Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Years before Cameron Crowe helmed the College Classics Say Anything and Singles, he went undercover in an authentic high school. His purpose was to observe the realities of teen life, particularly sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Crowe wrote his first screenplay based on the research. The ultimate result was Fast Times At Ridgemont High, a pioneer in teen flicks.
The plot is comprised of episodes dealing with high school students. Brad Hamilton tries to enjoy his senior year, but a breakup and a series of menial jobs prevents this. His sister Stacey is getting bad advice regarding sex from her best friend Linda Barrett. In a parallel story, Mike Damone gives his shy buddy Mark Ratner misguided advice on how to win Stacey's affections. Surfer dude Jeff Spicoli engages in a battle of wills against his hard-ass History teacher Mr. Hand, who is convinced that everyone is on dope.
This comedy is director Amy Heckerling's (Clueless) career highlight. She treats issues of teenage sexuality and drug use with humor instead of indignation. These topics and others touched on in the film still bear some relevance to teens today and will probably resonate with high school students 20 years from now.
Aside from teen issues, Fast Times marks the start of several well-known actors' careers. Judge Reinhold (Brad) later co-starred with Eddie Murphy in the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy. You can see Jennifer Jason Leigh (Stacey) as Annie Sullivan in Road to Perdition. Sean Penn has been thrice nominated for an Academy Award since his comedic breakthrough as Spicoli. Also, look for bit parts by Phoebe Cates (Gremlins), Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction), Anthony Edwards (Top Gun), Forrest Whitaker (Bird), and Nicolas Coppola. What's that? You've never heard of Nicolas Coppola? Perhaps you know him better as Nicolas Cage.
Regardless of how many times I've seen this movie or my mood while watching it, one particular scene always cracks me up. The scene starts out with Spicoli driving the Ridgemont's star quarterback's car, and the star's younger brother is riding shotgun. They're talking about Playboy centerfolds while Spicoli weaves through traffic like a snake. Spicoli loses control and crashes into a pile of concrete blocks. The ensuing dialogue is priceless:
Jefferson's Brother: My brother's gonna kill us! He's gonna kill us! He's gonna kill you and he's gonna kill me, he's gonna kill us!
Jeff Spicoli: Hey man, just be glad I had fast reflexes!
Jefferson's Brother: My brother's gonna shit!
Jeff Spicoli: Make up your mind, dude, is he gonna shit or is he gonna kill us?
Jefferson's Brother: First he's gonna shit, then he's gonna kill us!
Fast Times At Ridgemont High is a true classic, both as an '80s movie and a teen comedy. Its reach extends to almost every other teen comedy made since 1982. Interestingly, Fast Times earned a spot on the American Film Institute's "100 Years . . . 100 Laughs" list (#87). That's awesome, totally awesome!
Send any comments/ feedback to the author.
Underage alcohol consumption is surprisingly unmentioned in this teen classic. That doesn't mean that booze must be absent from your viewing experience.
Passionless sexuality does not make Fast a prime example of a teen romance film.
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Related Articles:
1) Say Anything
2) Singles
3) Almost Famous
