"That was my skull! I'm so wasted!"

"Fast Times At Ridgemont High" was the 1982 directing debut of Amy Heckerling, who went on to direct "Look Who's Talking" and "Clueless". In addition it was a film that put several young actors and actresses on the map, including Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates and Judge Reinhold. "Fast Times" is basically an ensemble character piece teen comedy packed with sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll in as it charts a group of L.A. suburban high school seniors through their final year of job hunting, man-hunting, stoneing and humping.

We have Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy Hamilton, the school virgin who's eager to have her cherry popped and is mentored by her more experienced best friend Linda (Phoebe Cates). We have Judge Reinhold (Beverly Hills Cop, Ruthless People ) as Stacy's older brother, Brad who over the course of the year has to pick himself up from the double whammy of having lost his job and his girlfriend. We have the shy boy Mark "Rat" Ratner, (played by Brian Packer) who has a crush on Stacy but can't work up the courage to ask her out and needs the advice of his smooth talking womanizing friend Mike Damon (Robert Romanus). And finally to complete the set we have the surfer boy Spicoli (Sean Penn- playing a mellow character for once) who spends most of the movie completely stoned.

For all my 80's film reviews it seems I have been neglecting the genre of films that the 80's were all about- the Teen Flicks. In-fact to be honest I've been neglecting this genre of films quite deliberately. For various reasons, as a 24 year old they just don't interest me like they used to, back when I was 17, and I certainly don't consider them as timeless as a lot of other people do. However in recent months I've not only felt the need to complete my list of 80's movie reviews, but I've felt that it'd be somehow wrong to round off 80's cinema without adding one more of the big teen films. I've already reviewed Footloose but to me it doesn't quite cut the mustard of the box office genre- the title alone is too small and obscure. I've also reviewed all three "Back to the Future" movies, but everyone knows that they're not really teen movies but a genre to themselves instead. That left me with a choice between the two big 80's teen films- "The Breakfast Club" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", and so I chose "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" just to be original, and also because I don't think I could say much about "The Breakfast Club" apart from that it is well directed, well acted, very stylish and is still a very entertaining film 20 years on, and is an ideal party piece, despite its often pretentious moments and overall calculated to a tee nature. I'm sorry but for me the crowning voice of 80's youth in cinema was Alan Clarke, not John Hughes.

Although I am not a major fan of the 80's teen movies, I had heard this film recommended often on Epinions and on 80's fanatics messageboards, and since I had very much enjoyed Amy Heckerling's Clueless I decided to look out for this. It wasn't easy for me to find a copy of this film, because funnily enough "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" is actually a rather obscure film in Britain. I don't think it has ever been shown on Terrestrial TV over here and I was lucky to find it on the shelf in HMV when I was doing my rounds of Christmas shopping last year, and they were doing a two for one offer on the DVD's so I picked it up with "Ichi the Killer". Since then I have only found the time to watch it twice- the second time was the most recent.

I must say though that I did enjoy it for the fun film that it was. Although it was on the surface rather unremarkable, it did weave a certain magic on me in an unnoticeable way. The film is perhaps distinctive from the mass crop of 80's teen movies since it feels slightly more akin to the 70's style teen movies- i.e., instead of the film being about teenagers resisting the pressure and overbearing authority of parents, teachers and other elders as in "The Breakfast Club", "Footloose" or "Dirty Dancing"; it is actually about teenagers enjoying a very free reign in which adults don't seem to even exist- dating does not involve meeting the parents, class discipline is non existent and there's no such thing as bed time, which is more akin to teen films like "American Graffitti" and "Grease". The directing is also rather 70's in style in that it is not as glossed or brightly lit as the typical John Hughes film (though that said, the DVD remastering makes the film look exceedingly fresh and brand new). It's not about the indulgent or smooth kind of surrounding eye candy, making the edges around the props seem more defined by starker, more contrasting colours and lighting, which for me I find a lot more relaxing viewing and gives the film and its character more of a tangible physicality, a bit more fleshy, and ergo the characters feel more intimate.

From the opening titles of the film where we see the kids gathering at the local mall, playing at the arcade games, racing down escalators, having milkshake fights, selling bootlegged albums and tickets and boys and girls generally checking each other out like they're at a meat market, all over the typical 80's pop ditty song about being young and hip (the kind of song that wouldn't be out of place on an episode of Kids Incorporated) and then we settle on the local cafe where Stacy works, and the waitresses are all indulging in girly, finger-curling the hair talk about the 'hot' guy at the table. Stacy goes over to him to take his order and on the spot he requests a coffee, fries and Stacy's telephone number- you can tell what kind of film this is going to be- it's going to be cheesy, switch your brain off, dumb fun- a typical 80's teen film, and possibly was the very film that first kick started this American 80's pop culture notion of dumbness being cool and fashionable (which certainly hasn't gone away today). It's probably the very reason why I hate a lot of teen movies, because I find them, in a word, insulting. In-fact given the promotion of teen movies as the voice of a generation and a positive tool for adolescents at acquiring self-knowledge and empowerment and assertiveness against an authoritarian establishment that frequently treats them as subservient, I often find them to be quite the opposite because of the stereotypical, idiotic and belittling nature of their characterisation.

Yet the characterisation here is a strange beast with that overall demeanour of being stereotypes and dumb characters, but having a certain unadvertised foothold in the reality of the adolescent world that speaks to me in more than just clichés. I personally know quite a few stoners who are just like Spicoli in fashion and expressive jargon, and that makes him especially funny and personable. The shy boy Mark "Rat" Ratner does fit the stereotype in that he always wears a meek smile in the hope that it will get him by with people when he's unsure what to say or do. He's very withdrawn and has such a tendency to put himself down and retreat from a situation just when it is getting good and heated, or to put it another way he is hopelessly wet, although there are some rather charming moments in the date scenes where he begins to come out of his shell a little and converses on the girl's level. But there is an unspoken air of consciousness to him, particularly in the way he hangs around so much with such a cruiser like Mike Damon- the two lads are chalk and cheese and Mark clearly hangs on every word of advice that Damon says and wants to be just like him and in a way it speaks of how poor Mark is fully aware that he keeps shooting himself in the foot and that he needs to come out of his shell and hates being stuck with his own rigid self doubt, introversion and withdrawn complex- someone who wants to change but can't. So I feel that a lot of people could see themselves in him when they think back to their own adolescence.

I find the presence of Brad's character particularly reassuring, given how teen films often focus on the above negative types of male character- the bad boy or the shy boy. I find both types to be unhealthy forms of role model and together seem to promote a hateful dichotomy that teenage males have to be shy, modest, withdrawn and introverted, otherwise they're the bad guy. In that way it's a relief for Brad to portray the middle ground of a character who's decent, generous and responsible but at the same time he is also an extrovert, is self-respecting, outspoken and takes opportunities for his benefit. His own dilemma of job hunting where he deals with rather undignified jobs and insolent customers in his outspoken way does do the comedy convention well in voicing our common frustrations about daily life.

Most importantly, the character of Stacy isn't the typical patronising image of the sweet innocent virgin girl who is tricked into losing her virginity by a dishonourable man's false platitudes of love, Stacy is a bad girl who likes her sex to be casual, and at first she has little reason to behave otherwise, because contrary to the cliches, most of her midnight lovers don't simply discard her in the morning and they even bring her flowers now and again. Of course it is only a matter of time before the bad news enters the picture, and she learns that sex has unpleasant consequences and boys can be very insensitive and dismissive once the damage is done, and that the game of casual sex that sheis playing is actually always a game played on male terms that does not place any value on a woman's pleasure or well-being. Of course it is her story that is the emotional heart of the film.

All the characters are played well by actors who immerse themselves completely in the characters, but Jennifer Jason Leigh deserves special mention for how well she plays Stacy through the highs and the lows. I've been impressed by Jennifer Jason Leigh’s performance in The Hitcher , and here she gets considerably longer screen time. She is just so enthusiastic in the role with a delightful smile and smooth articulate delivery and a sultry pouting that makes her sex scenes as sensual as they are erotic. When it comes to playing the miserable mood when grey skies won't go away, she just says everything with a look and a arm folded defensive posture, and it's the kind of underplayed poignancy and character sympathy that lasts throughout the sporatic and cosmopolitan nature of the film despite the fact that the film is primarily geared towards good times and the feelgood, and this poignancy is achieved without any big dramatic tear jerking scenes. In-fact in a way it's the kind of teen film that shows up a lot of other teen films as the over-serious, melodramatic and pretentious nonsense that they are (yes, I know- a reviewer like me calling a film 'pretentious' is like the pot calling the kettle black). This film bases its emotional power not on obligatory scenes of tears and blubbing or shouting, but in Jennifer's simple facial expression that conveys being emotionally pent up and fragile and liable to break down burst in tears at any moment, and the sad fact that no-one else seems to notice her pain.

The film is feelgood, but simultaneously beneath the surface it's also gritty and rather pragmatic. So it manages to end on a happy note and not overlook the rough ride that it took to get to the happy ending. Stacy and Mark end up together, but Stacy at first overlooks him for the bad boy because he's smoother and more confident. Stacy learns that the bad boy was bad news, but she certainly learns it the hard way. Despite everything, the supposed villains of the film- the heartless womanizer Damon and the hard nosed teacher Mr. Hand (played by Ray Walston)- do turn Mr. Nice Guy in the end, and not because they are prompted by others, but because that whimsical quality within them was always there, and they show themselves to be far more than just stereotypes- and it's nicely done, and it works at being a reassuring image of people, especially given how unremittingly negative a lot of teen films can be in their characterisation.

Of course the main selling point of the film is the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, of which "Fast Times" has plenty of. I'll tackle the rock 'n' roll first, since it is the easiest. The soundtrack can be the major ruin of an 80's teen flick, certainly a bad soundtrack was enough to stop me from taking "The Karate Kid" seriously (or at least once I reached a certain age). I suppose it helps that in the case of "Fast Times" it was made in the earlier 80's when soundtracks weren't so heavily synthesised- the songs here are a lot more skeletal and punching and with a lot more progressing momentum and they do make the film- they conjure the whole sense of fun about the film, they give the characters and images their rhythm.

The massive drug content is really courtesy of Spicoli's character and his two 'buds'. It works well at really characterising Spicoli and his whole mellow disaffected slacker charm. The moment where he's slippering his forehead down the phone as a demonstration of how totally stoned he is, is definitely among the comedy highlights, and the moment where he drives a friend's 'borrowed' car whilst on ludes and ends up crashing it makes for one of several compelling little mini-dilemmas with an outcome that's cringe-worthy in a good way. With Spicoli's drugs binge there isn't really any moralising or lesson to be learned- without the weed, Spicoli just wouldn't be Spicoli anymore.

Now to save the best bit till last- let's talk about sex. There are three nude scenes in the film involving Phoebe Cates' and Jennifer Jason Leigh's bare breasts, and Jennifer gets the two humping scenes (sorry ladies, all you get to see of the men is a few momentary bare chests). The flirtatious and sultry performances of the girls make those moments more sexy, and it is directed in a manner that doesn't simply show bare flesh but really conveys the tactile electric excitement of sexual touch in a way similar to Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in America" and Russ Meyer's series of dirty movies- of course this film does it without any violent or misogynistic content. Well... beyond the dream sequence where Spicoli dreams he is being interviewed as a surf superstar at the backdrop of big waves and being flanked by two women who are clearly just sex objects who are there to simply smile and look sexy and not talk, which is rather chauvinistic and a little less than pleasant to witness. It's not the kind of thing I could criticise without falling flat, since it is a male fantasy sequence and the film is directed by a woman, but still I feel instinctively uncomfortable with the image of the silent sperm recipient.

"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" was made in 1982 which makes it a comfortable contemporary bedfellow of the "Porkies" films. They were the most explicit, R-rated teen films of the 80's, and after 1982 the Teen films became more cleaned up in terms of sex, drugs and language- or at least clean enough to get a lower rating by a notch, and in general the Teen films developed something of a conservative chastising element. Some say it was AIDS that made them have to clean up, some say it was the return of puritanical values. But in any case "Fast Times" is a good showcase of more liberated (or if you prefer, irresponsible) times in film-making. The permissive content also seems especially well suited to the movie's California setting which has often been described alongside New York and New Jersey as the more liberated region of America, and the film actually makes L.A. looks like a really fun place to be, whether the excitement and 'happening' nature of the Mall, or the soccer pitch, or the serenity of the freeways or the beauty of suburbia and a splash in the backdoor pond. A place where the pizza delivery guy will deliver right to your classroom, and actually seems to be a safe, inclusive and laid back place without any confrontations or clashes- no culture wars, no generational clashes, no gangs or bullies and no cliques fighting it out with other cliques. For the record I have been to L.A. and I found it an immensely fun and intimate place to be.

I'm not going to say that the sexual content of this film is tame compared to the modern sex comedies a la American Pie (in-fact I think giving this film an R-rating was a very responsible decision), but I will say that in some ways it is considerably less loud or indulgent about its content compared to the more in-your-face prurient nature of modern sex comedies. It makes it more relaxing and it makes it more entertaining as a comedy overall. To expand on my point, I would say that the comedy of "Fast Times" is rather hit and miss, and even when it hits, it's hardly humour that's the height of sophistication, but that's appropriate for its High School setting- there's bits that compulsively make me laugh, but there's also long stretches of the film where none of the jokes impress me much. But the film has a way of effortlessly flowing and if a joke doesn't make you laugh, it's easy to treat it as no big deal. Nowadays of course, if a comedy film like "Bad Boys II" or "American Wedding" has a joke in it that doesn't make you laugh, you're going to be in big trouble because that same joke is going to be flogged to death and prolongued for about five minutes- for the record I think "Bad Boys II" had the fortune to be mostly funny in its jokes, and "American Wedding" didn't.

The prurient comedy scenes here work on more than just a level of garnering a laugh. For instance the scene in the canteen involving Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates and a carrot (no comment), is clearly aimed at the giggling adolescent in us all, but it is played straight by the characters so that you can either see it through the laughing male onlookers on the nearby canteen table, or see it through the girls as an easy and effective means of demonstrating oral sex to one another. In the scene where Judge Reinhold is masturbating in the toilet, most people can predict he forgot to lock the door and someone's going to end up walking in on him, and somehow it's not merely an indulgent prurient moment without point, but it works somehow on a comedy level of saying something about who we are and the aspects of ourselves that as people we're a little ashamed of and the secret habits that polite society does not approve of. What the scene manages to do is to normalise masturbation in a very reassuring way actually, just like sex- it's not dirty, everybody does it. And what better way to communicate this than through Judge Reinhold's character who's so perfectly average and likeable.

Overall I watched it patiently and was rewarded. There were plenty of missed oppurtunities I spotted, but I never lost interest in the film, because I had come to really care about the characters, and dig the voice of the film. With colourful characters both minor and major, various mini-dilemmas, a spirit of fun to the proceedings and a kernel of truth under its happy times, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" is a rather simple and unspectacular but still very effective piece of cinema. It's not a film that I watch often, but I don't regret the purchase at all, and I'm glad I have it on my shelf so that I can give it a viewing now and again.

So there you go- if it can impress a movie snob like me and work its sense of having fun and getting stupid on me and does this without any pretentions of being anything else, then you know it's something special.

The DVD version comes with a little handful of extras: There's the restrospective documentary "Reliving our Fast Times at Ridgemont High; The option to watch the film with commentary by Amy Heckerling and writer Cameron Crowe; Hangouts of Ridgemont High; Production Notes; Trailer; Music Highlights; and Filmographies.

Since I've lost my DVD remote control, the Reliving our Fast Times at Ridgemont High retrospective is the only extra I could review (after the film plays automatically, the DVD menu immediately comes up with the documentary as the first choice)- still it is the main extra, and likely the only one that really counts. The retrospective documentary was really good and taught me quite a few facts about the writing of the film that I didn't know- i.e. about how the writer Cameron Crowe was actually a teenager at the time who doubled as an undercover researcher of youth culture and apparently was quite an attentive orator with a photographic memory. In any case it shines some light on the source of the film's edge in honesty. A lot of the talk revolves around the gathering of the cast and what a strong melting pot it all was, the amusing anecdotes and how much collective fun it was to make and about Amy's sincere vision as a director of what she was trying to communicate. Some of the cast are interviewed, unfortunately Jennifer and Phoebe are not among them, which is a shame. Overall it's one documentary that really succeeds in conveying the making of the film without ruining the magic of it.

I was slightly disappointed however that there was no coverage or clips from the TV series spin off, which I would have been quite interested in seeing. Ah well...

I guess that concludes my review. Please note that this will probably not be my final word on the 80's teen movie- come summer I might give the 1980 British teen classic Gregory's Girl a few words of praise.