| Fast Times at Ridgemont High | | Cast : | Sean Penn | | Director : | Amy Heckerling | | Studio : | Universal Studios Ho | | Format : | Color, Widescreen | | Released Date : | August 13, 1982 | | DVD Released Date : | August 23, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | X (Mature Audiences Only) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 15, 2005 | | Summary | I Can't Believe It's Been 24 Years Since This Movie Was Released | Content
 | Anone who has experienced the perils and perks of high school can easily relate to "Fast Times At Ridgemont High". Even though it was made in 1981, the film is still relevant today, since this was the film that paved the way for "American Pie", "Road Trip", "Old School", and so many more college sex comedies. It also launched the careers of many now recognized actors, including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold and, of course, Sean Penn. It also introduced everyone's favorite martian, Ray Walston, to a new generation of audiences who ate up his perfectly smarmy history teacher.
It would be hard to explain what the plot of the film, since there are really several differnt plots. One tells the story of a 15 year old virgin (played perfectly by a 20 year old Jennifer Jason Leigh) trying to score, another deals with a ticket scalper (Rober Romanus) trying to get his friend Rat (Brian Backer), while another, most famously, has stoner Jeff Spigolli (Penn) getting high, hanging out with friends and getting on the last nerve of his history teacher, Mr. Hand (Walston). The funniest scene in the movie is when Hand tells Jeff to report the front office, and Jeff shoots back nonchalantly, "You d*ck!"
The special features are intersting. The soundtrack highlights really bring back memories (I've always loved music from the 1980s'), while the featurette and the commentary by writer Cameron Crowe and director Amy Heckerling is truly informative and funny. For further enjoyment, try spotting small roles by future stars Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz, and Nicolas Cage (credited here under his real name, Nicolas Coppola).
"Fast Times At Ridgemont High" is an absolute laugh riot that will brighten up your day and put a smile on your face. And who knows, you may even get a little nostalgic and long for the 1980s' for just one more day. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 10, 2005 | | Summary | Master OF The Rare LASERDISCS Movies. | Content
| I have Fast Times at Ridgemont High [ 1982 ] ON LASERDISC,'tis a great Comedy from Sean Penn That you'll Fall in love with. :P |
| Rating | | | Date | July 07, 2005 | | Summary | The best teen movie of the 80s par none | Content
| Think American Pie, think 10 Things i hate about you etc and you are probably in the right ballpark.
I just stumbled across this film last year and was enormously surprised at who was in it and how young they all look. I think the funniest guy in it has to go to Judge Reinhold (before Beverly Hills Cop made him a superstar).
Themes such as under-age sex, pregnancy, drug-use, growing-up, adolescence are all underwoven into this film and handled very well and done either with humour or ocassionally subtle sentimentality. The master stroke is Spicoli's war of words with Mr Hand - a strict teacher from a forgotten age of discipline. Spicolis' constant flouting of Mr Hand's rules of no eating really irk the old teacher but he gets his revenge later on in the film.
Phoebe Cates is a beuatiful actress who's topless scene is well shot from the eyes of a 16 yr old kid desperate to lose his/her virginity and the fact that this scene is indispersed with Judge Reinhold's 'moment' makes the scene ten times as good.
The main character is called Stacey Hamilton and it documents her journey from desperate virgin, unwanted pregnancy to wanting romance. This is a journey some of us may have already had.
The great thing about the film is when it does take itself seriously it deals with the issues very well in the correct way ie using the right tools - humour, compassion, sentimental.
This film was a blueprint copied by many other films - a lot less funny, Amercian Pie brought genre up to date a few years ago but did it with a lot less succintness (as much as I adore Mina Suvari)but it made it relevant for teenagers at the time.
Many of the actors went on to have fantastic careers and owe a lot to this film and look back to it with fond memories.
If you are looking for a laugh just watch this and it will bring all sorts of memories of high-school or 6th form in the UK. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 23, 2005 | | Summary | Sean Penn peaked early -- with this movie. | Content
| "Fast Times" is the quintessential 80's movie and the quintessential Sean Penn role. In my humble opinion, it was his best work, but unfortunately for him it was very early in his acting career and it has only been downhill for him since then.
But enough about him, let's talk about the rest of the movie. My wife is a lover of 80's teen flicks (I think our joint favorite is "Better Off Dead") and took advantage of our kids' absence this week to watch "Fast Times" again for the first time in many years. Now admittedly, I'm occasionally prone to 80's nostalgia from time to time, but we were both amazed at how stark the evolution of American culture has been since 1982. So much has changed in the past twenty plus years, and seeing the designer jeans, feathered hairclips, and Blue Oyster Cult again were quite a throwback. It was pretty humorous to consider that we were really that goofy in those days. It's doubly so to consider that we thought ourselves cool at the time.
Aside from the obvious nostalgic energy inherent in this flick, there's one thing that struck me, and I can summarize it in a single word: "Lemmings!" Every teenager depicted in this movie, with just a few exceptions, were a bunch of sex-crazed little lemmings constantly on the prowl for their next tryst. Maybe I was just naive, but I don't remember my teen years in the early 80s being quite so hormone-driven. I also don't remember this movie being quite so racy with the amount of gratuitous nudity. Again, probably just the old prude in me coming to the surface.
Nevertheless, "Fast Times" gives a great look back at a comical time in which my generation came of age. It was alot of fun to go back and revisit those days. I'm sure I'll probably do it again in a few years when I need another reminder not to take myself to seriously.
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| Rating | | | Date | June 15, 2005 | | Summary | Those times did go by fast | Content
| I can still remember when this movie came out. I was in high school and it caused quite a stir. My friends began constantly saying "narly," sometimes re-enacting scenes from the movie. It took me 20+ years, but I finally got around to seeing it for myself.
Come to find out, I had some misconceptions about the film. First of all, I knew that it was Sean Penn's breakthrough flick, but I had no idea it had so many other big names. Judge Reinhold, Ray Walston, Jennifer Jason Lee, Phoebe Cates, Eric Stoltz, Forrest Whittaker, Nicholas Cage and Anthony Edwards all had parts that ranged from major to ornamental.
I also did not realize what the film was about. I always figured it was all about Penn's character (Spigolli). After all, mugs of Sean Penn are what're most closely associated with FAST TIMES. I was a bit surprised to find out that Spigolli was not the focus of the film. Rather, he is a character who more-or-less kind of floats through the storyline.
Perhaps most unexpected was that the movie is more of a satire than anything else. From the cover one would think that it glorifies teen sex, drug addiction, reckless driving, skipping school & other juvenile pranks. Instead, it has a subtle message that says "If this is what you do, this is what will happen." It does not become preachy, but it does show the downside of what many highschoolers would call "good fun."
While I am usually not too big on bonus features, the DVD does have a good (although a bit long-winded) "retrospective" of many of the major actors from the movie. Sean Penn, Judge Reinhold and Eric Stoltz (among others) share their thoughts on the film 20 years later. The only disappointing thing is that they were apparently unable to track down (or coerce?) Jennifer Jason Lee & Phoebe Cates to come back & offer their points of view on FAST TIMES.
If you're looking for a good party movie that actually has some social commentary, FAST TIMES is a film worth checking out. The fact that Jennifer Jason Lee & Phoebe Cates remove their tops only adds to the allure of this DVD. In the end, there are those who graduate from Ridgemont High and there are those who don't. Which are you going to be? |
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