Fast Times at Ridgemont High 1982
Fast Times at Ridgemont High came out when I was in high school and I remember it being a good movie with well drawn characters and a hilarious performance by Sean Penn. There were a lot of other high school life movies that followed, but without characters that felt as real as these did, maybe until The Breakfast Club three years later, which took itself maybe a little too seriously. Looking back, the movie seems even more remarkable, launching the careers of a number of big stars, and based on a book by Cameron Crowe, who also wrote one of my favorite movies ever, Almost Famous. The movie is just written better than most movies like it, having fun with the characters, but also touching on some serious issues. Still, the movie is mostly a character study, though one that moves very quickly, with tons of different scenes that establish the characters. With a very good cast (for the most part), and well written characters, the movie is better than it otherwise should be. Nicolas Cage is basically an afterthought in the movie, appearing without lines in just a couple of scenes. Apparently they wanted to give him a bigger part, but since he was only 17 years old, he couldn’t work the hours such a role would require. So he is just there, along with Anthony Edwards. Some people didn’t have great careers, but even the guy who plays Mark Ratner had already won a Tony Award, so he was good anyway.
The blu-ray includes a documentary filmed 15 years after the movie (1997, so they mostly still look pretty young and Penn and Forest Whitaker hadn’t won their Oscars yet) with interviews with most of the key people (not Cameron Crowe). There is a commentary track with director Amy Heckerling and Crowe, which is probably worth listening to.
Written: 09 Sep 2020
Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital