Customer Reviews

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Special Edition)

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This movie was released in 1982 and i remember in the
90's people asking me if i've seen it. Everyone use to
tell me it was the funniest movie ever and i had to
see it.

It was in 2011 when i found the collector's edition
for $5. Since i was looking for something i never saw,
i grabbed it.

Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe it was
another movie you had to be stoned to find funny (i
don't do drugs), but i thought it was one of the worst
comedies i've seen.

I may have snickered 2 or 3 times, but no real laughs
not even a chuckle.

To find this movie funny you would have had to seen it
in 1982 when comedy movies couldn't get away with what
they do in movies today.

This movie has no real point to it. But its fun watching different teens in the same school and follow their lives as they try to be as cool as they can be. I wish Sean Penn got more scenes because he made this movie a definate classic.

OK, "greatest teen comedy ever made" really isn't setting the bar all that high, but this really is a wonderful film. I almost docked it a star for being at least partially responsible for a lot of copycat garbage that followed, but that would be punishing it unfairly. It deserved the tons of money it made.

Many of the other reviews on this site have rehashed the plot(s) and the fact that it introduced an amazing array of acting talent to the world. What I think is most impressive however, is the honesty and poignancy this film delivers while being hysterically funny. The relationship between Brad and his sister is incredibly touching. The characters are real, three-dimensional people (yes even Spicoli; I knew someone almost exactly like him in school and I'll bet you did too). It is beautifully written, directed, and acted. It is also one of the most quote-worthy films this side of Tarantino ("All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine").

On a final note, I disagree with the Amazon reviewer's assessment that Cameron Crowe is an overrated director. "Say Anything" is probably the best teen movie made since this one, and "Almost Famous" is a stone cold masterpiece, IMHO.

IN MY OPINION THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE GREATEST HIGH SCHOOL/ TEEN MOVIE EVER MADE (TIED WITH 'LAST AMERICAN VIRIGIN'). I BEEN READING SOME OF THE REVIEWS AND I SEE SOME SAYING THAT THIS MOVIE IS TOO HYPED UP OR NOT AS GOOD, ETC.....BUT THOSE REVIEWERS WERE PROBABLY BORN AFTER 1980. YOU DEFINATELY HAD TO HAVE GROWN UP DURING THOSE TIMES TO UNDERSTAND IT OR TO RELATE TO IT. TO ADD TO THIS, PHOEBE CATES IS NATURAL BEAUTY ! NOT LIKE MOST OF THESE GIRLS TODAY WITH THEIR FAKE EVERYTHING ! ;)

This movie is about a bunch of kids trying to fit in and be accepted and of course there interests in the opposite sex. It's a good movie to see Jennifer Jason Leigh (nude) and Phoebe Cates (topless). If you're a Phoebe Cates fan then you should also get a copy of Paradise where she has many nude scenes including total front nudity.

I have always LOVED this movie.Bought it right away when it came out on dvd.But was very disapointed with the final product.
Too many scenes were left out. One in particular is the one where Stacy(Jennifer Jason Leigh) gets the abortion,why skip over that. During that time that was a ballsy thing to put in a movie!
Hopefully this SE Fast Times will be much better!

I just saw this movie for the first time straight through and really wasn't that impressed. It does capture the 80's spirit and High School life during this decade as expected. The movie really needed more Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli! He was very funny and believable as a stoner and managed to hold my interest in his brief appearances. Phoebe Cates is very cute, but her topless scene is a tad bit overhyped through the years because it lasts a total of 10 seconds tops. This is a definite fun rental, but I wouldn't add this one to my 200+ Dvd Collection.

What a great movie! There are so many scenes burned into my brain, and I'm not just talking about those amazing four or five seconds when Phoebe Cates comes out of the pool.

Today's kids won't have a clue what's going on when the pop quiz gets handed out and everybody sniffs the paper. MMmmm... ditto paper......

I've heard that the Mark Ratner character was based on the guy that later went on to write Windows For Dummies. I hope that's true; it would be nice for the nerds to come out on top in the end!

If you're over 30 and you haven't seen this movie, go buy it right now. You'll be happy you did.

"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Is a strong contender for the best teen movie from the eighties.

The case for the movie is easy to make: It is written by Cameron Crowe, who wrote Jerry Maguire, Say Anything, and Almost Famous. It is beautifully filmed and directed. (Director is Amy Heckerling, who apart from being awefully cute has made such wonderful movies as Clueless.) It is funny and real. And it has a magnificent cast of young actors who where unknowns then.

The surfer/stoner is famously played by Sean Penn in one of his first roles, and he is awesome. Jennifer Jason Leigh is perfect as the young innocent fifteen-year-old. (Amazingly she was about 20 when she played it, but you'd never know it.)

And Phoebe Cates... As Amy Heckerling says in a featurette: The boys just loves Phoebe... the rental cassettes always track a lot around the place where she takes off her top, they've been freeze-framed so much..." Which is as good a reason as any to get the DVD version, they slow-mo and freeze-frame a lot better... But seriously, Phoebe is a wonderful actress who has been woefully underused by Hollywood. And she is also just stunningly cute to boot. Even if this film had nothing else going for it, get it for her. (She is also excellent in the later film Princess Caraboo, and she is buck nude in the light "Paradise", which I hope they will put on DVD soon.)

Eolake

This movie is so AWESOME,you will laugh so hard,buy it and cherish it forever dudes