{"id":5619,"date":"2008-05-25T09:35:56","date_gmt":"2008-05-25T16:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5619"},"modified":"2020-12-13T22:59:37","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T05:59:37","slug":"fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-1982","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5619","title":{"rendered":"Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You&#8217;re the one who told me I was gonna get a boyfriend at the mall.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Fast-Times-Poster-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Fast-Times-Poster-1-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-57732\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Fast-Times-Poster-1-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Fast-Times-Poster-1-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Fast-Times-Poster-1-179x270.jpg 179w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Fast-Times-Poster-1.jpg 501w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nTeenagers at Ridgemont High School &#8212; including Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Linda (Phoebe Cates), Brad (Judge Reinhold), &#8220;Rat&#8221; (Brian Backer), and Damone (Robert Romanus) &#8212; navigate the tricky terrains of jobs, sex, relationships, and teachers.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>High School<\/li>\n<li>Nicolas Cage Films<\/li>\n<li>Sexuality<\/li>\n<li>Teenagers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAlong with several other mainstream critics at the time of its release (see, for instance, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-1982\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s scathing one-star review<\/a>), Peary is inexplicably dismissive of this comedic high school &#8220;expose&#8221; &#8212; based on Cameron Crowe&#8217;s autobiographical novel &#8212; which he claims &#8220;shows as much special insight as one would have from hanging out at the mall for about an hour.&#8221; In truth, <em>Fast Times<\/em> &#8212; which has since become a certified cult classic, and is listed in Barron&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1458\"><em>1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a> &#8212; offers a humorous yet realistic look at naive teenagers (such as Jennifer Jason Leigh&#8217;s Stacy) who are eager for sexual experience, yet utterly confused about how to protect themselves, both physically and emotionally. Peary dismisses the idea that a pretty girl like Leigh would be interested in &#8220;short, nerdy Brian Backer&#8221; (&#8220;that&#8217;ll be the day!&#8221; he notes parenthetically) while failing to recognize that Backer is actually Leigh&#8217;s best bet by far: he&#8217;s sweet, sincere, and ultimately interested in more than just sex. Meanwhile, Leigh&#8217;s dismal sexual exploits with an older man (D.W. Brown) and Backer&#8217;s conflicted buddy Damone (Robert Romanus) may not be pleasant to watch, but are certainly 100% realistic: anyone who fails to recognize the enormous pressure many teenage girls feel to lose their virginity and become &#8220;sexually experienced&#8221; is living in a protective bubble. <\/p>\n<p>The other supporting performances in this episodic film (nobody&#8217;s really the primary protagonist, though Leigh comes close) are all fine as well &#8212; many of the young actors (most notably Leigh and Penn) went on to create big names for themselves. Indeed, Penn is in some ways the truly memorable &#8220;star&#8221; of this ensemble show: his turn as Jeff Spicoli &#8212; a perpetually stoned-out, bleary-eyed, happy-go-lucky surfer &#8212; is one of the most iconic performances in recent cinematic history; his &#8220;verbal duels&#8221; with his &#8220;sarcastic, rule-conscious&#8221; history teacher, Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), are both &#8220;hilarious&#8221; and perhaps (as Peary argues) &#8220;the major reason to see this film&#8221;. Meanwhile, one of the most sympathetic characters in the film, surprisingly enough, turns out to be Judge Reinhold as Stacy&#8217;s older brother, Brad, who&#8217;s experiencing work and love troubles of his own; his caring response when he discovers his sister needs some help is likely my favorite scene in the film, and offers proof that <em>Fast Times<\/em> &#8212; while far from perfect &#8212; is much more honest about the multi-faceted lives of teens than Peary, Ebert, and others would have you believe. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sean Penn as Spicoli<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-spicoli.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-spicoli.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5621\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-leigh.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-leigh.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5622\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Phoebe Cates as Stacy&#8217;s best friend, Linda<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-cates.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-cates.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5623\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Judge Reinhold as Brad<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-reinhold.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-reinhold.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5624\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Brian Backer as &#8220;Rat&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-backer.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-backer.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5625\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Robert Romanus as Damone<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-romanus.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-romanus.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5626\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Spicoli&#8217;s hilarious dream sequence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-dream.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/fast-times-dream.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5627\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its status as a cult favorite, and for Sean Penn&#8217;s memorable performance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0083929\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-1982\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1982\/09\/03\/movies\/ridgemont-high.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/19313\/fast-times-at-ridgemont-high#articles-reviews?articleId=97178\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/fast-times-at-ridgemont-high\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re the one who told me I was gonna get a boyfriend at the mall.&#8221; Synopsis: Teenagers at Ridgemont High School &#8212; including Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Linda (Phoebe Cates), Brad (Judge Reinhold), &#8220;Rat&#8221; (Brian Backer), and Damone (Robert Romanus) &#8212; navigate the tricky terrains of jobs, sex, relationships, and teachers. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Comedy High School Nicolas Cage Films Sexuality Teenagers Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Along with several other mainstream critics at the time of its release&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5619\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5619"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57733,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5619\/revisions\/57733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}