Almost two months have gone by in ’99, and only a few movies are worth the outrageous price of a movie theater ticket.

“Rushmore,” a refreshing new comedy starring Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, lightens up the intense teenager-dominated movie world of late.

By mixing intriguing characters with a fun-to-follow story, director/writer/producer Wes Anderson does a fine job taking a no-name cast (with the exception of Murray) and making an excellent film.

Rushmore Academy is a prestigious school for the rich and the intelligent, but its most widely-known student, Max Fischer (Schwartzman), is neither. He is an overzealous 15-year-old who wrote a play when he was in second grade which earned him a scholarship to attend Rushmore.

Though he is either the founder or president of almost every extracurricular club at the academy, his poor grades have him on “sudden death” probation, and his antics make him the most picked-on kid in school.

When Fischer is going about his daily routine, he comes across first grade teacher Miss Cross (Olivia Williams) and quickly falls in love with her. He decides to stop at nothing in an attempt to win her over and begins tapping his resources.

After one of the school’s benefactors, Mr. Blume (Murray), speaks at an assembly, Fischer quickly becomes his friend.

When Fischer uses money from Blume to try and build an aquarium on the baseball field to impress Cross, his plan is spoiled with immediate expulsion from Rushmore.

The only loves of Fischer’s life, Rushmore and Cross, quickly start to escape from his grasp. As he turns to Blume for more help, his plotting backfires, as Blume also falls in love with Cross.

At this point, the movie turns into Blume and Fischer trying to ruin each others’ lives with hilarious pranks and stunts.

The ending comes rather unpredictably and leaves you with a good taste in your mouth — not a cheesy one.

Despite Fischer’s obsessive-compulsive tendencies and Blume’s dry humor and sorry attempts to hide his miserable life, they are characters you have to love.

Throughout the film, Schwartzman was very believable and seemed very comfortable in front of the screen.

If he can keep it up and expand his horizons with other roles, he will be very successful in the future.

Murray is once again outstanding. His ability to make a potentially dull role exciting and funny helps make “Rushmore” fun to watch.

Williams, who has only been seen in the unpopular “The Postman,” did an excellent job of making the audience love her immediately. Her wit and charm leave a smile on your face throughout the film.

Added comedy thrown in by the Irish character Magnus Buchan (Stephen McCole) and the young Fischer follower Dirk Calloway (Mason Gamble) bring more depth to the comedy and make it more pleasant.

In a showcase of great up-and-coming actors and one comedic genius, “Rushmore” provides great entertainment in a season lacking good comedies.

4 stars out of five

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Kyle Moss is a freshman in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.