Review of Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) by Cole P — 06 Jan 2012

There's a scene in this gag-reel of a movie that effectively sums it up: The frisky Stacy Hamilton tells Mike Damone that she's pregnant and he's the father. Their solution is to pay half-and-half, settling for an abortion. It's over with a nonchalant smile. No morals. No ethics. No regard for human decency.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High portrays high school at its rawest (80's high school at least, but you'll be surprised and slightly unnerved at the accuracy of these stereotypes). Sex, drugs, and rock n'roll are the cultural norms. I suppose if it were in the 1950's it'd be sex, drugs, and Elvis. Contemporary times would see it as sex, drugs, and hiphop. The film is an absurd comedy and a satire on teenagers in high school. It provides no catharsis to the audience for the idiocy of its characters, nor does the fickle faced ensemble cast ever pause in philosophical respite to question their amoral improprieties. Interestingly enough, this is the enigma of high school--and teenagers are clustered into an institution where their hormones, curiosities, and lusts accentuate to dynamic proportions. I think the writers knew this.

Or (for that matter) anybody who attended and graduated high school should find resonance in this farcical film. Whether or not the characters will ever learn from their actions is irrelevant; it's illustrating a misfortunate time in everybody's life. The existential stoner Jeff Spicoli actually reminded me of a kid I once knew who scoffed at truancy and binged on beer and food. There's familiarity in Linda Barrett, the stunningly beautiful but self-righteous and pretentious dame. Mark Ratner is the archetypal "nice guy", a milquetoast compared to his assertive peers.

The film plays with no actual plot; it's almost like a down-to-earth soap opera, switching scene through scene, visiting and frequenting the familiar stereotypes. The gags are hilarious. The irrational is tactifully spot on. However, cycling through a Rolodex of stereotypes is not an effective means of delivering any sort of message, except that there's "fast times at Ridgemont High". Couldn't it have been good times, or bad times? I'll validate for sure: No way in hell it would've been "Smart Times". Ironically, that's the success of the film. I mean who hasn't, at one point or another, reminisced about the bad food, the stupid stunts, the excessive drugs, or the mediocre life that they had in high school?

Fast Times At Ridgemont High. For some it's a high school reunion. For others, a reality check. I found myself actually enjoying it but was disappointed at the lack of any real or probable pay off. Then again, I felt the same way about my own high school. High school sucks. Sometimes you just want to get it all over with. Fast.