Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Heckerling, Amy. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Universal Studios, 1982. R. DVD. 90mins. ASIN: B00029RTCG

Plot Summary

Fast Times at Ridgemont High tells the story of a group of high school students during the course of a school year. The lives of Stacy Hamilton, her older brother Brad, Linda Barrett, Mark “Rat” Ratner, Mike Damone, and surfer stoner Jeff Spicoli intertwine in adventures of love and hooking up, after-school jobs, football games, and pranks. Stacy and Linda are friends at the pizza place, and Stacy enlists her help and advice as she becomes sexually active and later becomes pregnant after having awkward sex in a pool changing room with a classmate, Mike Damone. Spicoli continually annoys his history teacher, Mr. Hand, who eventually gets back at him on prom night by arriving at his house and administering a surprise exam, the outcome of which will determine whether Spicoli, who is often high on marijuana, will graduate. Brad’s life seems to be crumbling as one job experience after another ends badly and his girlfriend breaks up with him to see other people before they go to college. Stacy and Brad develop a sibling bond when he talks to her after she has an abortion, which she and Damone agreed was the correct thing to do. He had promised to pay for half, but he was unable to obtain the money; Linda makes him pay in other ways. Eventually, Brad’s life turns around as he thwarts a robber’s attempt and becomes a local hero, and Stacy and Mark begin to develop a relationship. At the end of the movie, the credits begin rolling with the characters’ futures inscribed.

Evaluation
A classic high school movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High details the adventures of kids in a Southern California high school. In fact, writer Cameron Crowe spent a year undercover at a Southern California high school before writing the script. His characters can be found in any high school. Spicoli is the quintessential example of the surfer stoner dude, played by Sean Penn in one of his first roles. Innocent Stacy fumbles with love and sex as she begins dating, and her more sexually-experienced older friend tries mentors her. Dating, sex, jobs, cars, friends, football, and school provide the setting and conflicts these teens encounter. They face the traumas of being a teenager in high school with awkwardness and humiliation, and the audience can appreciate and relate to the experience. The end result is a very entertaining movie with unforgettable characters.

Readers Annotation

Students at Ridgemont High try to muddle through the school year as problems seem to occur left and right. After a series of unfortunate yet humorous events, they start summer older, if not wiser.

Information about the Director
Amy Heckerling was born May 7, 1954. She attended New York University, where she studied film and TV, and then received a Masters Degree in Film from The American Film Institute. It wasn’t until 1982 that she received attention. That was the year she made Fast Times at Ridgemont High. In 1987, she got the idea for another movie, Look Who’s Talking, when she was pregnant, and made that movie in 1989. Then, in 1994, she wrote the movie Clueless.

Amy has been married and divorced twice, and she has one daughter, Mollie Israel. She is an environmentalist and helps environmental charities whenever she can. Information about Amy Heckerling was found at imdb.com.

Genre
Comedy; Drama; Romance; Teen movie

Curriculum Ties
Sex education, teen pregnancy

Why Included?
Who can forget Spicoli ordering a pizza to be delivered during history class? When I was a kid, my parents did not let me see this movie. I understand why, now, and even when I did see it for the first time, I didn’t understand all of it. What was Spicoli doing in the van when it was all smoked up? I wanted to include this movie because it is one of the most famous high school movies and also my cousin is in it. He’s the guy at the cash register with the irate customer when Judge Reinhold’s character, Brad, gets in trouble and fired.