Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

By Vince Man
September 4, 2006

If high school is like how Fast Times at Ridgemont High depicts it, then high school is certainly a learning experience - but not for things such as math, science, English or history, but rather sex education.

In all honesty, from what I experienced, that sentiment may not be too far from the truth. It is pretty accurate to say that teenagers constantly think about sex, and with the need to act upon thoughts, a lot is learned.

The teens in Fast Times are all relatively innocent kids to begin with, but they are exploited by chasing their curiosities. The lead role, Stacy Hamilton, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, appears at the beginning of the movie as a sweet girl who is naturally intrigued at the prospects of becoming sexually active. What is stunning is that she takes every opportunity presented to her to get her freak on as if she were Shannon Tweed in those horrible B-movies. Are high school girls this promiscuous? Sadly, I would have to say yes.

That is not to say that the guys in the movie are any better necessarily. In a conversation between Mike Damone (Robert Romanus) and Mark Ratner (Brian Backer), Mike preaches to act like how girls would want them to in order to get some action. Again, this is a rather poor act, but it is inspired by real live people. Be yourself? Fast Times screams, "Screw you, Audioslave!"

This movie is as depressing as it is comical because it delves into adolescent sex that is just that-juvenile at best. The teenage waitresses aren't wondering if their dreamy patrons are enjoying their meals, instead, they are wondering how they can enjoy their dreamy patrons' meals, if you catch my drift. I'm going to need a shower immediately after the next time I eat at Kelsey's.

Fast Times is a perplexing movie to watch. It is enjoyable, but you're left to speculate if that's how it all went down for you in high school and how pathetic teenagers really are. We've all been there, so it's okay to admit the absurdities and just laugh at them. You only hope that the sex-driven teens mature as they are unleashed into the real world.

Movie enthusiasts remember Fast Times for two things: awful '80's fashions and Sean Penn's performance as Jeff Spicoli. Okay, so maybe the terrible fashion sense on the part of the characters is not any worse than that of other teen movies from the disastrous decade, but Sean Penn is hilarious as the pothead who has been high since the third grade. He's the stereotypical student who's not mentally challenged by nature, but mentally challenged by some of nature's herbs. It would be great to ask such a person what he thinks about President Bush, just to see what he can conger up in his fully-baked state. Then again, he may think you're talking about rounding the bases in St. Louis…in a contact sport not named baseball.

Entertainment 7.5/10

Sean Penn does not get enough screen time in this movie. After watching Fast Times and other movies Penn has appeared in and been critically acclaimed for, you wonder if he is really just a schizophrenic. Just looking at the screen and seeing Spicoli's wasted and smug smirk will burn a place in your heart for him. As funny as the character is, again it is sad when you think that there are actual kids this bad off.

Another aspect of the everyday teen's life is the crummy part-time job. This film pits its characters with the typical mall jobs such as the theatre and restaurants. Judge Reinhold's character, Brad Hamilton, is highly entertaining working at a burger joint named All American Burger. Of course, the young employees are treated like the dirt brushed off your shoulder by stuck up adults in suits - something is bound not to go down well here…

Reinhold gives a very underrated performance as a supporting character who has his senior year go terribly wrong. He is the average teenaged kid, but popular for being so average. The employee of the month at All American Burger even has the hookup as schoolmates approach him for a job at the McDonald's-esque fast food establishment. You're the man, cool guy.

An all-American high school movie is not complete without an athletic competition of some sort. Charles Jefferson, played by a young, but still lazy-eyed Forest Whitaker, is a high school player that becomes so psyched up for his football game against the school's rivals that he reaches the zone - the zone of controlled insanity…multiplied by some ridiculously large number. This is the zone that professional athletes wish to reach, but surely, nobody in sports has reached the level of intensity that Whitaker's character did. He used that insanity to not only tackle, but to cripple his opponents so that they had to be escorted off the filed on a stretcher. Waterboy's Bobby Boucher is a rip-off of Jefferson and would be eaten alive Ridgemont High prospect.

Innovation 6/10

The thinly plotted movie fails to break any new ground. As mentioned, it does shine some light on the underbelly of high school and teens becoming sexually active. The film must've been a project that really wanted to stay short of an hour and a half as it speeds through one school year. I would've liked to have seen it expand on many more of the predicaments the characters got themselves into.

Emotional Resonance 6/10

You don't really feel for the students as much as you laugh at their follies in Fast Times. To think that you could be so dumb in high school is beyond belief, but chances are, you were that stupid and made your fair share of blunders. After analyzing such mistakes, it is hard to put yourself in the characters' shoes because surely, you wouldn't be that much of a dumbass to get yourself there to begin with.

Okay, you may shed a tear for Stacy's medical procedure or sympathize for her brother Brad's descent from the top of the high school hierarchy, but it's easier to set yourself apart and laugh in their misery.

Social Context 8/10

The film touches on a lot of teen problems, but it does not dwell on sorrow for very long. Yes, this is how kids grow up into adults, though exaggerated maybe, but the truth is, sexual experimentation causes kids to make asses of themselves.

Recall 8/10

There are so many memorable scenes I haven't mentioned, like the scene in which Jerry/Daphne goes swimming with the rest of the female band members. He hams it up like a true ditz. Perhaps he's in such a great mood because he's experiencing severe shrinkage.

Overall 71%

Fast Times is considered to be a classic by many, but the only thing that's classic about it is the performance by Penn, and that is only with the knowledge of his later roles. Surely, in 1982, the film would not have been considered a classic though it would've entertained the masses. Nevertheless, the movie is good for a few laughs.

Running Time: 1 hour 32 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Amy Heckerling
Producer: Irving Azoff and Art Linson
Executive Producer: C.O. Erickson
Screenplay: Cameron Crowe
Director of Photography: Matthew F. Leonetti
Editor: Eric Jenkins