Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

A group of Southern California high school students are enjoying their most important subjects: sex, drugs, and rock n' roll.

Director:

Amy Heckerling

Writers:

Cameron Crowe (screenplay), Cameron Crowe (book)

Stars:

Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Penn	...	Jeff Spicoli
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Stacy Hamilton
Judge Reinhold	...	Brad Hamilton
Robert Romanus	...	Mike Damone
Brian Backer	...	Mark 'Rat' Ratner
Phoebe Cates	...	Linda Barrett
Ray Walston	...	Mr. Hand
Scott Thomson	...	Arnold
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Mr. Vargas
Amanda Wyss	...	Lisa
D.W. Brown	...	Ron Johnson
Forest Whitaker	...	Charles Jefferson
Kelli Maroney	...	Cindy
Tom Nolan	...	Dennis Taylor
Blair Tefkin	...	Pat Bernardo (as Blair Ashleigh)

Storyline

Follows a group of high school students growing up in southern California, based on the real-life adventures chronicled by Cameron Crowe. Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. The center of the film is held by Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer dude who faces off with the resolute Mr. Hand, who is convinced that everyone is on dope.

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Plot Keywords:

high school | title directed by female | females talking about sex | unwanted pregnancy | fired from the job | 

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Taglines:

Fast Cars, Fast Girls, Fast Carrots...Fast Carrots?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fast Times

Filming Locations:

Van Nuys Blvd & Vose St, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,545,674, 15 August 1982, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$27,092,880

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Refugee Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stacy works at Perry's Pizza. Jennifer Jason Leigh actually worked at Perry's Pizza for a month after she got the role of Stacy Hamilton but before filming began.

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Goofs

When Damone apologizes to Ratt at the graduation dance, the entire crowd is fast dancing to "Life in the Fast Lane". However, during the conversation, everybody is slow dancing.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Perry's Pizza Waitress: Linda, Linda, there he is. There's that guy from the stereo store. Don't you think he looks like Richard Gere?
Linda Barrett: Did you see his cute little butt?

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Crazy Credits

Cruising Vessel......Sheldon

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Connections

Featured in Indie Sex: Teens (2007)

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Soundtracks

Kashmir
Performed by Led Zeppelin
Written by Jimmy Page (uncredited) & Robert Plant (uncredited) with John Bonham (uncredited)
Courtesy of Swan Song, Inc.

User Reviews

The American Graffiti of the 1980's.

Just like "American Graffiti", you not only will see a timeless classic, but you will also see the breeding ground for many of today's greatest actors. Sean Penn, Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz, Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Forrest Whitaker all appeared in this film in the early stages of their careers. Even Oscar winner Nicolas Cage (appearing under his real surname of Copolla) was in this film, though in a very small role. This film was a glimpse into the future at some of the actors who would become major stars in film and television.

As for the film itself, it pretty much was a look at how high school really was in the eighties with all the pressures from sex, the cliques and, of course, drugs. In fact, the Catholic high school I went to was pretty much a carbon copy of Ridgemont. The film also manages to blend comedy with drama as it shows how high school was and still pretty much is. This film is definitely a classic.