Fast Times at Ridgemont High

The 1980s produced a bunch of teen movies that, if you're of the right age, are fondly remembered. Even if you aren't the right age, they're still an interesting time capsule of the era. One of the earlier 1980s teen movies, and one of the better ones, is Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is more of a slice of life movie than a traditionally narrative movie, taking a look at one school year for the students of a Ridgemont High School somewhere in the suburbs of Los Angeles. First among them is Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a young sex-obsessed girl who's never actually done it, who works at the pizza joint in the mall with her best friend Linda (Phoebe Cates), who claims she has gone all the way.

Stacy has an older brother Brad (Judge Reinhold) who, at the start of the movie, is working at one of the smaller hamburger franchises but winds up going from one retail job to the next. He's got a girlfriend who dumps him halfway through the movie, and thereafter spends time fantasizing about Linda.

As for Stacy, there is a classmate interested in her, movie theater usher Mark Ratner, nicknamed "Rat" (Brian Backer). The only thing is, he's painfully shy, and asks for help in dealing with girls from his no-goodnik "friend" Damone (Robert Romanus). Damone is always looking to make a quick buck, usually by scalping tickets.

Rounding out the main cast of students is top-billed Sean Penn is Spicoli, who is more concerned with surfing and scoring a hit of marijuana back when it was much more illegal. He consistently makes life difficult for uptight American History teacher Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), one of the few teachers we see since much of the action takes place outside the school. The other teacher is biology teacher Vargas (Vincent Schiavelli).

The teachers are depicted as uniformly out of touch, while the teens are trying to navigate many of the usual issues that teens had, only it's mostly handled with a lot of humor, with the exception of when Damone steals Stacy out from under Rat's nose and gets Stacy pregnant.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is in many ways very much a product of the early 1980s and southern California, what with the after-school jobs at the mall, and many people not even yet having cable. Adolescents, I think, don't have anywhere near so much independence these days and their lives are much more structured as the perceived need to have a lot of accomplishments in order to get into a good college has taken precedence.

I'm several years younger than the original target demographic for the movie, having graduated high school in 1990. And while my high school wasn't nearly like Ridgemont, I still really enjoyed the movie. It's a fun little ride and just entertains without trying to pass too much moral judgment on the characters and their actions. The soundtrack, at least for someone of my age, is also filled with songs that bring back memories. And if you're a good deal younger than me, and up for some very R-rated humor, give it a try and see what the 80s were all about.