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Fast Times at Ridgemont High
(1982)
In Amy Heckerling's and Universal Pictures' R-rated
cult teen, low-budget, coming-of-age youth sex comedy (after the
success of Porky's
(1981)) - it was Heckerling's directorial debut feature film
from a script by free-lance journalist and future film-maker Cameron
Crowe. Heckerling would go on to helm films such as Johnny Dangerously
(1984), (National Lampoon's) European Vacation (1985), Look Who's
Talking (1989) and Clueless (1995).
[Note: Crowe had gone undercover for a year - 1979
- at Clairemont HS in San Diego, and subsequently wrote and published Fast
Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story in 1981 that became the
basis for his first script, for the movie Fast Times. Crowe
went on to greater fame as a director and/or screenwriter for other
teen-oriented films including Say Anything... (1989), Singles
(1992), Jerry Maguire (1996), and Almost Famous (2000).]
This classic teen film (about Generation X-ers) came
years before two other esteemed coming-of-age 'brat-pack' films:
John Hughes' The
Breakfast Club (1985), and
Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo's Fire (1985).
A talented young ensemble cast was assembled to tell
the frank, episodic story of Southern California teens in the Los
Angeles area (specifically San Fernando Valley) who were preoccupied
with sex, getting stoned, rock music, entering the work-force with
fast-food jobs, and other "fast
times" - with some scenes of frank sex talk, and unglamorous first-time sex
(especially for the female involved). Told from a feminine perspective, Fast
Times is now regarded as the quintessential teen comedy and seminal high-school
film of the 80s, that perfectly and authentically captured the era
of youth culture exhibited in shopping malls, fast-food joints, and
HS classrooms, and the casual and loose attitudes at the time toward having sex.
A number of future stars made early appearances or
were springboarded to popularity in this "Me Decade" film,
including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold, Sean
Penn, Nicolas Cage (credited as Nicolas Coppola) as Brad's friend,
Eric Stoltz and Anthony Edwards as Spicoli's stoner friends, and
Forest Whitaker as football star Charles Jefferson. Popular songs
of the time were cleverly interwoven into the narrative, and some
became identified with a specific character: Stacy: Jackson Browne's "Somebody's
Baby," Brad: Joe Walsh's "Waffle
Stomp," Jeff Spicoli: Jimmy Buffett's "I Don't Know (Spicoli's
Theme)," and Linda: The Cars' "Moving in Stereo."
On a budget of $4.5 million, the cultural touchstone
film defied low expectations and grossed over $27 million - a substantial
total. One of its major poster taglines was: "At
Ridgemont High, Only the Rules Get Busted!" Although originally
rated by the MPAA with an X-rating, it was revised to an R-rating
after Heckerling shortened the film's major sex deflowering pool-house
scene and trimmed a brief instance of full-frontal male nudity (the
director wanted it to depict both sexes equally). See Sex
in Films for uncensored version:
- the popular early 80s film followed the exploits
of a number of San Fernando Valley (CA) HS students in and out
of the classroom, including these very relatable and identifiable
characters:
- Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a virginal,
introverted and naive 15 year-old sophomore, sexually-inexperienced
but curious, who believed in storybook romance; she worked
in the Ridgemont Mall at Perry's Pizza Parlor
- Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates), Stacy's 17 year-old
senior friend and her more experienced and out-spoken sexual-mentor
and co-worker at Perry's Pizza at the Ridgemont Center Mall;
slightly air-headed; involved in a relationship with an older
man named Doug (who worked for the airlines in Chicago)
- Brad Hamilton (Judge Reinhold), Stacy's semi-nerdy
older brother - a senior, working at All-American Burger, who
has an unfulfilled crush on Linda, while involved in a long-term
relationship with co-worker/girlfriend Lisa
- Mark "Rat" Ratner (Brian Backer),
a sophomore, and a movie-theatre usher at the Ridgemont Mall,
who was Stacy's off-and-on eventual boyfriend
- Mike Damone (Robert Romanus), a smooth-talking,
smarmy, slick hustler who was friends with Mark, and often
scalped rock concert tickets to pay his rent and bills; the
local 'bad-boy' senior was often a know-it-all and boastful
about his sexual experiences with women
- Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), a sophomore, a
perpetually-stoned, carefree, arcade-player, and often truant and tardy, happy-go-lucky,
bleached-blonde California surfer slacker-dude (with trademark
Vans sneakers, and a Colt 45 yellow T-shirt with a drunk-horse
graphic) who was in constant conflict with his draconian history teacher
- in the opening title-screen montage sequence set
at the Ridgemont Mall (filmed at the Sherman Oaks Galleria), Ridgemont
HS teens (the film's characters) were informally introduced, to the tune of "We
Got the Beat" (by The Go Go's)
- Brad Hamilton was skating through
his last year at Ridgemont HS (filming was at Van Nuys HS), while
working an entry level, fast-food job at All-American Burger, where
his girlfriend of two years Lisa (Amanda Wyss) was also employed
- the 'worldly', experienced, sexually-outspoken high-school,
liberated sexpot Linda Barrett claimed she had sex for the first
time when she was 13; she often tutored co-worker Stacy about the finer points
of sex
- Jeff Spicoli often arrived late at school; he tumbled
out of his VW mini-van (filled with pot-smoke), and then disrupted
his American history class taught by stern and exasperated Mr.
Hand (Ray Walston) - and was kicked out for tardiness and for calling
the teacher a "dick"
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Slacker Jeff Spicoli's Arrival at School in VW Van
And His First Day at School with History Teacher Mr. Hand
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- one of the earliest scenes occurred in a crowded
school cafeteria, when Linda demonstrated for Stacy how to perform
oral sex ("blow jobs"): ("There's
nothin' to it. It's so easy...Relax your throat muscles. Don't
bite. And slide it in...Good. Push it slowly in and out. You got
it"); the naive Stacy then asked: "When a guy has an
orgasm, how much comes out?" Linda revealed her tendency to
exaggerate: "A quart or so," but then claimed she was just kidding
Linda's Lesson - With a Carrot
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- the lecherous, boasting, ticket-scalper Mike Damone spoke to inexperienced
and shy movie-theater usher Mark "Rat" Ratner who was secretly
in love with Stacy, emphasizing to him that he must have attitude:
- "The attitude dictates that you don't care
whether she comes, stays, lays, or prays. I mean whatever happens,
your toes are still tappin'. Now when you got that, then you
have the attitude."
- during the chronicling of one school year, the virginal
but curious Stacy was sexually taken advantage of twice; there
were two uncomfortable, awkward and devastating scenes of Stacy's
sexual initiation - to "cure" her of her virginity;
both times were highlighted by Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby":
- in the first instance, a night scene
in a dilapidated softball dugout at the Point, Stacy had snuck
out for a date with older 26 year-old Pacific Stereo audio consultant
Ron Johnson (D. W. Brown) whom she had met at her job at Perry's
Pizza; he asked: "Am I gonna get to first base?" and
then wondered if the innocent-looking Stacy was really 19 years
old as she claimed; Stacy was painfully and uncomfortably
deflowered in the field's dugout; from her point of
view, Stacy looked up at the graffiti-covered ("SURF NAZIS")
concrete walls during intercourse - the words would become her
indelible memory of the distressful incident; the next day
at school, she shared the experience with Linda ("I like
Ron. But it hurts so bad"), who responded: "Don't
worry. Keep doing it, it gets a lot better, I swear";
although she received a bouquet of red flowers from Ron, he
didn't keep in contact with her, and Linda comforted her friend
at Perry's Pizza parlor where they worked in the Ridgemont
Mall: "It's
his loss"
Stacy Having Sex in a Dugout with Older Audio Consultant
Ron Johnson
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Linda to Stacy: "Don't worry. Keep doing it,
it gets a lot better, I swear"
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- in early scenes during his work at the All-American
Burger joint, Brad contemplated ending his long-term, two year
relationship with his co-worker girlfriend Lisa so that he could
experience "freedom" in
his senior year: ("I just feel like I need my freedom now,
you know?"); when he began to discuss things with her on the job,
she told him: "I don't want to have to use sex as a tool, Brad," and
then refused to talk any further: "I don't want to talk about
it here"; he practiced delivering a speech to Lisa in the rest-room
- after three weeks in Mr. Hand's class, when
Spicoli was late again, Mr. Hand asked him: "Why do you shamelessly
waste my time like this?"; Spicoli said he didn't know; Mr.
Hand used his response for a lesson written on the chalkboard: "I
Don't Know"
- in a dream-fantasy sequence, Jeff gave a surfing
interview to sportscaster Stu Nahan (as Himself) including his
fantasy dream of glory and fame as a championship-winning, world-class
surfer - while surrounded by two bikinied Playmate babes (Ava Lazar
and Lori Sutton); Jeff delivered his answer to the question: "When
you get out there, do you ever fear for your life?":
- "Well Stu, I'll tell ya, surfing's not a sport, it's a way of life.
No hobby. It's a way of lookin' at that wave and sayin', 'Hey
bud, let's party! Ha, ha, ha'."
- after being fired from his job by his manager Dennis
Taylor (Tom Nolan) at All-American Burger for poor customer service,
after Brad used profanity and threatened violence against a complaining
patron (who demanded a refund for allegedly under-cooked food),
he felt that his life was crumbling around him; during a basketball
game, he confided in Lisa that he actually really needed her, but
she reversed things on him and dumped him; she told him exactly
what he had been planning to tell her: "And
I think we owe it to ourselves to be free, to go out with other
people. I still want to be friends"
- after Mark made a date to take out his crush Stacy,
Mike offered "for free" his 'five-point
plan' to inexperienced Mark, about how to successfully make-out
and score with girls - by plaing side one of :
- "All right, now pay attention. First of
all, Rat, you never let on how much
you like a girl. 'Oh, Debbie. Hi.' Two, you always call the
shots. 'Kiss me. You won't regret it.' Now three, act like
wherever you are, that's the place to be. 'Isn't this great?'
Four, when ordering food, you find out what she wants, then
order for the both of ya. It's a classy move. 'Now, the lady
will have the linguini and white clam sauce, and a Coke with
no ice.' And five, now this is the most important, Rat. When
it comes down to makin' out, whenever possible, put on side
one of Led Zeppelin IV."
- however, soon after, Mark was driving and taking
Stacy on their first date; he was playing "Kashmir"
on his car stereo to impress Stacy, per Mike's advice [Note: Mark
was mistaken - the song "Kashmir" was not on the Led
Zeppelin IV album, but on Physical Graffiti.]
- at
a German restaurant, Mark disastrously forgot his wallet; later
in Stacy's bedroom after she had changed into a white robe, Stacy
made an attempt at seducing him and partially succeeded when they
kissed, but then - feeling fearful and awkward since she was in
control - he shyly and abruptly claimed that he had to leave; she
assumed that he had no interest in her and explained the aborted
experience to Linda: "I
made the first move, I made the second move. I made a complete
jerk out of myself, is what I did"; when Linda suggested that
she date someone older, Stacy admitted: "But I was really
beginning to like him"
- Brad acquired another job at Captain Hook's Fish & Chips,
but hated work (later, he quit this second job due to his disgust
for wearing the required silly pirate uniform)
- Linda was sunbathing at Stacy's
house swimming pool, where she claimed that she always climaxed
with her older boyfriend Doug: "He's no high-school boy"; they
were joined by Mike and Mark; when Stacy's depressed and dejected brother, senior-year student Brad
came home and saw Linda and Stacy at the pool, he retreated to the house
- in the film's most memorable fantasy, slow-motion sequence
(to the tune of The Cars' hit "Moving
in Stereo"), Linda was mentally disrobed when Brad imagined the emergence
of Linda speaking seductively to him: "Hi, Brad! You know
how cute I always thought you were"; she slowly opened and
shed her bright red-bikini top from the middle as she walked
over to Brad and toplessly kissed him; the scene has regularly
been voted as one of the sexiest scenes ever filmed in the 80s - and of all-time
- it was actually revealed that
Brad was spying through the nearby pool-side bathroom window and
fantasizing about Linda while pleasuring himself. In reality, she
dove into the pool, got water in her ear, and went to look for Q-tips
in the pool-side bathroom to remove the water. She barged into the
bathroom and was shocked to catch Brad pleasuring himself; humiliated,
he asked himself after his privacy was invaded: ("Jeez.
Doesn't anybody f--king knock anymore?")
Brad's Pool Party Fantasy Scene with Linda (Phoebe
Cates) - To the Tune of "Moving in Stereo" by The Cars
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- there were further encounters in Mr. Hand's
history class during the film; after Spicoli ordered a double cheese
and sausage pizza delivered to his desk by "Pizza
Guy" delivery man (Taylor Negron) during a class lecture, the
incident caused major outrage: (Mr. Hand: "Am I hallucinating
here? Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?" -
Spicoli's laid-back response: "Learning about Cuba, and having
some food"); Mr. Hand confiscated the pizza pie and shared some
of the pieces with other students: ("Mr. Spicoli has been kind
enough to bring us a snack. Be my guest. Help yourselves")
- Stacy's 2nd painful and quick impregnation was by
lecherous Mike Damone in her own poolhouse's changing room when
she invited him in for iced tea and a swim; after he kissed her
and she was complimented, "You're
really a good kisser," she asked: "You want to take off
your clothes, Mike?" He responded: "You
first." She decided: "Both of us at the same time." After
stripping off her top and her panties and lying down on a sofa, he
laid on top of her and quickly and prematurely climaxed during love-less
sex, causing her to ask: "Are you OK?" He said he had come
("I think I came, didn't you feel it?"), then hurriedly
dressed and left ("See ya!") as she sat up and looked bewildered,
used, unsatisfied and hurt
- the next day, Stacy unabashedly lied to Linda (as
they both sliced a large phallic-shaped slab of salami) about how
long Damone took to orgasm: "15 to 20 minutes." She was
assured when Linda said: "That's not bad for a high school boy"
- however, intercourse had resulted in Stacy's pregnancy,
and Mike had no interest in taking responsibility: "It was
your idea. You wanted to do it. You wanted it more than I did";
Stacy arranged for a quick abortion at the Free Clinic for $150,
but Mike reneged on splitting the fee ($150 dollars) with her and
on offering her a ride; he was unsupportive toward Stacy and completely
abandoned her
- in the film's minor sub-plot, Stacy was able to
talk her brother into taking her to a bowling alley (close to the
clinic) and after the procedure, he became suspicious ("Since
when do you go bowling anyway?"),
but promised not to tell their parents; to retaliate against Mike
on Stacy's behalf, Linda spray-painted "Prick" on
his car door and marked his school locker with "Little" Prick
- at the end of the school year, on
the night of the HS graduation dance, Mr. Hand surprised malingering
Spicoli by calling on him at home while he was lying in bed and
getting high (with his room decorated with Playboy centerfolds)
- to discuss "in great detail the Davis Agreement, all the associated treaties,
and the American Revolution in particular"; his scheme was
to vengefully compensate for 8 hours of wasted and lost history
class time during the school year, and to delay Jeff from attending
the dance

Mr. Hand's Final Class Lesson with Jeff In His Bedroom
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Stacy to Linda: "I want a relationship. I want
romance"
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Stacy Showing Romantic Interest in Mark Ratner
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- after Stacy's unfortunate dual experiences with
sex, she explained at work to Linda how she wanted a relationship
with romance: ("Linda, I finally figured
it out. I don't want sex. Anyone can have sex. I want a relationship.
I want romance."); Linda advised: "You
want romance? In Ridgemont? We can't even get cable TV here, Stacy,
and you want romance!"; to the tune of the Tymes" So Much In
Love," Stacy waved and summoned nerdy
Mark Ratner, across the way at the theater, to come over so she could
give him a picture to remind him of her during the summer; as she
was called away, she quickly kissed him; the film implied that she
would soon have the possibility of fulfilling her wish; the epilogue mentioned
that she and Rat were "having a passionate love affair
--- but still haven't gone all the way"
- in the film's final scene,
Brad was employed at Mi-T-Mart (a convenience store), where Spicoli
entered (wearing his yellow Colt 45 T-shirt) as a customer and
vowed he didn't need work: "All
I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine"; while
Jeff was using the store's bathroom, Brad foiled an armed
robbery heist committed by a thief (James Russo) by tossing a pot
of hot coffee into his face, retrieving the gun, and holding the
man at gunpoint - and thus became a hero in Spicoli's eyes: ("Awesome!
Totally awesome!")
- in the film's postscript, inspired by the ending
of American Graffiti (1968), the futures of each of the
principal characters was described:
- Brad was appointed the manager of the Mi-T-Mart
- Mike Damone was busted for scalping Ozzy Osbourne
tickets, and now worked at 7-11
- Ridgemont HS science teacher Mr. Vargas (Vincent
Schiavelli) switched back to coffee
- Linda was attending college in Riverside, while
living with an older man - her Abnormal Psych Professor
- Rat and Stacy were having a passionate love
affair, but still hadn't gone "all the way"
- Mr. Hand was convinced that everyone was on
dope
- Spicoli saved Brooke Shields from drowning,
but wasted his reward on Van Halen to play for his birthday party
- after the Mi-T-Mart and various shops in the mall
were closed down for the night and lights were extinguished, the
words "THE END" were
seen on Atari's 1980 Missile Command video arcade screen
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Senior HS Student Brad Hamilton (Judge Reinhold) Working
in a Lowly Fast-Food Job

Sexpot Linda (Phoebe Cates) Tutoring Co-Worker Stacy (Jennifer
Jason Leigh)

Mark "Rat" Ratner (Brian Backer)

Slick Hustler Mike Damone (Robert Romanus)

Brad's Long-Term Girlfriend Lisa (Amanda Wyss)

Mr. Hand's "I Don't Know" Lesson

Spicoli's Dream Fantasy Surfing Interview

Lisa's Unexpected Break-up With Brad
Mike Damone's 5-Point Plan to Help Mark For His Date With
Stacy


Mark's Awkward Seduction by Stacy in Her Bedroom - He Abruptly Left After
Kissing Her

Linda and Stacy Sunbathing by Pool


Linda Discovering Brad in Bathroom Pleasuring Himself - With the Fantasy
Of Linda Stripping Topless for Him


Delivery of Pizza to Spicoli in History Class


Mark to Stacy: "You're a really good kisser" Before Loveless
Sex in Stacy's Pool House with Mike Damone

Slicing Salami with Linda, Stacy Lied That Damone Climaxed Between
15 and 20 Minutes

Spicoli (with Yellow Colt 45 T-Shirt) With Brad in Store - Before Witnessing
Attempted Robbery

"THE END" - An Atari Video Arcade Screen
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