Now, plain and simple, this movie is nothing less then pure truth and great comedy. It’s about the high-school experience. What makes this movie so interesting is that the characters are so dead-on, we know every one of them (or
Now, plain and simple, this movie is nothing less then pure
truth and great comedy. It’s about the high-school experience. What
makes this movie so interesting is that the characters are so
dead-on, we know every one of them (or were them). The film’s
writer Cameron Crowe (“Jerry Maguire”) went undercover as a
high-school student to observe real high-school kids (Crowe was
22).
Warning: This movie was made pre-HIV/AIDS era, so be sure to be safe. Also, this movie involves the use of marijuana and myself or The Garden Island newspaper are not liable for what readers choose to do after this film. It does NOT glorify drug use, but it’s in this film or alluded to a number of times.
Now, plain and simple, this movie is nothing less then pure truth and great comedy. It’s about the high-school experience. What makes this movie so interesting is that the characters are so dead-on, we know every one of them (or were them). The film’s writer Cameron Crowe (“Jerry Maguire”) went undercover as a high-school student to observe real high-school kids (Crowe was 22).
This movie has more “soon-to-be” movie stars then any other film ever made. From it’s Oscar-winning stars Sean Penn and Forest Whitaker to Judge Reinhold (“Beverly Hills Cop 1-3”), Eric Stoltz (“Mask”), Anthony Edwards (“Top Gun”) and Oscar winner Nicolas Cage, who then went by Nicolas Coppola (yes, “Godfather” Director Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew). I can’t even get into the plot, because it will sound generic. However the film is as seminal as “The Breakfast Club” to anyone over 30 and, like the aforementioned film, it continues to find generation after generation.
Another classic aspect of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” is the soundtrack, featuring great ‘80s songs from Jackson Browne and Tom Petty. In a true film/music rarity this movie has a Led Zeppelin song in it. Although Led Zeppelin is famous for not licensing its music to anyone, Crowe (“Say Anything”) was a rock-journalist for Rolling Stone magazine and knew the band because he had toured with them. So he called in a favor. Crowe also wrote the book (same title) that this movie is based on. This film was his first script and he’d go on to become an Oscar-winning writer in 2000 with “Almost Famous.”
The humility of this film shines through its simple direction, truthful handling of characters by Amy Heckerling (“Clueless”) and dead-on dialogue from Crowe’s pen. I’ve been watching the movie since, well let’s say I was too young — but I continue to watch it and it never fades. A fun game to play upon second viewing is to spot all the unknown actors who went on to success. As I mentioned before that is another reason why this film is a time capsule; we see young artists doing their thing before Hollywood, fame or money and drugs got to them (some of them).
Lihu‘e Blockbuster has a special edition with a GREAT making-of documentary. Go rent it before someone else does! With the ‘80s top 10 (right), enjoy the era of sequels.
I wanted to take the time to let everyone know about the Lihu‘e Public Library Film Club. You get two free movies a month. Call 241-3222 for the schedule. We’ve been showing free movies all year. We have a special selection coming up that has been playing (and winning) film festivals around the country and we end our year with the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
1. “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)
2. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981)
3. “Rambo: First Blood” (1982)
4. “Return of the Jedi” (1983)
5. “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984)
6. “Beverly Hills Cop” (1984)
7. “Rocky 4” (1985)
8. “Beverly Hills Cop 2” (1987)
9. “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989)
10. “Major League” (1989)
