Fast Times at Ridgemont High [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Amy Heckerling Amy Heckerling

Overview

Amy Heckerling's adaptation of Cameron Crowe's Fast Times at Ridgemont High is often considered one of the finest films of a disreputable genre (the teen sex comedy), and kick-started the careers of many future stars. The center of this ensemble film is Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy Hamilton. She is a young, innocent high-school student who, as the film opens, is asking for advice from her friend, the sexually outspoken Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates). Stacy takes a liking to nebbish Mark Ratner (Brian Backer), but he is too afraid to make a move even after Stacy all but throws herself at him. She eventually hooks up with Mark's more confident best friend, Mike Damone (Robert Romanus). When not concerning itself with these four characters, the film spends time with stoned surfer dude Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) and his ongoing feud with history teacher Mr. Hand (Ray Walston). The film includes brief appearances by such future stars as Nicolas Cage, Eric Stoltz, and Forest Whitaker.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/11/2021
UPC:	0715515257916
Original Release:	1982
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:29:00
Sales rank:	1,003

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sean Penn	Jeff Spicoli
Jennifer Jason Leigh	Stacy Hamilton
Judge Reinhold	Brad Hamilton
Robert Romanus	Mike Damone
Brian Backer	Mark `Rat' Ratner
Phoebe Cates	Linda Barrett
Ray Walston	Mr. Hand
Scott Thomson	Arnold
Vincent Schiavelli	Mr. Vargas
Amanda Wyss	Lisa
D.W. Brown	Ron Johnson
Forest Whitaker	Charles Jefferson
Kelli Maroney	Cindy
Tom Nolan	Dennis Taylor
Blair Ashleigh	Pat Bernardo
Eric Stoltz	Stoner Bud
Stanley Davis Jr.	Jefferson's Brother
James Russo	Robber
James Bershad	Greg
Nicolas Cage	Brad's Bud
Reginald H. Farmer	Vice Principal
Anthony Edwards	Stoner Bud
Pamela Springsteen	Dina Phillips
Stuart Cornfeld	Pirate King
Sonny Davis	Businessman,Businessman
Michael Wyle	Brad's Bud
David F. Price	Desmond
Patrick Brennan	Curtis Spicoli
Julie Guilmette	Pizza Waitress
Shelly O'Neill	Pizza Waitress
Stu Nahan	Himself
Duane Tucker	Dr. Brandt
Martin Brest	Dr. Miller
Douglas Brian Martin	Twin,Twin
Taylor Negron	Pizza Guy
Kenny Lawrence	Customer
John Hollander	Customer
Ricky Redlich	Customer
Nancy Wilson	Girl in Car
Virginia Peters	Waitress
Laurie Hendricks	Nurse
Lois Brandt	Mrs. O'Rourke
Ellen Fenwick	Stacy's Mom
Cherie Effron	Girl
Suzanne Marie Fava	Girl
Lana Clarkson	Mrs. Vargas
Roy Holmer Wallack	Santa Claus
Ava Lazar	Playmate
Lori Sutton	Playmate
Stuart Cornfield	Pirate King
Joe Walsh	Composer

Technical Credits

Cameron Crowe

Amy Heckerling	Director
Irving Azoff	Producer
C.O. Erickson	Executive Producer
Art Linson	Producer
Cameron Crowe	Screenwriter
Don Phillips	Casting
Tom Overton	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

While the styles and slang terms made Fast Times at Ridgemont High a pop culture touchstone of the early 1980s, the film's restless adolescence remains dead-on: Anyone who has been a teen will likely see a part of themselves somewhere at Ridgemont High. Director Amy Heckerling's exuberant film -- based on a script from Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous), who had gone undercover in a Southern California high school to take the pulse of America's teens in the early '80s -- shot for "awesome," and scored several direct hits. Foremost among these are the hilarious moments when stoned surfer Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) is on the screen. Charming, too, in early career-making roles are Judge Reinhold and Jennifer Jason Leigh as the dorky fast-food worker Brad Hamilton and his sister Stacy, respectively. The poolside fantasy Heckerling creates for Brad, with Phoebe Cates as the overripe object of his teenage male hormonal rampage, is at once sizzling, smart, and silly. In this teen universe, life is about crappy jobs, uninspiring classes, borrowed cars (from their parents), and sexual anxiety. That Heckerling turns it into something giddy rather than depressing is a major feat.

Barnes & Noble - Dave Roth

Many teen comedies of the 1980s and 1990s tried to imitate the verve and nerve of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but few succeeded. Films by John Hughes, such as The Breakfast Club, were much tamer. Others were much more gross and not as well-written. First-time director Amy Heckerling took a typical teen story penned by Cameron Crowe, a gabfest about sex, school, and status, and turned it into a film that is emblematic of an era. The Southern California suburban mall teen scene and its accompanying "Valley Girl" lingo were spreading widely, and this film both nails and lampoons this subculture with knowing effect. With only Taps behind him, Fast Times at Ridgemont High helped a young Sean Penn become the brightest star of a new Hollywood "rat pack" of sassy young actors. Many others, including Phoebe Cates and Judge Reinhold, also were boosted by their roles in the large and talented ensemble cast.

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