Fuori di testa

A fast-paced film with its share of laughs, Fast Times also takes time to sensitively handle many of the tough issues teens face. Abortion, trust, abandonment and sexual fears are all dealt with fairly and believably. An interesting snapshot into the world of teenagers--the great thing about this film is that it's not too stereotypically Californian. It could have been set anywhere in Canada or USA and still have been just as accurate. In addition, there are many scenes that will just have you doubled over with laughter--the carrot scene, as well as the interaction between rebel Sean Penn and angry Mr.Hand are just fantastic.

All throughout the decade of pencil-thin neckties and Pat Benatar look-alikes, various films came along that served to embody the times. "Valley Girl" (which introduced us to Nicholas Cage) and "Secret Admirer" were just a drop in the proverbial bucket. Amy Heckerling's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" was the textbook definition of life as a teenager in the eighties and remains so to this day. The story was brought to life in a very unique way that hasn't been duplicated since:

There was no actual plot to speak of. This was just...High School.

It's a film about a group of kids looking for love, status, or a good buzz. The film was nothing more than that, and it didn't pretend to be more. In addition, Cameron Crowe's script made you *care* about what these kids went through as if their individual situations were happening to us (as they may very well have). It's almost a crime that a sequel was never made, although a mediocre TV series was spawned. Armed with a cast of characters that struck a chord with all of us (primarily because we knew someone in High School who acted just like them), and a soundtrack that reeked of the Mark Goodman-J.J. Jackson era of MTV, this film stands as a perfect portrait of a decade a lot of us say we'd like to forget....shortly before brushing the dust off an old Night Ranger cassette and indulging in a guilty pleasure.

Just like "American Graffiti", you not only will see a timeless classic, but you will also see the breeding ground for many of today's greatest actors. Sean Penn, Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz, Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Forrest Whitaker all appeared in this film in the early stages of their careers. Even Oscar winner Nicolas Cage (appearing under his real surname of Copolla) was in this film, though in a very small role. This film was a glimpse into the future at some of the actors who would become major stars in film and television.

As for the film itself, it pretty much was a look at how high school really was in the eighties with all the pressures from sex, the cliques and, of course, drugs. In fact, the Catholic high school I went to was pretty much a carbon copy of Ridgemont. The film also manages to blend comedy with drama as it shows how high school was and still pretty much is. This film is definitely a classic.

I graduated a southern California high school in 1977, which is essentially the location and time period of this movie. It's incredibly on the mark. But your mileage may vary, and I'll let the other reviews cover that. My purpose here is to reveal the horror which I just witnessed on a basic cable showing of Fast Times.

This movie earned an initial 'X' rating from the MPAA when first submitted, and after a few cuts garnered an 'R' for its release. The movie I saw on basic cable this morning would barely rate PG. Massive cuts and edits were evident all through the film. Entire scenes were removed. The dialog was edited so that you'd think it was made in the 1950's. The hilarious masturbation scene was edited in such a way that it appeared Linda walked in on Brad while he was peeing. (They actually ran the film backwards during this scene.) Even some of the musical soundtrack had changed, due to rights issues I'd guess.

My point is, if you've only seen this movie on basic cable, you really haven't seen this movie. The version I saw today was on A&E, and they just butchered it. Things like that should be illegal.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a quality film. It's over 20 years old and has become one of those iconic teen movies and it's pretty easy to see why. It has everything you would expect; the bad hair, the bad clothes, the bad music, teenage awkwardness...all the clichés and stereotypes that we've seen repeated in basically every teen movie since then. And it has Sean Penn playing a stoner surfer. Sean. Penn. I'm pretty sure this movie is funnier now just because Sean Penn has had a successful career as a proper dramatic actor, and he plays the ultimate surfer dude perfectly. The grudge between himself and Mr Hand (Ray Walston) is great and probably produces the best (or at least funniest) moments of the film.

All in all, Fast Times is fun. It might be because it's dated, cheesy, and clichéd, but it still does the job and it is entertaining.