Once more into the Summer of 1982 breach dear friends with what was the only hit Comedy from a year filled with Action, Horror and Fantasy.
Fast gets the same treatment as The Wall because it didn’t break any new ground; on the surface Fast just resembles yet another teen-sex romp movie despite being based upon a book by Cameron Crowe. The movie’s legacies were all the cast members who went on to bigger careers (listed below), the runaway sales of Vans (Spicoli’s shoes, I had a couple pairs until I switched permanently to Chucks), numerous damaged videotapes (you know what I’m talking about) and it was one of the earliest marriages between a film and soundtrack; these became more commonplace as the Eighties progressed. All those things I listed is why Fast managed to stand out over the years while the pack faded away; Alamo showed their trailers before screening this. According to imdb.com, Fast grossed five times its costs so I guess it was a huge success on par with Porky’s and Animal House. Makes sense, theaters were lax on enforcing the R-rated guidelines.
I’ll quickly summarize what passes for a plot to those who’ve never bothered and might be curious. In the late Seventies, Crowe went undercover as a high-school student, I think San Diego. He wrote about his experiences for Rolling Stone and then released a book. Universal bought it, made a movie probably based upon Crowe’s better anecdotes since there’s no plot; Fast resembles a collection of random events happening to a half-dozen teenagers (and two memorable teachers) over a school year. Dazed n’ Confused did this a hundred times better by keeping the focus to one day in the life of a small town in Texas. There’s hilarious moments, many lived on as sound bites on morning radio; yet the disturbing parts involving Stacy were sad.
Fast wasn’t quite as accurate about high school life, slang and dress as John Hughes’ quadrology or the ill-fated Square Pegs sitcom appearing in the Fall of ’82, but I think it was an important transitional step on two fronts.
- It was more frank about teen sex.
- The Seventies were finally ending and the Eighties were truly starting.
Does the movie still make me laugh? Some parts did even though I knew the punch lines. I was more amused by the dated stuff. I am glad I took a late-afternoon nap though, I had never seen Fast in 35mm and I wanted to stay awake (11:30 PM showing). Alamo prepped the crowd by showing trailers/pieces of appropriate stuff: Tomboy, Hardbodies, The Last American Virgin, Porky’s and a couple poorly made flicks involving cheerleaders. The clip showing the Go Gos from Urgh! A Music War was nice, they were on the soundtrack.
Now to my list of cast members who went on to bigger careers…except for those two guys playing Damone (still working, does bit parts on TV) and Ratner (disappeared by 2000).
- Sean Penn (obviously): I don’t think he ever did anything funny again, nothing but dramas afterwards. I highly recommend Racing with the Moon.
- Jennifer Jason Leigh: oddly she was “re-introduced” in 1983’s Easy Money.
- Judge Reinhold: Beverly Hills Cop, the Santa Clause
- Phoebe Cates: Gremlins, I Love You to Death
- Eric Stoltz: Mask, Pulp Fiction
- Nic Cage: Too craptacular to list
- Forest Whitaker: Last King of Scotland, American Dad!
- Anthony Edwards: Revenge of the Nerds, Top Gun.
Ratings:
1982 (14-year old me): B+. Had I seen it in a theater, I would’ve laughed but the thrill of getting into an R-rated movie was greater. Unlike many from my generation, I never had the opportunity. My parents took me to one and it was a weak Richard Pryor comedy. Seeing Phoebe Cates and Jennifer Jason-Leigh naked were easily other highlights for an teenage boy.
2012: C-. It’s just a collection of events and catchphrases. Many jokes have endured. Fast is more effective as a time capsule about youth culture than a comedy, namely the scenes in the movie’s uncredited character…the mall!
Fast Times at Ridgemont High did prove one life lesson courtesy of Mike Damone, his infamous five-point plan for taking out girls:
- Never let on how much you like a girl.
- Always call the shots.
- Act like wherever you are, that’s the place to be.
- When ordering food, find out what she wants, then order for the both of you.
- Whenever it comes to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV. (Never mind the movie jumping to Ratner and Stacy in the car listening to “Kashmir” from Metaphysical Graffiti.)