboot", Long Island City, NY
Oh geez, another film for the wood chipper. Goodbye Rushmore.
When people ask me what my favorite movie of all time is I tell them Rushmore. Seriously. I’m not sure it actually is, but it’s pretty damn close if it’s not. To me it is a perfect film. It’s Anderson’s most emotionally resonant film, and Schwartzman and Murray have a rapport unlike and other two Anderson characters. I love all the little touches and everything about it.
My hottest film take is that I absolutely cannot stand Wes Anderson's movies. They're all similar stories set in different locations that all have the emotional depth of a thimble (though I'll admit Ralph Fiennes is brilliant in Grand Budapest). If I want to watch movies from a director whose characters all speak with a deadpan affect, give me the work of Yorgos Lanthimos 100 times out of 100. The only amusing thing about Rushmore is Max's play adaptations of classic movies, precisely because they're so performative and artificial. Unfortunately, so is the rest of the movie.
On the other hand, Fargo is the Coen Brothers' best film. I grew up in Minnesota, so I know firsthand just how perfectly they nail "Minnesota Nice" and the general demeanor (and accents) of people born and raised there. The Coens are known for their complicated and compelling male protagonists, but you could argue their finest character creation is Marge Gunderson. A lot of credit for that deservedly goes to Frances McDormand, but Marge has more dimensions than the average Wes Anderson set: sweet but tough, compassionate yet rational, and always the smartest person in the room. When you factor in other great performances from William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi, Roger Deakins' incredible cinematography, and Carter Burwell's iconic score, you get one of my all-time favorite movies.
Josh Larsen and his Wes Anderson hive need to be stopped. We're talking about the Filmspotting Madness Champion Coen Brothers for crying out loud!
Rushmore wasn't "my movie". I liked it and thought it was very funny when it came out, but I certainly didn't connect to it emotionally and if I'm honest, I kind of saw it as a quirky little movie in a sea of late 90's quirky little movies. To me it existed in the same universe as, say, Clay Pigeons or Election or even the much better and more subversive film Happiness from the same year. I certainly didn't see it as the grand arrival of a new cinematic genius (I wouldn't feel that way about Anderson until The Life Aquatic).
Regardless I know that a lot of people DO connect with Rushmore in a deep way. Which is great. I still don't quite think that explains how it made it this far into a tournament to (ultimately) crown the GREATEST FILM OF THE NINETEEN NINETIES. Can anyone really feel that way? Perhaps it benefited from being matched up in previous rounds with some of the most played out cable TV staples of the last 3 decades (Se7en and Shawshank)?
Either way, I feel like at this point I'm just voting for which film is going to lose to Goodfellas or Pulp Fiction. My own lack of emotional connection to Rushmore is a moot point. I want to see more smart things written about Fargo before this thing is over so I voted that way.
As much as this bro-heavy tourney needs Marge, I have to go with my heart here and vote Rushmore. n'a rien de sacré?
How the hell did Rushmore get this far?! Not a big Wes Anderson fan and this film is pretty low in the WEs Anderson pecking order. I'm starting to think Josh's lack of interest in the competition is a cover for his behind the scenes meddling
What's the secret, Max? Find one Wes Anderson film you really love and do that the rest of your life. And though Coen vs. Wes is Ali/Frazier for Filmspotters, with these two, there's no competition. Though I own both and love both, I've always seen 'Fargo" as basically a Garrison Keillor monologue reworked as a community service punishment project by junior high boys from St. Paul. The wacky tone of Buscemi, Marge, and Jerry is too silly and farcical to get beyond caricature, the antic plot shifts aren't even in the top ten among other Coen films, and it doesn't even have a musical or dream sequence! I remember when this came out, and the only reason "Fargo" got all the attention is all the urban film critics who'd poo pooed the snarky boys' previous films as "sophomorically clowny" realized they better join the Coens, since they certainly couldn't beat 'em. "Fargo" is the vanilla learner's permit Coen film for cinephiles who loved Coppola, and Scorsese and prefer violence to musicals. But for those of us who really know our American Quirk Auteurs, Coen Nordic Blanc is just too plain, so we turn to the man in a red beret who put on a hit show and deserves a drink afterward: Max Fischer.
Hey Josh...is that your little movie back there in the woodchippa?
Definitely Fargo.
I thought Rushmore was pretty meh.
Ouch! Sophie has nothing on me. Fargo and Rushmore are my top 2 and 3 films of all time respectively. One might argue that should make this easy — I’ve already chosen, right? But the thinking is necessarily different when creating a ranked list where each film survives. Here, I must chose for a film to be annihilated.
I love Fargo, I think it is the Cohen’s best and is absolutely my favorite of their work. Ultimately though, I think the memory of Marge and Norm will suffice.
But I can’t live in a world where I can’t see and be with Max and Herman. The way Anderson’s visual and aural creation coheres into a supremely emotional payoff must be seen to be fully appreciated. I vote for Rushmore to survive.
This should be easy for all cinephiles out there... Fargo all the way. Looking forward to next year's tournament, we see that the only notable Coen brothers movie for the 2000s is No Country for Old Men (did people like A Serious Man as much as me, I don't think so). Wes Anderson had The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Anderson will get it the next tournament. Side note, Rushmore is extremely overrated... Sorry Josh.
Filmspotting Madness often gets easier as the super popular films/directors/whatever beat out the lesser seen personal darlings. Rushmore is great, but Fargo is the only movie left in the whole tournament I feel a personal attachment to.
Of all the elite 8 matchups, this is the only one that was really difficult for me. FARGO is probably in my top 5 of all time, and RUSHMORE is ranked behind THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS for me, so that should make it easy, right? Then again, the Coens are still in this with THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and Wes Anderson's movies were every bit as formative for me as theirs. And could I really live in a world without mustachioed Bill Murray doing a cannonball to The Kinks or the formation of the kite flying society? Oh screw it: Rushmore goes in the wood chipper. Give it the three-cent stamp to remember it by.
I fear this may finally be the end for my beloved Rushmore going up against the juggernaut that is Fargo. I had to vote Rushmore though due to it being one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had watching a film in my entire life. I have never been sucked more quickly into an acting performance than I have Jason Schwartzman’s as Max Fisher. He is absolutely electric from the first second he appears on screen. As sad as I would be seeing Rushmore become deleted from existence, I couldn’t really be THAT mad having Fargo as a fall-back. So please, if this is the end for Rushmore, just make it quick and painless and don’t let any DVD, Blu-ray, VHS or Laserdisc copy suffer. (Yes, there are copies of Rushmore on Laserdisc you can still purchase on eBay)