Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) Movie | Sean Penn & Jennifer Jason Leigh | Review & Facts

e e e e e e hey guys welcome back to the picture review Channel guys in today's video the movie we are going to talk about is called Fast Times at Ridgemont High we will talk about what this movie is all the interesting facts about this movie we are going to give you a detailed review of this movie and we will talk in detail about the technical department music department pre-production filming and other details of this film we will also talk about the story of this film apart from this we will discuss about the facts of this film storyline starcast actor's performance in the film and which character has played which role that's why I re request you friends to watch this video till the end if you are visiting our channel for the first time don't forget to subscribe to our channel so let's start the video Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American Coming of Age comedy film directed by Amy heckerling in her feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Cameron Crow based on his 1981 book Fast Times at Ridgemont High a true story and starring Shawn Penn Jenifer Jason Lee judge reinholdt Phoebe Kates Brian backer Robert romanis and Ray Walston Crow went undercover at Claremont High School in San Diego and wrote about his experiences the film Chronicles a school year in the lives of sophomores Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner and their older friends Linda Barrett and Mike Deone both of whom believe themselves wiser in the ways of romance than their younger counterparts the ensemble cast of characters formed two subplots with Jeff Spicoli a perpetually Stone Surfer facing off against history teacher Mr Hand and Stacy's older brother Brad a popular senior who Works in entry-level jobs to pay for his car and P ending his 2-year relationship with his girlfriend Lisa in addition to pen Reinhold katees and Lee the film marks early appearances by several actors who later became Stars including Nicholas Cage Eric staltz Forest Whitaker and Anthony Edwards the first two in their feature film debuts in 2005 the film was selected for preservation in the United States national film registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally historically or aesthetically significant plot in the San Fernando Valley Town of Ridgemont the lives of teenagers who attend Ridgemont High School intersect Brad Hamilton a popular senior looks forward to his final year of school he has a job at allamerican Burger his 1960 Buick Las saber is almost paid for and he plans to break up with his girlfriend Lisa so he can be single for his senior year his younger sister Stacy a 15-year-old freshman works at Perry's Pizza at Ridgemont Mall alongside her older friend Linda Barrett Stacy desires to be as sexually experienced as Linda Mike Deone is a smooth talker who fancies himself a worldly Ladies Man and earns money taking Sports bets and scalping concert tickets Mark rat Ratner Deone shy but amiable best friend works as a Usher at the movie theater across from Perry's Pizza Jeff Spicoli is a Carefree Stoner and slacker who lives only for for surfing and getting high on the first day of school Spicoli runs foul of history teacher Mr Hand when he shows up late for class a battle of wits ensues between the two with Mr Hand attempting to get Spicoli to take School seriously at work Stacy is asked out by 26-year-old stereo salesman Ron Johnson Stacy agrees to go out with him and lies about her age claiming she is 19 on their date she loses her virginity to him in the Dugout of a baseball field Ron sends her flowers the next day but quickly loses interest in her rat meets Stacy in a science class run by Mr Vargas who switched to Sanka is smitten with her and takes her to a German restaurant back at her home Stacy invites rat into her bedroom and they begin to kiss but he nervously leaves before they can proceed further Stacy mistakenly interprets his shyness as lack of Interest Linda advises her to move on and find another boy Brad is fired from his job after threatening an obnoxious businessman and using profanity when he realizes he needs Lisa she confesses she wants to date other guys Brad gets a new job at Captain Hook Fish and Chips when rat and Deone later Dro by Stacy's house to join her and Linda in the swimming pool Stacy becomes infatuated with demone one afternoon she invites him to her home where they have sex in the pool house their encounter is cut short when Deone ejaculates early and immediately leaves after this incident demone avoids her spicy accidentally wrecks the 1981 Chevrolet Camaro of Ridgemont star football player Charles Jefferson during a joy ride with Jefferson's younger brother he conceals his role in the damage by making it look like the car was destroyed by fans of Ridgemont sports rival Lincoln High School this causes Jefferson to assist his team in decisively routing Lincoln in a later football game where he makes several brutal tackles Brad later rethinks his employment when a beautiful older woman laughs at his pirate themed uniform while he is making a food delivery Stacy later confronts Deone to inform him she has gotten pregnant from their one-time encounter she asks if he can cover half the cost of an abortion and provider with a ride to the clinic and he agrees Deone is unable to come up with his half and he ends up abandoning Stacy on the day of her appointment Stacy asks Brad to drive her and lies that she is going to a bowling alley to meet friends but he sees her cross the street to the abortion clinic after the appointment Brad confides to Stacy that he knows the truth Brad promises not to tell their parents but she does not divulge who got her pregnant when Linda finds out about Deone flaking on Stacy she Paints the insult prick on his car and his school locker as Revenge rat angrily confronts Deone about his involvement with Stacy they get into a fight in the boy's locker room but the gym teacher breaks it up on the evening of the end of the year School Dance Mr h visits Boli's house and informs him that he must make up the 8 hours of class time he has wasted over the school year they have a history session that lasts until Mr Hand is satisfied that Spicoli has understood the lesson rat makes peace with demon sometime later rat resumes his relationship with Stacy Brad takes a job at a convenience store called my T-Mart and foils an armed robbery with some help from an oblivious Spicoli who stumbles out of the store's bathroom just in time to distract the robber a postcript states that Brad was promoted to manager of my teamart on June 12th Deone was busted for scalping Aussie Osborne tickets and now works at a 7-Eleven Mr Vargas switched back to coffee Linda attends College in Riverside and lives with her abnormal psychology Professor rat and Stacy are in love but they still haven't gone all the way Mr Hand is convinced that everyone is on dope sply saved Brook Shields from drowning and blew the reward money hiring rock band Van Halen to play at his birthday party cast sha Penn as Jeff Spicoli a stoner teenager who is an expert Surfer Jennifer Jason Lee as Stacy Hamilton a 15-year-old freshman and Brad's younger sister who works at Perry's Pizza Judge Reinhold as Brad Hamilton the older brother of Stacy who does entrylevel jobs Robert romanis as Mike Deone a smooth talking teenager who takes bets and scalps concert tickets Brian backer is Mark rat Ratner deon's best friend who works as an usher at the movie theater at Ridgemont Mall box office on its opening weekend the film earned $2.5 million the release was widened to 73 theaters earning $325 million the film ranked 29th among us releases in 1982 earning 27.1 million 6 times its $4.5 million budget and later gaining popularity through television and home video releases critical response on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes 78% of 60 critics reviews are positive with an average rating of 6.71 the website's consensus reads while Fast Times at Ridgemont High featur feat Shawn Penn's legendary performance the film endures because it accurately captured the small details of school work and Teenage life Metacritic which uses a weighted average assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100 based on 21 critics indicating generally favorable reviews how could they do this to Jennifer Jason Lee how could they put such a fresh and cheerful person into such a scuzz pit of a movie don't they know they have a star on their hands I didn't even know who Lee was when I walked into Fast Times at Ridgemont High and yet I was completely won over by her she contained so much life and light that she was a joy to behold and then she and everybody else in this so-called comedy is invited to plunge into offensive vulgarity let me make myself clear I am not against vulgarity as a subject for a movie comedy sometimes I treater it when it's you said with inspiration as in the producers or national lampon animal house but vulgarity is a very tricky thing to handle in a comedy Tony's everything and the makers of Fast Times at richemont high have an absolute gift for taking potentially funny situations and turning them into General embarrassment they tonee the movie is another one of those adolescent sex ROMs such as porkys and Animal House in which part of the humor comes from runchy situations and dialogue this movie is so runchy however that the audience can't quite believe it I went to a sneak preview thrown by a rock radio station and the audience had come for a good time but during a scene involving some extremely Frank talk about certain popular methods of sexual behavior even the Rock Fans were grossed out there's a difference between raunchiness and gynecological detail the movie's cast struggles valiantly through all this Dr rarely have I seen so many attractive young performers invited to appear in so many unattractive scenes Lee for example plays a virginal young student at ront high she's curious about sex so the script immediately turns her into a promiscuous sex machine who will go to bed with anybody and then her sexual experiences all turn out to have an unnecessary element of realism so that we have to see her humiliated disappointed and embarrassed whatever happened to a beat sex whatever happened to love and lust and romance and scenes where good-looking kids had a little joy and excitement in life instead of all this grungy downbeat humiliation why does someone as pretty as leh have to have her nudity exploited in shots were the only point is to show her at ease if this movie had been directed by a man I'd call it sexist it was directed by a woman Amy heckerling and it's sexist all the same it clunks to a halt now and then for some heartfelt badly handled material about pregnancy and abortion I suppose that's heckerling paying dues to some misconception of the way 's movement but for the most part this movie Just exploits its performers by trying to walk a tight rope between comedy and exploitation in addition to Lee's work however there are some other good performances sha Penn is perfect as the potm smoking space cadet who has been stoned since the third grade Phoebe Kates is breathtaking as the more experienced girl who gives Lee those distasteful Lessons In Love Judge Reinhold has fun as a perennial fast food cook who Rebels against the silly uniforms he's supposed to wear Ray Walston is suitably hateful as the dictatorial history teacher Mr Hand but this movie could have been a lot more fun if it hadn't chosen to confuse embarrassment with humor the necessary detail about sexual functions isn't funny it's dis tasteful Lee looks so young fresh cheerful and innocent that we don't laugh when she gets into unhappy scenes with men we wince the whole movie is a failure of taste tone and nerve the waste of a good cast onora adic offensive material that hasn't been thought through or maybe even thought about because Fast Times at richmont High arrived in movie theaters during the height of the 80s teens pation era it has often been unfairly lumped together with porkys and its successors and CopyCats in reality Fast Times is smarter and more perceptive while teen exploitation movies thrived on juvenilia sex jokes and nudity Fast Times Like valley girl and the last American Virgin is character-based and character driven as a result the humor and nudity and there are plenty of each including one of the most popular topless scenes of the80s are more honest when the Final Cut of Fast Times was delivered to the Universal Pictures Executives they didn't know what they had the film was unceremoniously dumped into 500 theaters in August of 19 1982 and proceeded to surprise Everyone by grossing more than 10 times its budget it has gone on to become a much loved VHS and DVD title earning nearly as much in rental dollars as it did during its theatrical run despite being directed by newcomer Amy heckerling Fast Times is most commonly known as a Cameron Crow movie Crow wrote the screen play based on a book he penned about his experiences when he went back to high school posing as a senior the film shares characteristics with Crow's later directorial efforts say anything Jerry Maguire including sharp dialogue and a pop heavy soundtrack heckerling's contributions to the project are often overlooked in the Zeal to attribute Fast Times to Crow it's not all that different from what occurs with this is spinal tap the rockumentary directed by Rob Riner that is often credited to Christopher Guest who co-wrote it then went on to make a series of mockumentaries with a similar approach Fast Times looks at a year in the life of a group of students attending Ridgemont High during the 1980s having been a member of the generation portrayed by by the movie I can attest to its accuracy in both broad strokes and details however one would expect nothing less from a crow script whatever his flaws he has a history of authenticity when it comes to dialogue and character interaction there is one area where Fast Times Like many high school themed movies courts artificiality actor age the majority of the kids in this movie are supposed to be between 15 and 18 the actors however check in at 21 Shawn Penn 19 Jennifer Jason Lee 24 judge reinold 25 Robert romanis 25 Brian backer and 20 Forest Whitaker only Phoebe Kates at 18 and Nicholas Cage at 17 were in the proper age range in some cases like Lee and Backer the illusion works with pen Ryan and romanis it's a stretch to accept them as being high school seniors unless one believes them to have been held back multiple times the movie's standout character is Jeff Spicoli Penn who has become one of those of imitated movie personalities Spicoli is a surfer a slacker and a stoner when asked why he doesn't get a job he responds all I need are some tasty waves a cool buzz and I'm fine during his senior year he develops an ongoing feud with his history teacher Mr Hand Ray Walston this leads to several memorable confrontations both inside and outside of the classroom that indicate Mr Han may be the only one to get the upper hand on Spicoli Mark Ratner backer is a high school virgin who is urged by his more experienced but not necessarily more insightful friend Mike Deone romanis to pursue a girl in his biology class who catches his eye she's Stacy Hamilton Lee who has decided to aggressively pursue losing her virginity one that deed is done with an older guy she and interested in seeing if it will be better the second time around her older best friend Linda Barrett katees assures her it will be so she decides to try with Mark however her forwardness scares him off although the same cannot be said of Mike who is more than willing to go after his buddy's would be girlfriend meanwhile Stacy's Brother Brad Ryan H hold is spending his final high school year working at fast food places breaking up up with his girlfriend and fantasizing about Linda Fast Times is loaded with young Talent some members of the cast would go on to Long successful careers While others would fade away in the latter category are backer and romanis this represented the career high watermark for both of them they're effective and believable in their Fast Times roles backer as the stereotypical shy nerd and romanis as the guy who uses bravado to cover his insecurity but both ended up filling supporting roles in TV series and Indie movies Kate's took the path Less Traveled for an actress making movies for about a decade after fast times then retiring to raise a family with her husband Kevin Klein katees is still fondly remembered by Generation X males for her topless scene in Fast Times which became the source material for numerous teenage masturbatory fantasies the most successful Fast Times Alum is Shawn Penn who has gone on to worldwide Acclaim taken in conjunction with his other roles Fast Times illustrates amazing versatility he is the perfect Spicoli nailing every aspect of the character and becoming the movie's most memorable individual Penn reportedly became so immersed in the role that even when the cameras weren't rolling he demanded to be called Spicoli and never dropped the attitude whatever he may have done offscreen to Fashion the onscreen man it worked Jennifer Jason Lee who appears in some of fast times's most raw scenes reportedly she wanted to Bear all but fears of an ax- rating kept her pubic hair hidden went on to become a daring and adaptable actress with a very career that is still going strong likewise Judge Reinhold achieved a measure of success by appearing in a number of high-profile familyfriendly features other future stars who showed their faces in Fast Times Eric stz and Edwards Forest Whitaker and Nicholas Cage credited as Nicholas [Music] kobala the only veteran actor in Fast Times is Ray Walston who represents the lone adult with significant screen time before appearing in Fast Times Walston was known primarily as Uncle Martin the Martian and my favorite martian this movie introduced him to a new generation for which he would forever be Mr Hand it's a distinction Walston embraced to his dying day glad to be known for more than one part although Fast Times is primarily a comedy it doesn't shy away from dealing with serious issues its depiction of sex is true to life we are privy to Stacy's first and second sexual encounters and both are less than satisfactory the first occurs in a baseball Dugout at night she gazes at graffiti on a wall and wonders when it will be over the second transpires in a bath house and is over so fast she doesn't have time to wonder movies often romanticize teenage sex fast times goes in the opposite direction a Direction More viewers are likely to identify with the film also deals with abortion and betrayal neither is typical material for a teen comedy yet both are evident in Fast Times where they are treated deferentially today many who graduated from college in the80s identify fast times as a favorite teen film because it does so much more than other movies in its subgenre the film is far from per perfect the soundtrack occasionally chooses the wrong songs there are times when the acting especially by the supporting players falters and there are scenes most of them throw ways that don't work aside from jump starting so many promising Motion Picture careers including Crow heckerling and members of the cast fast times will always be remembered for one thing showing respect for and insight into the members of its core audience something that was as rare in the 1980s as it is today Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American Coming of Age comedy film directed by Amy heckerling and her feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe based on his 1981 book Fast Times at rgon high a true story and starring Shawn Penn Jennifer Jason Lee judge reinholdt Phoebe Kates Brian backer Robert romanis and Ray Walston Crow went undercover at Claremont High School in San Diego and wrote about his experiences the film Chronicles a school year in the lives of sophomores Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner and their older friends Linda Barrett and Mike Deone both of whom believe themselves wiser in the ways of romance than their younger counterparts the ensemble cast of characters formed two subplots with Jeff Spicoli a perpetually Stone Surfer facing off against history teacher Mr Hand and Stacy's older brother Brad a popular senior who works in entry-level jobs to pay for his car and Ponders ending his two year relationship with his girlfriend Lisa in addition to pen Reinhold katees and Lee the film marks early appearances by several actors who later became Stars including Nicholas Cage Eric staltz Forest Whitaker and Anthony Edwards the first two in their feature film debuts in 2005 the film was selected for preservation in the United States national film registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally historically or aesthetically significant plot in the San Fernando Valley Town of Ridgemont the lives of teenagers who attend Ridgemont High School intersect Brad Hamilton a popular senior looks forward to his final year of school he has a job at all American Burger his 1960 Buick lasaber is almost paid for and he plans to break up with his girlfriend Lisa so he can be single for his senior year his younger sister Stacy a 15-year-old freshman works at Perry's Pizza at Ridgemont Mall alongside her older friend Linda Barrett Stacy desires to be as sexually experienced as Linda Mike Deone is a smooth talker who fancies himself self a worldly Ladies Man and earns money taking Sports bets and scalping concert tickets Mark rat Ratner deon's shy but amiable best friend works as a Usher at the movie theater across from Perry's Pizza Jeff Spicoli is a Carefree Stoner and slacker who lives only for surfing and getting high on the first day of school Spicoli runs foul of history teacher Mr Hand when he shows up late for class a battle of wits ensues between the two with Mr Hand attempting to get Spicoli to take School seriously at work Stacy is asked out by 26-year-old stereo salesman Ron Johnson Stacy agrees to go out with him and lies about her age claiming she is 19 on their date she loses es her virginity to him in the Dugout of a baseball field Ron sends her flowers the next day but quickly loses interest in her rat meets Stacy in a science class run by Mr Vargas who switched to Sanka is smitten with her and takes her to a German restaurant back at her home Stacy invites rat into her bedroom and they begin to kiss but he nervously leaves before they can proceed further Stacy mistakenly interprets his shyness as lack of Interest Linda advises her to move on and find another boy Brad is fired from his job after threatening an obnoxious businessman and using profanity when he realizes he needs Lisa she confesses she wants to date other guys Brad gets a new job at Captain Hook Fish and Chips when rat and Deone later drop by Stacy's house to join her and Linda in the swimming pool Stacy becomes infatuated with demone one afternoon she invites him to her home where they have sex in the pool house their encounter is cut short when Deone ejaculates early and immediately leaves after this incident demone avoids her spy accidentally wrecks the 1981 Chevrolet Camaro of Ridgemont star football player Charles Jefferson during a joy ride with Jefferson's younger brother he conceals his role in the damage by making it look like the car was destroyed by fans of Ridgemont sports rival Lincoln High School this causes Jefferson to assist his team and decisively routing Lincoln in a later football game where he makes several brutal tackles Brad later rethinks his employment when a beautiful older woman laughs at his pirate themed uniform while he is making a food delivery Stacy later confronts Deone to inform him she has gotten pregnant from their onetime encounter she asks if he can cover half the cost of an abortion and provide her with a ride to the clinic and he agrees demone is unable to come up with his half and he ends up abandoning Stacy on the day of her appointment Stacy asks Brad to drive her and lies that she is going to a bowling alley to meet friends but he sees her cross the street to the abortion clinic after the appointment Brad confides to Stacy that he knows the truth Brad promises not to tell their parents but she does not divulge who got her pregnant when Linda finds out about Deone flaking on Stacy she Paints the insult prick on his car and his school locker as Revenge rat angrily confronts Deone about his involvement with Stacy they get into a fight in the boys's locker room but the gym teacher breaks it up on the evening of the end of the year School Dance Mr Hand visits Boli's house and informs him that he must make up the hours of class time he has wasted over the school year they have a history session that lasts until Mr Hand is satisfied that Spicoli has understood the lesson rat makes peace with [Music] demoni sometime later brat resumes his relationship with Stacy Brad takes a job at a convenience store called my T-Mart and foils an armed robbery with some help from an oblivious Spicoli who stumbles out of the store's bathroom just in time to distract the robber a postcript states that Brad was promoted to manager of my teamart on June 12th Deone was busted for scalping Aussie Osborne tickets and now works at a 7-Eleven Mr Vargas switched back to Coffee Linda attends College in Riverside and lives with her AB normal psychology Professor rat and Stacy are in love but they still haven't gone all the way Mr Hand is convinced that everyone is on dope sply saved Brook Shields from drowning and blew the reward money hiring rock band Van Halen to play at his birthday party cast sha pen as Jeff Spicoli a stoner teenager who is an expert Surfer Jennifer Jason Lee as Stacy Hamilton a 15-year-old freshman and Brad's younger sister who works at Perry's Pizza Judge Reinhold as Brad Hamilton the older brother of Stacy who does entrylevel jobs Robert romanis as Mike Deone a smooth talking teenager who takes bets and scalps concert tickets Brian backer is Mark rat Ratner deon's best friend who works as an usher at the movie theater at richmont mall box office on its opening weekend the film earned $2.5 million the release was widened to 713 theaters earning $325 million the film rank 29th Among Us releases in 1982 earning 27.1 million 6 times its 4 .5 million budget and later gaining popularity through television and home video releases critical response on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes 78% of 60 critics reviews are positive with an average rating of 6.71 the website's consensus reads while Fast Times at ront high features Shawn Penn's legendary performance the film endures because it accurately captured the small details of school work and Teenage life Metacritic which uses a weighted average assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100 based on 21 critics indicating generally favorable reviews how could they do this to Jennifer Jason Lee how could they put such a fresh and cheerful person into such a scuz pit of a movie don't they know they have a star on their hands I didn't even know who Lee was when I walked into Fast Times at Ridgemont High and yet I was completely won over by her she contained so much life and light that she was a joy to behold and then she and everybody else in this so-called comedy is invited to plunge into offensive vulgarity let me make myself clear I am not against vulgarity as a subject for a movie comedy sometimes citrice it when it's you said with inspiration as in the producers or national lampon animal house but vulgarity is a very tricky thing to handle in a comedy Tony's everything and the makers of Fast Times at Ridgemont High have an absolute gift for taking potentially funny situations and turning them into General embarrassment they're toned deaf the movie is another one of those adolescent sex romps such as Porky and Animal House in which part of the humor comes from runchy situations and dialogue this movie is so runchy however that the audience can't quite believe it I went to a sneak preview thrown by rock radio station and the audience had come for a good time but during a scene involving some extremely Frank talk about certain popular methods of sexual behavior even the Rock Fans were grossed out there's a difference between raunchiness and gynecological detail the movie's cast struggles valiantly through all this drek rarely have I seen so many attractive young performers invited to appear here in so many unattractive scenes Lee for example plays a virginal young student at Ridgemont High she's curious about sex so the script immediately turns her into a promiscuous sex machine who will go to bed with anybody and then her sexual experiences all turn out to have an unnecessary element of realism so that we have to see her humiliated disappointed and embarrassed whatever happened to upbeat sex whatever happened to love and lust and romance and scenes where good-looking kids had a little joy and excitement in life instead of all this grungy downbeat humiliation why does someone as pretty as Lee have to have her nudity exploited in shots where the only point is to show her at ease if this movie had been directed by a man I'd call it sexist it was directed by a woman Amy heckerling and it's sexist all the same it clunks to a halt now and then for some heartfelt badly handled material about pregnancy and abortion I suppose that's heckerling paying dues to some misconception of the women's movement but for the most part this movie Just exploits its performance forers by trying to walk a tight rope between comedy and sex exploitation in addition to Lee's work however there are some other good performances Shawn Penn is perfect as the potm smoking space cadet who has been stoned since the third grade Phoebe Kates is breathtaking as the more experienced girl who gives Lee those distasteful Lessons In Love Judge Reinhold has as a perennial fast food cook who Rebels against the silly uniforms he's supposed to wear Ray Walston is suitably hateful as the dictatorial history teacher Mr Hand but this movie could have been a lot more fun if it hadn't chosen to confuse embarrassment with humor the necessary detail about sexual functions isn't funny it's distasteful Lee looks so young fresh cheerful and innocent that we don't laugh when she gets into unhappy scenes with men we wince the whole movie is a failure of taste tone and nerve the waste of a good cast honora adic offensive material that hasn't been thought through or maybe even thought about because Fast Times at ront high arrived in movie theaters during the height of the 80s teens pation era it has often been unfairly lumped together with porkys and its successors and CopyCats in reality Fast Times is smarter and more perceptive while teen exploitation movies thrived on juvenilia sex jokes and nudity Fast Times Like valley girl and the last American Virgin is character-based and character-driven as a result the humor and nudity and there are plenty of each including one of the most popular topless scenes of the80s are more honest when the Final Cut of Fast Times was delivered to the Universal Pictures Executives they didn't know what they had the film was unceremoniously dumped into 500 theaters in August of 1982 and proceeded to surprise Everyone by grossing more than 10 10 times its budget it has gone on to become a much loved VHS and DVD title earning nearly as much in rental dollars as it did during its theatrical run despite being directed by newcomer Amy heckerling Fast Times is most commonly known as a Cameron Crow movie Crow wrote the screenplay based on a book he penned about his experiences when he went back to high school posing as a senior the film shares characteristics with Crow's later directorial efforts say anything Jerry Maguire including sharp dialogue and a pop heavy soundtrack heckerling's contributions to the project are often overlooked in the Zeal to attribute Fast Times to Crow it's not all that different from what occurs with this is spinal tab the rockumentary directed by Rob Riner that is often credited to Christopher Gest who co-wrote it then went on to make a series of mockumentaries with a similar approach Fast Times looks at a year in the life of a group of students attending Ridgemont High during the 1980s having been a member of the generation portrayed by the movie I can attest to its accuracy in both broad strokes and details however one would expect nothing less from a crow script whatever his flaws he has a history of authenticity when it comes to dialogue and character interaction there is one area where Fast Times Like many high school themed movies courts artificiality actor age the majority of the kids in this movie are supposed to be between 15 and 18 the actors however check in at 21 Shan Penn 19 Jennifer Jason Lee 24 judge reinold 25 Robert romanis 25 Brian backer and 20 Forest Whitaker only Phoebe Kates at 18 and Nicholas Cage at 17 were in the proper age range in some cases like Lee and Backer the illusion works with Penn reinho and romanis it's a stretch to accept them as being high school seniors and unless one believes them to have been held back multiple times the movie's standout character is Jeff SPI Penn who has become one of those of imitated movie personalities Spicoli is a surfer a slacker and a stoner when asked why he doesn't get a job he responds all I need are some tasty waves a cool buzz and I'm fine during his senior year he develops an ongoing feud with his history teacher Mr Hand Ray Walston this leads to several memorable confrontations both inside and outside of the classroom that indicate Mr Han may be the only one to get the upper hand on Spicoli Mark Ratner backer is a high school virgin who is urged by his more experienced but not necessarily more insightful friend Mike Deone romanis to pursue a girl in his biology class who catches his eye she's Stacy Hamilton Lee who has decided to aggressively pursue losing her virginity one that deed is done with an older guy she and interested in seeing if it will be better the second time around her older best friend Linda Barrett katees assures her it will be so she decides to try with Mark however her forwardness scares him off although the same cannot be said of Mike who's more than willing to go after his buddy's would be girlfriend meanwhile Stacy's Brother Brad Ryan hle is spending his final high school year working at fast food places breaking up with his girlfriend and fantasizing about Linda Past Times is loaded with young Talent some members of the cast would go on to Long successful careers While others would fade away in the latter category are backer and romanis this represented the career high watermark for both of them they're effective and believable in their Fast Times roles backer as the stereotypical shy nerd and romanis as as the guy who uses bravado to cover his insecurity but both ended up filling supporting roles in TV series and Indie movies katees took the path Less Traveled for an actress making movies for about a decade after fast times then retiring to raise a family with her husband Kevin kleene katees is still fondly remembered by Generation X males for her topless scene in fast times which became the source material for numerous teenage masturbatory fantasies the most successful Fast Times Alum is Shawn Penn who has gone on to worldwide Acclaim taken in conjunction with his other roles Fast Times illustrates amazing versatility he is the perfect Spicoli nailing every aspect of the character and becoming the movie's most memorable individual Penn reportedly became so immersed in the role that even when the cameras weren't rolling he demanded to be called Spicoli and never dropped the attitude whatever he may have done offscreen to Fashion the onscreen man it worked Jennifer Jason Lee who appears in some of fast times's most raw scenes reportedly she wanted to Bear all but fears of an x- rating kept her pubic hair hidden went on to become a daring and adaptable actress with a varied career that is still going strong likewise Judge Reinhold achieved a measure of success by appearing in a number of high profile familyfriendly features other future stars who showed their faces in Fast Times Eric stls Anthony Edwards Forest Whitaker and Nicholas Cage credited as Nicholas Koba the only veteran actor in Fast Times is Ray Walston who represents the lone adult with significant screen time before appearing in Fast Times Walston was known primarily as Uncle Martin the Martian in My Favorite Martian this movie introduced him to a new generation for which he would forever be Mr Hand it's a distinction Walston embraced to his dying day glad to be known for more than one part although Fast Times is primarily a comedy it doesn't shy away from dealing with serious issues it's depiction of sex is true to life we are privy to Stacy's first and second sexual encounters and both are less than satisfactory the first occurs in a baseball Dugout at night she gazes at graffiti on a wall and wonders when it will be over the second transpires in a bath house and is over so fast she doesn't have time to wonder movies often romanticize teenage sex fast times goes in the opposite direction a Direction More viewers are likely to identify with the film also deals with abortion and betrayal not neither is typical material for a teen comedy yet both are evident in Fast Times where they are treated deferentially today many who graduated from college in the80s identify fast times as a favorite teen film because it does so much more than other movies in its sub genre the film is far from perfect the soundtrack occasionally chooses the wrong songs there are times when the acting especially by the supporting players falters and there are scenes most of them throw ways that don't work aside from jump starting so many promising Motion Picture careers including Crow heckerling and members of the cast fast times will always be remembered for one thing showing respect for and insight into the members of its core audience something that was as rare in the 1980s as it is today Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American Coming of Age comedy film directed by Amy heckerling in her feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe based on his 1981 book Fast Times at rgon high a true story and starring Shawn Penn Jennifer Jason Lee judge hold Phoebe Kates Brian backer Robert romanis and Ray Walston Crow went undercover at Claremont High School in San Diego and wrote about his experiences the film Chronicles a school year in the lives of sophomores Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner and their older friends Linda Barrett and Mike Deone both of whom believed themselves wiser in the ways of r Rance than their younger counterparts the ensemble cast of characters formed two subplots with Jeff Spicoli a perpetually Stone Surfer facing off against history teacher Mr Hand and Stacy's older brother Brad a popular senior who works in entry-level jobs to pay for his car and P ending his two-year relationship with his girlfriend Lisa in addition to pen Reinhold Kates and Lee the film marks early appearances by several actors who later became Stars including Nicholas Cage Eric staltz Forest Whitaker and Anthony Edwards the first two in their feature film debuts in 2005 the film was selected for preservation in the United States national film registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally historically or aesthetically significant plot in the San Fernando Valley Town of Ridgemont the lives of teenagers who attend Ridgemont High School intersect Brad Hamilton a popular senior looks forward to his final year of school he has a job at allamerican Burger his 1960 Buick Las saber is almost paid for and he plans to break up with his girlfriend Lisa so he can be single for his senior year his younger sister Stacy a 15-year-old freshman works at Perry's Pizza at Ridgemont Mall alongside her older friend Linda Barrett Stacy desires to be as sexually experienced as Linda Mike Deone is a smooth talker who fancies himself a worldly Ladies Man and earns money taking Sports bets and scalping concert tickets Mark rat Ratner Deone shy but amiable best friend works as a Usher at the movie theater across from Perry's Pizza Jeff Spicoli is a Carefree Stoner and slacker who lives only for surfing and getting high on the first day of school Spicoli runs foul of history teacher Mr Hand when he shows up late for class a battle of wits ensues between the two with Mr Hand attempting to get Spicoli to take School seriously at work Stacy is asked out by 26-year-old stereo salesman Ron Johnson Stacy agrees to go out with him and lies about her age claiming she is 19 on their date she loses her virginity to him in the Dugout of a baseball field Ron send her flowers the next day but quickly loses interest in her rat meets Stacy in a science class run by Mr Vargas who switched to Sanka is smitten with her and takes her to a German restaurant back at her home Stacy invites rat into her bedroom and they begin to kiss but he nervously leaves before they can proceed further Stacy mistakenly inter interprets his shyness as lack of Interest Linda advises her to move on and find another boy Brad is fired from his job after threatening an obnoxious businessman and using profanity when he realizes he needs Lisa she confesses she wants to date other guys Brad gets a new job at Captain Hook Fish and Chips when rat and Deone later dropped by Stacy's house to join her and Linda in the swimming pool Stacy becomes infatuated with demone one afternoon she invites him to her home where they have sex in the pool house their encounter is cut short when Deone ejaculates early and immediately leaves after this incident Deone avoids her spyy accidentally wrecks the 1981 Chevrolet Camaro of Ridgemont star football player Charles Jefferson during a joy ride with Jefferson's younger brother he conceals his role in the damage by making it look like the car was destroyed by fans of Ridgemont sports rival Lincoln High School this causes Jefferson to assist his team in decisively routing Lincoln in a later football game where he makes several brutal tackles Brad later rethinks his employment when a beautiful older woman laughs set his pirate themed uniform while he is making a food delivery Stacy later confronts Deone to inform him she has gotten pregnant from their one-time encounter she asks if he can cover half the cost of an abortion and provide her with a ride to the clinic and he agrees demone is unable to come up with his half and he ends up abandoning Stacy on the day of her appointment Stacy asks Brad to drive her and lies that she is going to a bowling alley to meet friends but he sees her AC cross the street to the abortion clinic after the appointment Brad confides to Stacy that he knows the truth Brad promises not to tell their parents but she does not divulge who got her pregnant when Linda finds out about Deone flaking on Stacy she Paints the insult prick on on his car and his school locker as Revenge rat angrily confronts Deone about his involvement with Stacy they get into a fight in the boy's locker room but the gym teacher breaks it up on the evening of the end of the year School Dance Mr Hand visits Boli's house and informs him that he must make up the 8 hours of class time he has wasted over the school year they have a history session that lasts until Mr Hand is satisfied that Spicoli has understood the lesson rat makes peace with demonic sometime later rat resumes his relationship with Stacy Brad takes a job at a convenience store called my tart and foils an armed robbery with some help from an oblivious Spicoli who stumbles out of the store's bathroom just in time to distract the robber a postcript states that Brad was promoted to manager of my tart on June 12th Deone was busted for scalping Aussie Osborne tickets and now works at a 7-Eleven Mr Vargas switched back to Coffee Linda attends College in Riverside and lives with her abnormal psychology Professor rat and Stacy are in love but they still haven't gone all the way Mr Hand is convinced that everyone is on dope sply saved Brook Shields from drowning and blew the reward money hiring rock band Van Halen to play at his birthday party cast sha Penn as Jeff Spicoli a stoner teenager who is an expert Surfer Jennifer Jason Lee as Stacy Hamilton a 15-year-old freshman and Brad's younger sister who works at Perry's Pizza judge reinold as Brad Hamilton the older brother of Stacy who does entry-level jobs Robert romanis as Mike Deone a smooth talking teenager who takes bets and scalps concert tickets Brian backer is Mark rat Ratner deon's best friend who works as an usher at the movie theater at richemont mall box office on its opening weekend the film earned $2.5 million the release was widened to 713 theaters earning $325 million the film ranked 29th Among Us releases in 1982 earning 27.1 million six times its $4.5 million budget and later gaining popularity through television and home video video releases critical response on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes 78% of 60 critics reviews are positive with an average rating of 6.71 the website's consensus reads while Fast Times at Ridgemont High feature Shawn Penn's legendary performance the film endures because it accurately captured the small details of school work and Teenage life [Music] Metacritic which uses a weighted average assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100 based on 21 critics indicating generally favorable reviews how could they do this to Jennifer Jason Lee how could they put such a fresh and cheerful person into such a scuzz pit of a movie don't they know they have a star on their hands I didn't even know who Lee was when I walked into Fast Times at Ridgemont High and yet I was completely won over by her she contained so much life and light that she was a joy to behold and then she and everybody else in this so-called comedy is invited to plunge into offensive vulgarity let me make myself clear I am not against vulgarity as a subject for a movie comedy sometimes I Tre your it when it's you it with inspiration as in the producers or national ampun animal house but vulgarity is a very tricky thing to handle in a comedy Tony's everything and the makers of Fast Times at richemont high have an absolute gift for taking potentially funny situations and turning them into General embarrassments they're tone deaf the movie is another one of those adolescent sex romps such as porkys and Animal House in which part of the humor comes from runchy situations and dialogue this movie is so runchy however that the audience can't quite believe it I went to a sneak preview thrown by a rock radio station and the audience had come for a good time but during a scene involving some extremely Frank talk about certain popular methods of sexual behavior even the Rock Fans were grossed out there's a difference between raunchiness and gynecological detail the movie's cast struggles valiantly through all this drek rarely have I seen so many attractive young performers invited to appear in so many unattractive scenes Lee for example play is a virginal young student at Ridgemont High she's curious about sex so the script immediately turns her into a promiscuous sex machine who will go to bed with anybody and then her sexual experiences all turn out to have an unnecessary element of realism so that we have to see her humiliated disappointed and embarrassed whatever happened to upbeat sex whatever happened to love and lust and romance and scenes where good-looking kids had a little joy and excitement in life instead of all this grungy downbeat humiliation why does someone as pretty as Lee have to have her nudity exploited in shots where the only point is to show her at ease if this movie had been directed by a man I'd call it sexist it was directed by a woman Amy heckerling and it's sexist all the same it clunks to a halt now and then for some heartfelt badly handled material about pregnancy and abortion I suppose that's heckerling paying dues to some misconception of the women's movement but for the most part this movie Just exploits its performers by trying to walk a tight rope between comedy and exploitation in addition to Lee's work however there are some other good performances sha Penn is perfect as the potm smoking space cadet who has been stoned since the third grade Phoebe Kates is breathtaking as the more experienced girl who gives Lee those distasteful Lessons In Love Judge Reinhold has fun as a perennial fast food cook who Rebels against the silly uniforms he's supposed to wear Ray Walston is suitably hateful as the dictatorial history teacher Mr Hand but this movie could have been a lot more fun if it hadn't chosen to confuse embarrassment with humor the necessary detail about sexual functions isn't funny it's distasteful Lee looks so young fresh cheerful and innocent that we don't laugh when she gets into unhappy scenes with men we wince the whole movie is a failure of taste tone and nerve the waste of a good cast ontic offensive material that hasn't been thought through or maybe even thought about because Fast Times at Ridgemont High arrived in movie theaters during the height of the 80s teens pation era it has often been unfairly lumped together with porkys and its successors and CopyCats in reality Fast Times is smarter and more perceptive while teen exploitation movies thrived on juvenilia sex jokes and nudity Fast Times Like valy girl and the last American Virgin is character-based and character driven as a result the humor and nudity and there are plenty of each including one of the most popular topless scenes of the80s are more honest when the Final Cut of Fast Times was delivered to the Universal Pictures Executives they didn't know what they had the film was unceremoniously dumped into 500 theaters in August of 1982 and proceeded to surprise Everyone by grossing more than 10 times its budget it has gone on to become a much loved vehicle HS and DVD title earning nearly as much in rental dollars as it did during its theatrical run despite being directed by newcomer Amy heckerling Fast Times is most commonly known as a Cameron Crow movie Crow wrote the screenplay based on a book he penned about his experiences when he went back to high school posing as a senior the film shares characteristics with Crow's later directorial efforts say anything Jerry Maguire including sharp dialog and a pop heavy soundtrack heckerling's contributions to the project are often overlooked in the Zeal to attribute Fast Times to Crow it's not all that different from what occurs with this is spinal tap the rockumentary directed by Rob Riner that is often credited to Christopher Guest who co-wrote it then went on to make a series of mockumentaries with a similar approach Fast Times looks at a year in the life of a group of students attending Ridgemont High during the 1980s having been a member of the generation portrayed by the movie I can attest to its accuracy in both broad strokes and details however one would expect nothing less from a Pro script whatever his flaws he has a history of authenticity when it comes to dialogue and character interaction there is one area where Fast Times Like many high school themed movies courts artificiality actor age the majority of the kids in this movie are supposed to be between 15 and 18 the actors however check in at 21 Shawn Penn 19 Jennifer Jason Lee 2 judge rein hold 25 Robert romanis 25 Brian beer and 20 Forest Whitaker only Phoebe Kates at 18 and Nicholas Cage at 17 were in the proper age range in some cases like Le and Backer the illusion works with pen Reinhold and romanis it's a stretch to accept them as being high school seniors unless one believes them to have been held back multiple times the movie Stand handout character is Jeff SPI Penn who has become one of those of imitated movie personalities Spicoli is a surfer a slacker and a stoner when asked why he doesn't get a job he responds all I need are some tasty waves a cool buzz and I'm fine during his senior year he develops an ongoing feud with his history teacher Mr hand ray Walston this leads to several memorable confrontations both inside and outside of the classroom that indicate Mr Han may be the only one to get the upper hand on Spicoli Mark Ratner backer is a high school virgin who is urged by his more experienced but not necessarily more insightful friend Mike Deone romanis to pursue a girl in his biology class who catches his eye she's Stacy Hamilton Lee who has decided to aggressively pursue losing her virginity one that deed is done with an older guy she and interested in seeing if it will be better the second time around her older best friend Linda Barrett katees assures her it will be so she decides to try with Mark however her forward scares him off although the same cannot be said of Mike who is more than willing to go after his buddies would be girlfriend meanwhile Stacy's Brother Brad Ryan hold is spending his final high school year working at fast food places breaking up with his girlfriend and fantasizing about Linda Fast Times is loaded with young Talent some members of the cast would go on to Long successful careers While others would fade away in the latter category are backer and romanis this represented the career high watermark for both of them they're effective and believable in their Fast Times roles backer as the stereotypical shy nerd and romanis as the guy who uses bravado to cover his insecurity but both ended up filling supporting roles in TV series and Indie movies Kates took the path Less Traveled for an actress making movies for about a decade after fast times then retiring to raise a family with her husband Kevin kleene Kates is still fondly remembered by Generation X males for her topless scene in Fast Times which became the source material for numerous teenage masturbator story fantasies the most successful Fast Times Alum is Shawn Penn who has gone on to worldwide Acclaim taken in conjunction with his other roles Fast Times illustrates amazing versatility he is the perfect Spicoli nailing every aspect of the character and becoming the movie's most memorable individual Penn reportedly became so immersed in the role that even when the cameras weren't rolling he demanded to be called Spicoli and never dropped the attitude whatever he may have done offscreen to Fashion the onscreen man it worked Jennifer Jason Lee who appears in some of fast times's most raw scenes reportedly she wanted to Bear all but fears of an x- rating kept her pubic hair hidden went on to become a daring and adaptable actress with a very career that is still going strong likewise Judge Reinhold achieved a measure of success by appearing in a number of high-profile familyfriendly features other future stars who showed their faces in Fast Times Eric staltz Anthony Edwards Forest Whitaker and Nicholas Cage credited as Nicholas Copa the only only veteran actor in Fast Times is Ray Walston who represents the lone adult with significant screen time before appearing in Fast Times Walston was known primarily as Uncle Martin the Martian in My Favorite Martian this movie introduced him to a new generation for which he would forever be Mr Hand it's a distinction Walston embraced to his dying day glad to be known for more than one part although Fast Times is primarily a comedy it doesn't shy away from dealing with serious issues its depiction of sex is true to life we are privy to Stacy's first and second sexual encounters and both are less than satisfactory the first occurs in a baseball Dugout at night she gazes at graffiti on a wall and wonders when it will be over the second transpires in a bath house and is over so fast she doesn't have time to wonder movies often romanticize teenage sex fast times goes in the opposite direction a Direction More viewers are likely to identify with the film also deals with abortion and betrayal neither is typical material for a teen comedy yet both are evident in Fast Times where they are treated deferentially today many who graduated from college in the80s identify fast times as a favorite teen film because it does so much more than other movies in its subgenre the film is far from perfect the soundtrack occasionally chooses the wrong songs there are times when the acting especially by the supporting players falters and there are scenes most of them throw ways that don't work aside from jump starting so many promising Motion Picture careers including Crow heckerling and members of the cast fast times will always be remembered for one thing showing respect for and insight into the members of its core audience something that was as rare in the 1980s as it is today Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American Coming of Age comedy film directed by Amy heckerling in her feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe based on his 1981 book Fast Times at Ridgemont High a true story and starring Shawn Penn Jennifer Jason Lee judge reinholdt Phoebe Kates Brian backer Robert romanis and Ray walon Crow went undercover at Claremont High School in San Diego and wrote about his experiences the film Chronicles a school year in the lives of sophomores Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner and their older friends Linda Barrett and Mike Deone both of whom believe themselves wiser in the ways of romance than their younger counterparts the ensemble cast of characters formed two subplots with Jeff Spicoli a perpetually Stone Surfer facing off against history teacher Mr Hand and Stacy's older brother Brad a popular senior who works in entrylevel jobs to pay for his car and Ponders ending his 2-year relationship with his girlfriend Lisa in addition to pen Reinhold Kates and Lee the film marks early appearances by several actors who later became Stars including Nicholas Cage Eric staltz Forest Whitaker and Anthony Edwards the first two in their feature film debuts in 2005 the film was selected for preservation in the United States national film registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally historically or aesthetically significant plot in the San Fernando Valley Town of Ridgemont the lives of teenagers who attend Ridgemont High School intersect Brad Hamilton a popular senior looks forward to his final year of school he has a job at allamerican Burger his 1960 Buick Las saer is almost paid for and he plans to break up with his girlfriend Lisa so he can be single for his senior year his younger sister Stacy a 15-year-old freshman works at Perry's Pizza at Ridgemont Mall alongside her older friend Linda Barrett Stacy desires to be as sexually experienced as Linda Mike Deone is a smooth talker who fancies himself a worldly Ladies Man and earns money taking Sports bets and scalping concert tickets Mark rat Ratner deon's shy but amiable best friend works as a Usher at the movie theater across from Perry's Pizza Jeff Spicoli is a Carefree Stoner and slacker who lives only for surfing and getting high on the first day of school Spicoli runs foul of history teacher Mr Hand when he shows up late for class a battle of wits ensues between the two with m Mr Hand attempting to get Spicoli to take School seriously at work Stacy is asked out by 26-year-old stereo salesman Ron Johnson Stacy agrees to go out with him and lies about her age claiming she is 19 on their date she loses her virginity to him in the Dugout of a baseball field Ron sends her flowers the next day but quickly loses interest in her rat meets Stacy in a science class run by Mr Vargas who switched to Sanka is smitten with her and takes her to a German restaurant back at her home Stacy invites rat into her bedroom and they begin to kiss but he nervously leaves before they can proceed further Stacy mistakenly interprets his shyness as lack of Interest Linda advises her to move on and find another boy Brad is fired from his job after threatening an obnoxious businessman and using profanity when he realizes he needs Lisa she confesses she wants to date other guys Brad gets a new job at Captain Hook Fish and Chips when rat and Deone later drop by Stacy's house to join her and Linda in the swimming pool Stacy becomes infatuated with demone one afternoon she invites him to her home where they have sex in the pool house their encounter is cut short when demone ejaculates early and immediately leaves after this incident demone avoids her spy accidentally wrecks the 1981 Chevrolet Camaro of Ridgemont star football player Charles Jefferson during a joy ride with Jefferson younger brother he conceals his role in the damage by making it look like the car was destroyed by fans of Ridgemont sports rival Lincoln High School this causes Jefferson to assist his team in decisively routing Lincoln in a later football game where he makes several brutal tackles Brad later rethinks his employment when a beautiful older woman laughs at his pirate themed uniform while he is making a food delivery Stacy later confronts Deone to inform him she has gotten pregnant from their one-time encounter she asks if he can cover half the cost of an abortion and provide her with a ride to the clinic and he agrees demone is unable to come up with his half and he ends up abandoning Stacy on the day of her appointment Stacy asks Brad to drive her and lies that she is going to a ping alley to meet friends but he sees her cross the street to the abortion clinic after the appointment Brad confides to Stacy that he knows the truth Brad promises not to tell their parents but she does not divulge who got her pregnant when Linda finds out about Deone flaking on Stacy she Paints the insult prick on his car and his school locker as Revenge rat angry confronts Deone about his involvement with Stacy they get into a fight in the boy's locker room but the gym teacher breaks it up on the evening of the end of the year School Dance Mr Hand visits Boli's house and informs him that he must make up the 8 hours of class time he has wasted over the school year they have a history session that lasts until Mr Hand is satisfied that picoli has understood the lesson rat makes peace with demoni sometime later rat resumes his relationship with Stacy Brad takes a job at a convenience store called my tart and foils an armed robbery with some help from an oblivious boli who stumbles out of the store's bathroom just in time to distract the robber a postcript states that that Brad was promoted to manager of my teamart on June 12th Deone was busted for scalping Aussie Osborne tickets and now works at a 7-Eleven Mr Vargas switched back to Coffee Linda attends College in Riverside and lives with her abnormal psychology Professor rat and Stacy are in love but they still haven't gone all the way Mr Hand is convinced that everyone is on dope spicy saved Brook Shields from drowning and blew the reward money hiring rock band Van Halen to play at his birthday party cast sha Penn as Jeff SPI a stoner teenager who is an expert Surfer Jennifer Jason Lee as Stacy Hamilton a 15-year-old freshman and Brad's younger sister who works at Perry's Pizza judge reinold as Brad Hamilton the older brother of Stacy who does entry-level jobs Robert romanis as Mike Deone a smooth talking teenager who takes bets and scalps concert tickets Brian backer is Mark rat Ratner deon's best friend who works as an usher at the movie theater at Ridgemont Mall box office on its opening weekend the film earned $2.5 million the release was widened to 713 theaters earning $325 million the film ranked 29th Among Us releases in 1982 earning 27.1 million six times its $4.5 million budget and later gaining popularity through television and home video releases critical response on the review at agregator website Rotten Tomatoes 78% of 60 critics reviews are positive with an average rating of 6710 the website's consensus reads while Fast Times at Ridgemont High feature Shawn Penn's legendary performance the film endures because it accurately captured the small details of school work and Teenage life Metacritic which uses a weighted average assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100 based on 21 critics indicating generally favorable reviews how could they do this to Jennifer Jason Lee how could they put such a fresh and cheerful person into such a scuzz pit of a movie don't they know they have a star on their hands I didn't even know who Lee was when I walked into fast Times at Ridgemont High and yet I was completely won over by her she contained so much life and light that she was a joy to behold and then she and everybody else in this so-called comedy is invited to plunge into offensive vulgarity let me make myself clear I am not against vulgarity as a subject for a movie comedy sometimes I TR your it when it's you said with inspiration as in the producers or national lampon animal house but vulgarity is a very tricky thing to handle in a comedy Tony's everything and the makers of Fast Times at Ridgemont High have an absolute gift for taking potentially funny situations and turning them into General embarrassment their tonee the movie is another one of those adolescent sex romps such as porkys and Animal House in which part of the humor comes from runchy situations and dialogue this movie is so runchy however that the audience can't quite believe it I went to a sneak preview thrown by a rock radio station and the audience had come for a good time but during a scene involving some extremely Frank talk about certain popular method methods of sexual behavior even the Rock Fans were grossed out there's a difference between riness and gynecological detail the movie's cast struggles valiantly through all this drek rarely have I seen so many attractive young performers invited to appear in so many unattractive scenes Lee for example plays a virginal young student at Ridgemont High she's curious about sex so the script immediately turns her into a promiscuous sex machine who will go to bed with anybody and then her sexual experiences all turn out to have an unnecessary element of realism so that we have to see her humiliated disappointed and embarrassed whatever happened to upbeat sex whatever happened to love and lust and romance and scenes where good-looking kids had a little joy and excitement in life instead of all this grungy downbeat humiliation why does someone as pretty as Lee have to have her nudity exploited in shots where the only point is to show her at ease if this movie had been directed by a man I'd call it sexist it was directed by a woman Amy heckerling and it's sexist all the same it clunks to a halt now and then for some heartfelt badly handled material about pregnancy and abortion I suppose that's heckerling paying dues to some misconception of the women's movement but for the most part this movie Just exploits its performers by trying to walk a tight rope between comedy and exploitation in addition to Lee's work however there are some other good Prof performances Shawn Penn is perfect as the potm smoking space cadet who has been stoned since the third grade Phoebe Kates is breathtaking as the more experienced girl who gives Lee those distasteful Lessons In Love Judge Reinhold has fun as a perennial fast food cook who Rebels against the silly uniforms he's supposed to wear Ray Walston is suitably hateful as the dictatorial history teacher Mr Hand but this movie could have been a lot more fun if it hadn't chosen to confuse embarrassment with humor the necessary detail about sexual functions isn't funny it's distasteful Lee looks so young fresh cheerful and innocent that we don't laugh when she gets into unhappy scenes with men we wince the whole movie failure of taste tone and nerve the waste of a good cast honora adic offensive material that hasn't been thought through or maybe even thought about because Fast Times at Ridgemont High arrived in movie theaters during the height of the 80s teens potation era it has often been unfairly lumped together with porkys and its successors and CopyCats in reality fast time is smarter and more perceptive while teen exploitation movies thrived on juvenilia sex jokes and nudity Fast Times Like valley girl and the last American Virgin is character-based and character driven as a result the humor and nudity and there are plenty of each including one of the most popular topless scenes of the80s are more honest when the Final Cut of Fast Times was delivered to the Universal Pictures Executives they didn't know what they had the film was unceremoniously dumped into 500 theaters in August of 1982 and proceeded to surprise Everyone by grossing more than 10 times its budget it has gone on to become a much loved VHS and DVD title earning nearly as much in rental dollars as it did during its theatrical run despite being directed by newcomer Amy heckerling Fast Times is most commonly known as a Cameron Crow movie Crow wrote the screenplay based on a book he penned about his experiences when he went back to high school posing as a senior the film shares characteristics with Crow's later directorial efforts say anything J Maguire including sharp dialogue and a pop heavy soundtrack heckerling's contributions to the project are often overlooked in the Zeal to attribute Fast Times to Crow it's not all that different from what occurs with this is spinal tap the rockumentary directed by Rob Riner that is often credited to Christopher Guest who co-wrote it then went on to make a series of mockumentaries with a similar approach Fast Times looks at a year in the life of a group of students attending Ridgemont High during the 1980s having been a member of the generation portrayed by the movie I can attest to its accuracy in both broad strokes and details however one would expect nothing less from a crow script whatever his flaws he has a history of of authenticity when it comes to dialogue and character interaction there is one area where Fast Times Like many high school themed movies courts artificiality actor age the majority of the kids in this movie are supposed to be between 15 and 18 the actors however check in at 21 Shawn Penn 19 Jennifer Jason Lee 24 Judge Reinhold 25 Robert romanis 25 Brian backer and 20 Forest Whitaker only Phoebe Kates at 18 and Nicholas Cage at 17 were in the proper age range in some cases like Le and Backer the illusion works with Penn Ryle and romanis it's a stretch to accept them as being high school seniors unless one believes them to have been held back multiple times the movie's standout character is Jeff SPI Penn who has become one of those oft imitated movie personalities Spicoli is a surfer a slacker and a stoner when asked why he doesn't get a job he responds all I need are some tasty waves a cool buzz and I'm fine during his senior year he develops an ongoing feud with his history teacher Mr Hand Ray Walston this leads to several memorable confrontations both inside and outside of the classroom that indicate Mr Han may be the only one to get the upper hand on Spicoli Mark Ratner backer is a high school virgin who is urged by his more experienced but not necessarily more insightful friend Mike Deone romanis to pursue a girl in his biology class who catches his eye she's Stacy Hamilton Lee who has decided to aggressively pursue losing her virginity one that deed is done with an older guy she and interested in seeing if it will be better the second time around her older best friend Linda Barrett katees assures her it will be so she decides to try with Mark however her forwardness scares him off although the same cannot be said of Mike who is more than willing to go after his buddy's would be girlfriend meanwhile Stacy's Brother Brad Ryan hold is spending his final high school year working at fast food places breaking up with his girlfriend and fantasizing about Linda Fast Times is loaded with young Talent some members of the cast would go on to Long successful careers While others would fade away in the latter category are backer and romanis this represented the career high watermark for both of them they're effective and believable in their Fast Times roles backer as the stereotypical shy nerd and romanis as the guy who uses bravado to cover his insecurity but both ended up filling supporting roles in TV series and Indie movies katees took the path Less Traveled for an actress making movies for about a decade after fast times then retiring to raise a family with her husband Kevin kleene Kates is still fondly remembered by Generation X males for her topless scene in Fast Times which became the source material for numerous teenage masturbatory fantasies the most successful vast times alum is Shawn Penn who has gone on to worldwide Acclaim taken in conjunction with his other roles Fast Times illustrates amazing versatility he is the perfect Spicoli nailing every aspect of the character and becoming the movie's most memorable individual Penn reportedly became so immersed in the role that even when the cameras weren't rolling he demanded to be called Spicoli and never never dropped the attitude whatever he may have done offscreen to Fashion the onscreen man it worked Jennifer Jason Lee who appears in some of fast times's most raw scenes reportedly she wanted to Bear all but fears of an x- rating kept her pubic hair hidden went on to become a daring and adaptable actress with a varied career that is still going strong likewise Judge Reinhold achieved a measure of success by appearing in a number of high-profile family-friendly features other future stars who showed their faces in Fast Times Eric staltz Anthony Edwards Forest Whitaker and Nicholas Cage credited as Nicholas Copa the only veteran actor in Fast Times is Ray Walston who represents the lone adult with significant screen time before appearing in Fast Times Walston was known primarily as Uncle Martin the Martian in My Favorite Martian this movie introduced him to a new generation for which he would forever be Mr Hand it's a distinction Walston embraced to his dying day glad to be known for more than one part although Fast Times is primarily a comedy it doesn't shy away from dealing with serious issues its depiction of sex is true to life we are privy to Stacy's first and second sexual encounters and both are less than satisfactory the first occurs in a baseball Dugout at night she gazes at graffiti on a wall and wonders when it will be over the second transpires in a bath house and is over so fast she doesn't have time to wonder movies often romanticize teenage sex fast times goes in the opposite direction a Direction More viewers are likely to identify with the film also deals with abortion and betrayal neither is typical material for a teen comedy yet both are evident in Fast Times where they are treated deferentially today many who graduated from college in the80s identify fast times as a favorite teen film because it does so much more than other movies in its subgenre the film is far from perfect the soundtrack occasionally chooses the wrong songs there are times when the acting especially by the supporting players falters and there are scenes most of them throwaways that don't work aside from jump starting so many promising Motion Picture careers including Crow heckerling and members of the cast fast times will always be remembered for one thing showing respect for and insight into the members of its core audience something that was as rare in the 1980s as it is today [Music]