Teenage Angst Has Paid Off Well......Now I'm Bored And Old.

I don't care what anyone says, I consider this movie a classic. This film is based on teenagers growing up in the early 1980's in California's San Fernando Valley and the peer pressures and hardships they face while getting through high school. I can even justify saying it's a classic because even though it's a period piece of the 80's, the actual plot and storyline is timeless. I think teens of any generation could relate to it and would enjoy it, although it does have an R rating there is an edited version made for TV.

Renowned writer Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Rolling Stone) disguised himself when he was in his mid 20's as a teenager and went to a high school to gather information about teenage life and the pressures of young adulthood. The output was a book he wrote called "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and then a few years later it was made into a movie by director, Amy Heckerling (Clueless).

Heckerling did a good job adapting the book to a movie, but a some of the plot changed in the transformation, so I would recommend if you like the movie to read the book because you'll get new information about these famous characters. But I'm not here to review the book....

This movie was regarded as a flop by critics when it first came out because it was a movie made entirely of an (alleged) teenaged cast. There are very few adults in the movie and you don't see anyone's parents (with the exception of one line from Jason Leigh's mom) so the critics said adults wouldn't like it and kids would be too young to see it. However even though the movie had an R rating, there was hardly a teen alive who hadn't seen the movie.

The cast is excellent. Although at the time of the film's release they were all unknowns, but check out this all star cast:
Sean Penn
Jennifer Jason-Leigh
Judge Reinhold
Nicholas Cage (who at that time went by Nicholas Coppola)
Phoebe Cates
Forrest Whittaker

Sean Penn's adaptation of surfer dude, Jeff Spicoli is the best. He plays the half baked character just as if he knew someone like him in real life. Jennifer Jason-Leigh is the female lead and she is the one going through all the hardships in the film. Judge Reinhold is basically in the film for comedy relief and he does a great job. Nicholas Cage is actually an extra in the movie but he's in 4 or 5 scenes and can be seen if you watch close. Phoebe Cates and Forrest Whittaker are supporting actors but also do a great job.

I think the edited version made for TV should be a must see for all teens with peer pressures. Yes it's a little goofy at time and has brainless antics but it also faces tough issues that teens can relate to and they'll realize they don't go through these things alone. That they're problems have been going on with every generation and they will continue with their kids.

The DVD is highly recommended too. It has bonus material such as "Fast Times Revisited" which is a documentary about the movie and a director's commentary with Amy Heckerling and Cameron Crowe which is extremely interesting. There's also a cute little short piece in the DVD called the "Hangouts of Ridgemont High" and it shows the places where the movie was filmed as they look today and where they're located. The mall they filmed the movie in was actually called "The Galleria" and I believe it was filmed in Sherman Oaks, California but the mall has since been torn down to be replaced by a parking structure. Just tons of interesting trivia like that packed into the DVD.

It had actually been awhile since I'd seen the unedited version so there are some sexual situations that may not be appropriate for teens but they would definitely benefit from the version that frequently runs on one of the Superstations.

If you're an adult with a DVD player and remember this movie as a favorite, I would highly recommend renting the DVD. Really interesting for fans.