Rating: 
Summary: "STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS"
Review: Perhaps (Argueably) the BEST (Tied with "Americn Graffiti")film About Highschool made.All other scince pale in comparison to The writing casting and acting and situations in this film. This film is also a "Whoes Who" of futur stars. I am 50,I love it,My wife loves it'my teenage sons like it, and 3 out of our 4 cats give it 3.5 mouses. The other one Is a Vehement Fan of "CATS" as greatest story ever told.
Rating: 
Summary: It Takes Me Back to the Eighties
Review: I just watched the "20th" anniversary of "Fast Times" on TV. Apparently they are counting 20 years from the time the movie was finished shooting since it wasn't released until 1982. Just before I saw it in 1982 (when I was 15), a local movie critic said it basically was to the 80's what "Porky's" was to the 50's, but I think "Fast Times" is a much better movie in just about every way, especially in taste.I really don't agree with some of the other reviewers who say that it was very realistic. But what movie is? Don't get me wrong, it was a really good movie, but most high school students don't fall into those strict catagories depicted in the movie. I saw high school as a student in the 80's and as a teacher today. Despite popular sentiment, most schools are safer now than they were then, and at least in the suburbs, there are less drugs. But back to the subject. The basic storylines are a bit shallow, but they are developed well and the acting is great. Why didn't Phoebe Cates ever make it bigger?!? One reviewer mentioned that kids who see this movie (especially boys) will wish they got as much action as many of the characters! Enjoy the movie, but don't include the children. Besides all the drugs, there is plenty of foul language and one nude scene.
Rating:
Summary: AY-AY, SIR!!! AND...1ST DOOR ON THE LEFT....UP THIS RAMP?
Review: I've really enjoyed reading all of these positive reviews. A lot of areas have been covered, and a lot of people quote their favorite parts in their preview titles. So I did the same. Did you ever have a job as a teenager you really hated? In high school, I was in the marching band and DETESTED the uniforms. So naturally, I related when Judge Rheinhold's character took the job in the fried chicken joint. He's forced to make a delivery wearing that idiotic uniform, stops at a light, finds a pretty babe in the car next to him, and she breaks up with laughter. The next thing you know, his car's pulling away and there's food flying out the window!! Great!! As a matter of fact, all of Hamilton's jobs have drama--almost having a trainee put a burger joint up in smoke, a run-in with an a-hole customer which costs him his job, then a hero in a 24/7 convenience store. Sean Penn went on to become an accomplished dramatic actor and if you stopped him on the street and told him how pheonomenal he was in Fast Times, he'd probably punch you out. But he's sensational, he BECAME the part! Even during the breaks in shooting, he demanded to be called Spicolli, according to the late Ray Walston For the older critics who had a problem with the promiscuity of the character played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, I say....lighten up! This was high school in the 80's, and it's lot worse today. Lastly, Mark Ratner's friend, Damone, is a riot!! Everyone knew a guy like that, who talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk! He's giving out advice like an encyclopedia on women; meanwhile, he's sitting at home on Saturday night watching cartoons and is lost when he gets his chance with Stacy! When Linda spray-painted his car and you see him driving to school, he turns into the parking space and you see the car is covered with cardboard, I fell out of my seat! In closing, no one associated with the film could have predicted it could become a cult classic. But it did because it relates to people, and sometimes that overcomes a low budget.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies from the eightes!!
Review: FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH is one of the best movies of the eightes. The movie is based off of Cameron Crowe's book "Fast Times At Ridgemont High", Crowe went undercover as a student at Clairmont high school for a year. This movie started careers for Forest Whitaker, Nicholas Coppola [Nicholas Cage], Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anthony Edwards, and Sean Penn. This movie is a all time classic. The soundtrack is great. My favorite character is Jeff Spicoli.Their was a kind-of a sequel made 2 years later called "THE WILD LIFE", none of the orignal cast where in it except Eric Stolz, Chris Penn is in it too. I recommend this movie if you like Cameron Crowe's work or if you like movies from the 80's. Hey Bud, Lets Party!
Rating:
Summary: "Why don't you get a job, Spicoli?" "What for?"
Review: Slice of life of Southern California kids dated with great early '80's tunes. Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) are interested in the fair sex, but their more experienced friends Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates) and Mike Damone (Robert Romanus) give them hopelessly bad advice. Great performances all around, but the scene-stealers are surfer pothead Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), who thinks nothing of having a pizza ordered in to his history class, Stacey's older brother Brad (Judge Reinhold), who has bum luck with women and jobs, and history teacher Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), who has all the patience of a boiling tea kettle. Unfortunatly, extra scenes that appear on Comedy Central among other stations are not included here, as director Heckerling is not particularly fond of them. Look for Nicholas Cage, Anthony Edwards, and Eric Stoltz as Spicoli's fellow stoners, and Forest Whittaker as Ridgemont's football hero. Bruce Springsteen's younger sister Pamela appears briefly as a cheerleader.
Rating:
Summary: My high school days - Gnarly, dude!
Review: I was a senior in high school when this film came out, so for me it is a wonderful time capsule from my youth in the early 80's. Hanging out at the mall and video arcades, cruising the boulevard, trying to fit in, talking about sex, listening to the radio, a career in fast food - it's all there! "Fast Times" is full of some great up-and-coming talent, hilarious scenes, cool music, and even some sobering insight about the pain of adolescence. A lot more intelligent than other 'teen sex' films of this genre. But the Phoebe Cates pool scene is still an undeniable classic! Possibly Sean Penn's best (funniest, fer shur) performance!
Rating:
Summary: ISN'T IT OUR TIME?
Review: Complete 80s teen classic. Sean Penn will forever be remembered as the clueless surfer dude, Jeff Spicoli, and the late Ray Walston will probably also be associated with his role as Mr. Hand, Spicoli's teacher and nemesis (although this is, perhaps, too strong and inappropriate of a word to describe their teacher-student relationship). You will always remember the classic scenes of Mr. Hand insisting that he does not want his students to waste his time, and Spicoli challenges him, saying something to the effect of, "If you are here and it is your time, and I am here and it is my time, doesn't that make it our time?" This film, from the early 80s, was one of the first films I remember watching in my childhood. I was not even close to being a teenager when it came out. But I remember it making a lot of impact on me... I was just coming to understand some of the issues with which the film dealt. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Stacy a high school girl with no grand ambitions but who doesn't mind imagining herself with different guys and eventually ending up having sex with them. At some point she ends up pregnant and gets an abortion which is a pretty heavy issue with which to deal in such a film. Her best friend is played by Phoebe Cates, of whom we have not seen much in the last few decade or so. Many of the players are not even in the public eye to my knowledge, at least not to the level that Jennifer Jason Leigh or Sean Penn have been. They have remained prolific and have grown more talented and seasoned with time and experience.
Rating:
Summary: What are you people - on dope?
Review: "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" is essential viewing for anyone that thought "American Pie" was funny. An excellent cast included the late Ray Walston as the concerned American History teacher Mr. Hand. His famous line "What are you people - on dope?" later was used in the 1991 dance song "Total Confusion" by A Homeboy, A Hippi, & A Funki Dred. Sean Penn is hilarious whenever on screen, either via facial expressions or quotes. Phoebe Cates gorgeous as the supposed sexually experienced Linda Barrett ("if I didn't have a fiance in Chicago I'd go for it") although Jennifer Jason Leigh as her naive friend was the one who actually had the sex. Being 32, I really like some 80's movies even today, and can watch "Risky Business", "Revenge Of The Nerds" and "Fast Times..." over and over again. This movie is funny one moment and depressing the next. (Who hasn't winced when Mark Ratner, initally, blows it with Stacey Hamilton?) A movie that deserves all plaudits - gets better with repeated viewings. Initially, I'd reviewed the VHS version - the DVD version finally was released in Australia this week (June 20th, 2002)- and it's worth buying. You get the film, the film again in it's entirety with Amy Heckerling and Cameron Crowe talking - anyone seriously into the film will love this - they discuss add-libbed dialogue, song choices, locations, etc. A documentary "Reliving Our Fast Times..." which is great, interviews with several cast members including the late Ray Walston. Also includes trailer, cast bios, etc.
Rating:
Summary: DVD presentation rated.
Review: First, this was probably the 2nd R-rated movie I ever saw at the theater when I was a kid (the first was PORKY'S). I was about 15. Watching it now at 34 really takes me back. The movie gets so many things right about high school life in the 1980s. FAST TIMES is a 5 star movie for we who were born around the mid-60s. The things we did...and the things we WISHED we were doing. So...why did I give it only 4 stars? The sound on the DVD was a bit disappointing. All that great 80s music...in mono! I read somewhere that it was originally made that way. Sometimes there was some popping in the sound too. What a shame. The picture, which is anamorphic widescreen, is quite a bit better. Only a little scratchy here and there. And Phoebe Cates looks like a shimmering princess...her inviting eyes...and her bright red lips that just seem to call out to you...oh! Sorry. Anyway, it all looks great. As for extras, its not too bad! I haven't listened yet to the commentary by the writer and director. There's some other features like production notes and cast notes. There is even a feature that allows you to skip to different parts of the movie to view the "Hangouts of Ridgemont high" and "music highlights". Those are nice to have. The documentary wouldn't run correctly on my PC-based DVD system (looked GREAT though). However, the trailer was terrific! I remember now why I got my friend Kevin Sloan, who looked a bit older than me but was also about 15, to buy my ticket. God I miss those times! There's a lot of great memories tied to this flick. It's one of the first DVDs I ever bought too. I don't regret it! If a version with better sound comes out I'll buy it too.
Rating:
Summary: A great movie of teenage life in the 1980s
Review: I was a junior in High School when this came out in 1982, and I remember laughing 95% of the time when I first saw this in a theatre. Why? Because I could identify with alot of the characters in the movie and knew alot of other teenagers at the time who acted just like the main characters. Sean Penn really did an outstanding job play Spiccoli the stoned out beach bum who just wants to "smoke some buds, catch the waves and party", ahh the life of a teenager who don't have a care in the world. Judge Renihold, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates are just a few in this movie to become major movie stars later on. Cameron Crowe did a brilliant job bringing teenage angst to the screen in what truely should be considered a time-capsle on film of the early 1980s. The plot is funny, the acting is great and myself, who graduated from highschool in 1983 can truely enjoy this film and I find myself watching it over and over again. Highly recommended.
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