FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH: Still Partying 40 Years Later

The Undercover High School Student

Cameron Crowe was only 15 years old when Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres approached him in 1972 to write for the popular music magazine. Crowe already had two years of experience writing for underground newspapers. He quickly found his niche in the magazine covering bands that other writers didn’t care about or bands that didn’t like journalists.

After a few years of writing cover stories on such 70s rock giants as Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, Peter Frampton, Fleetwood Mac, and others, Crowe changed gears as he was eager to do more than just magazine pieces. He pitched publisher Simon & Schuster on a book about the lives of high school teenagers. It was a good career move. In addition to this, it was also a personal project as Crowe had graduated from high school at 15. Clearly, he wanted to live out the high school experience he missed.

Subsequently, with the assistance of his parents and the dubious school principal, twenty-two-year-old Crowe went undercover at Clairemont High School in San Diego, California. He easily passed for eighteen with his boyish features. Crowe would spend the 1978-79 school year as Dave Cameron. He fondly recalled his time as the senior year he never had.

Crowe’s book, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, focused on six high school seniors whom he befriended. They were an eclectic bunch who provided entertaining and informative insights into the lives of modern teens. Producers Irving Azoff and Art Linson optioned the film rights to the book before it was published in 1981. In addition, they hired Crowe to write the screenplay.

The Fledgling Director

In 1981, Amy Heckerling was a young director on the hunt for a script to shoot. She graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1976, then relocated to Los Angeles to get into the business. She made her first short while in the American Film Institute filmmaking program. Getting it Over With (1977) was about a girl who wants to lose her virginity before leaving her teen years behind.

Heckerling’s short was well received by industry insiders. Universal Studios signed her to make a movie for them. She hunted through dozens of scripts. Heckerling wanted to make a loosely structured ensemble comedy like American Graffiti (1973).

Heckerling had come across Crowe’s script for Fast Times at Ridgemont High. However, she felt that it was lacking needed energy. Azoff and Linson saw it as a simple summer teen comedy. Low production costs plus laughs and skin was a formula for easy money at the box office. Heckerling thought Fast Times at Ridgemont High could be more. She read the book, then got together with Crowe to rework the screenplay.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High tells a lot of stories in a tight 90 minutes. It spans the entire school year of six characters. Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a nice girl looking for love. Her friend Linda (Phoebe Cates) freely offers advice. However, the audience gets the sense that she is not as sophisticated as she lets on. Mark (Brian Backer) is the shy guy who might be just right for Stacy. His ticket scalper friend Damone (Robert Romanus) steals Stacy from him. Stacy’s brother Brad (Judge Reinhold) is so dedicated to after-school jobs that his senior year is passing him by. Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) is the stoner who just needs tasty waves and a cool buzz.

Without a doubt, one challenge that Heckerling overcame was keeping command of all these characters and their situations. She shuffled the order of certain scenes throughout filming and editing to keep the plotlines balanced. Scenes might be reordered if a certain character hadn’t been on screen in a while or if the emotional mood needed to be raised or lowered.

The Fresh-Faced Cast

Fast Times at Ridgemont High was the feature debut for Forest Whitaker, Anthony Edwards, Eric Stoltz, and Nicolas Cage. Cage, the youngest member of the cast at 17, was billed as Nicolas Coppola. The nephew of Francis Ford Coppola later adopted the last name ‘Cage’ because the young actor wanted to make a career for himself without trading on his family name.

Cates, Leigh, Reinhold, and Penn all had some film and television experience, but this film took them to the next level. They were up against a talented crop of their peers for the key roles in the film. Other contenders for Linda included Melanie Griffith, Tatum O’Neal, and Justine Bateman. Jodie Foster, Brooke Shields, and Ellen Barkin were considered for Stacy. Additionally, Cage auditioned for Brad but was cast as Brad’s Bud instead. Matthew Broderick passed on Spicoli. Other young actors who auditioned included Ralph Macchio, Kelly Preston, Michelle Pfeiffer, Elisabeth Shue, and Tom Hanks.

There is not a lot of emphasis on adults in the film, so there are fewer adult characters. Ray Walston stands out as history teacher Mr. Hand. Walston was best known at the time for portraying the title role in the 60s television show My Favorite Martian. Mr. Hand is the classic hard-edged authority figure. He’s convinced that everyone under 18 is on dope. His scenes with Spicoli are comic gold. Walston later expressed gratitude at the opportunity to play Mr. Hand because it finally shook him of the stereotype of Martin the Martian.

Other brief appearances worthy of note include comedian Taylor Negron as the man who delivers Spicoli’s pizza to history class and the delightfully strange Vincent Schiavelli as science teacher Mr. Vargas. Cameos include Nancy Wilson of the band Heart (and Crowe’s girlfriend at the time), actress Pamela Springsteen (and Bruce’s sister), and future director Martin Brest (and Heckerling’s ex-boyfriend and longtime colleague). Sports announcer Stu Nahan makes an appearance in a dream sequence in which Spicoli becomes a world champion surfer.

The Music

Fast Times at Ridgemont High featured a soundtrack that was representative of the music of the time. There was no original score, only music from bands that teens in the film and teens watching the film would have been listening to at the time. Among the popular 70s and 80s artists on the soundtrack were Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Billy Squier, The Cars, Sammy Hagar, Tom Petty, and Led Zeppelin. Heckerling wanted to add an edgier new wave flavor. As a result, she brought in Oingo Boingo, the Go-Go’s, and the Dead Kennedys.

Music is prevalent in the film as a part of teen culture. Damone the ticket scalper throws band names around throughout. School students wear rock t-shirts and posters adorn every bedroom. Rock tunes blare from every car stereo. Linda points out in the film that three female students at Ridgemont High dress like Pat Benatar, complete with short hair and tights that were the singer’s signature look at the time.

The Controversy

Heckerling wanted Fast Times at Ridgemont High to be more than a teen sex comedy. She was intent on portraying the sex lives of teenagers as they truly are, fraught with discomfort, anxiety, and fear. Stacy is the vehicle for the downside of sex in the film. She loses her virginity to a 20-something guy in a little league dugout in the middle of the night. She scares off Mark when she starts making out with him in her bedroom. Stacy thinks he isn’t interested in her and turns to Damone.

The sex scene that takes place between Stacy and Damone in the cabana is not the least bit titillating. It isn’t meant to be. They awkwardly undress, standing naked and vulnerable before each other. The sex lasts barely a minute. Then Damone, his ladies’ man persona evaporated, slinks out of the cabana and goes home.

Full frontal male nudity virtually guaranteed an X rating in those days, and that’s what the MPAA gave Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This meant no one under 18 would be allowed to see the film in theaters. X-rated films could not be promoted on television or in trade publications. It would have killed the movie. Heckerling recut the scene. Damone is reframed so we don’t see his penis. Shots of them screwing on the couch were trimmed just enough to pass MPAA inspection.

Other adult scenes suitable for an R-rated crowd were filmed in two versions. One was for theatrical release, and one was for use on broadcast television. Foul language was cleaned up, and the drug use was played down. In addition, the scene in which Linda demonstrates the proper fellatio technique on a carrot in the school cafeteria also went by the wayside.

The abortion subplot was not trimmed, and its frankness disturbed some audiences. Damone gets Stacy pregnant in their poolside tryst. After Stacy confronts him to own up to his role in their mutual problem, Damone agrees to pay for half the abortion. However, when he can’t raise the funds, he ducks out. Stacy ends up going through the procedure alone. Brad discovers the truth and promises his brotherly support and his silence.

The discomfort of the abortion storyline derives from the dramatic turn it injects into the film. Audiences are reminded that even in a comedic teen romp there are consequences to the characters’ actions. It was a dose of realism that Heckerling was adamant about including in the film. It gave the picture an added dimension that made it memorable.

The Movie

Universal Studio executives didn’t have high hopes for Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It was a little-known property made by and starring a bunch of unknowns. The studio brass wasn’t keen on the rating problems the film ran into, and they didn’t like all the sex, drugs, and foul language. The original plan was to release the film on the West Coast, cash in on its Southern California charm, then send it off to the cable market. The initial response was much bigger than anyone anticipated. The film made back its $5 million budget in the first couple of weeks, prompting a nationwide release.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High made nearly $30 million at the box office in its 1982 theatrical run. Its popularity grew immensely when it hit the cable and home video market. The film became a classic in the teen comedy genre.

Where are They Now?

More than any other film in recent memory, Fast Times at Ridgemont High was a proving ground for a generation of young talent. After the film’s release, Amy Heckerling continued her career as a director and producer of comedic films and television. Among her credits is the Look Who’s Talking franchise and Clueless (1995).

Judge Reinhold became a prolific film actor, appearing mainly in comedies. Highlights include the Beverly Hills Cop franchise and The Santa Clause films with Tim Allen. Phoebe Cates has the unique distinction of being perhaps the most freeze-framed actress in Hollywood. An urban legend that Heckerling subscribes to insists that many videocassette rental copies of Fast Times at Ridgemont High had a flicker during Cates’ brief topless scene indicating that the tapes were worn from being repeatedly paused. Cates later appeared in Gremlins (1984) and Bright Lights, Big City, (1988). She retired from acting in the early 2000s.

Jennifer Jason Leigh has become one of the most prolific and recognizable actors of her generation. She has worked with directors such as Paul Verhoeven, Ron Howard, Robert Altman, Sam Mendes, Quentin Tarantino, and Lena Dunham. Her body of work is extensive and eclectic. Sean Penn has received many accolades for his acting, including two Academy Awards. He has appeared in over 50 films. Penn is also known for his ongoing devotion to political and social causes.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High was popular enough to launch a television spin-off. Nevertheless, it only lasted for seven episodes. The film was a mainstay in home video formats and cable television for decades. It is listed on the American Film Institute’s one hundred greatest comedies. It is also on the National Film Registry for its historic, cultural, and aesthetic significance.

More from Cinema Scholars:

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF – A Retrospective Review At 50

POSSESSION (1981): A Retro Review

Keep up with Cinema Scholars on social media. Like us on Facebook, subscribe on YouTube, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.