Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is a 10th grader at Rushmore Academy who is currently: editor of the school newspaper and yearbook; president of the French Club, German Club, Chess Club, Astronomy Club; captain of the fencing and debate teams; founder of the Double-team Dodgeball Society; and director of the Max Fischer Players, for whom he writes and produces plays about police corruption, inner-city violence, war, etc. He is applying for early admission to Oxford. (Harvard is his safety.) He is also one of the worst students in the school and has been placed on sudden-death academic probation.

Max falls in love with a first grade teacher named Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), and uses all of the resources at his disposal to try to win her over. When he develops a plan to construct an aquarium at the school in her honor, he approaches unhappy millionaire Mr. Blume (Bill Murray) to raise seed money. Max and Blume become good friends until Blume falls for Miss Cross and Max is expelled from Rushmore for attempting to build the aquarium on the shool’s baseball diamond.