20 Essential Coming Of Age Movies That Changed Your Life

10. Rushmore

Wes Anderson has justly earned a reputation for crafting visually distinct movies featuring an ensemble cast of quirky and unusual characters, and Rushmore - his second feature - is no exception. Starring Jason Schwartzmann as Max Fischer and Bill Murray as the local rich industrialist Herman Blume, it's a defining coming-of-age movie of the late 90s which remains to this day one of the finest of Anderson's illustrious career. Max Fischer is an unusual character to say the least - aware of the fact that he's from a far more humble background than most of his schoolmates, he overcompensates for his perceived shortcomings and involves himself in every activity and group under the sun, yet somehow remains an outcast among his peers. Things change when he befriends Blume; the surly, depressive businessman who comes to admire his indefatigable optimism. Beautifully shot and boasting an exceptional screenplay by Anderson and Owen Wilson, Rushmore reminds us all that popularity is no measure of a person's worth, and that friendship can come from the most unexpected of places.