Fast Times at Ridgemont High

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Fast Times at Ridgemont High

R

1982

1h 29m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

78%

Tomatometer

59 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a pretty, but inexperienced, teen interested in dating. Given advice by her uninhibited friend, Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates), Stacy gets trapped in a love triangle with nice guy Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) and his more assured buddy Mike Damone (Robert Romanus). Meanwhile, Stacy's classmate Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), who lives for surfing and being stoned, faces off against Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), a strict teacher who has no time for the slacker's antics.

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Critics Consensus

While Fast Times at Ridgemont High features Sean Penn's legendary performance, the film endures because it accurately captured the small details of school, work, and teenage life.

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Paul Wagman

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

08/15/2022

The movie ends up with no clear identity; it doesn't work as anything.

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Richard Roeper

Chicago Sun-Times

07/30/2022

The best of the racy teen comedies perfectly preserves the fashions and attitudes of the ’80s.

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Ernest Leogrande

New York Daily News

08/12/2015

2/4

What it doesn't have is a clear point of view, something that would make it of more interest than leafing through a high school yearbook.

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

03/06/2023

Order a pizza and learn about Cuba in an all-time teen comedy classic by Amy Heckerling and scripted by Cameron Crowe.

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Stephen Silver

Tilt Magazine

08/26/2022

4/5

In the perfect wheelhouse of teen movies: Sexually frank, right up to the inclusion of an abortion subplot, but not too crass or exploitative. (40th anniversary)

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Joe Lipsett

Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr Podcast

08/04/2022

3.5/5

40 years on, Heckerling's film is as iconic as ever. Fast Times...features no shortage of stand-out characters and memorable moments, but where the film truly excels is how refreshingly candid it is about sex, dating and abortion.

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Vincent S

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies May 22

Funny, sobering, truthful in spots and bright classic comedy with an all-time great comic performance by Sean Penn. Ray Walston, also great, has a nice rapport with Penn. The future cast of all stars show why they made it in Hollywood with their performances. Amy Heckerling gets great performances out of her cast and Cameron Crowe's writing is honest. This deserves its classic status.

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Melissa M

@Lisey Apr 26

Amy Heckerling doesn't get enough credit as a director. She's definitely one of the best she's made some of the most memorable movies. Like I could never be your woman, Clueless, Vamps, This is definitely one of her best. Cameron Crowe is the screenwriter. This movie is based on his book. There is an old saying that says you should always write what you know. And he definitely knows the high school experience. This is probably one of those cases where the movie it's just as awesome as the book. Even though the movie was made in 1982 it still has themes that even today's teenagers can relate to. Raging hormones, secret crushes, pressure to pass classes, serving no fries before their time, fast times at ridgemont high it's totally awesome. ..

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gioconda D

@gioconda Apr 26

Classic. Mandatory viewing for any cinematic repertoire

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John P.

@JPtheFrog Jan 28

Classic of the era!

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Zach J.

@Jenkins158 Dec 14

8/10

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tommy J

@RT55566390 Dec 1

A culturally impacting classic movie!

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Amy Heckerling

Director

Sean Penn

Jeff Spicoli

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Stacy Hamilton

Judge Reinhold

Brad Hamilton

Robert Romanus

Mike Damone

Brian Backer

Mark "Rat" Ratner

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - He's Gonna Kill Us!

2:12

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - Spicoli Orders a Pizza

1:54

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - Spicoli's Surfer Dream

1:29

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - Brad Gets Canned

2:24

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - Carrot Practice

1:58

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - No Shirt, No Shoes, No Dice

1:05

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - Mi-T Man

2:00

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - Spicoli Meets Mr. Hand

2:39

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - Jefferson Makes Lincoln Pay

2:00

Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Official Clip - I Don't Know

2:29

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Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) Presented by TCM: Fathom Events Trailer

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Synopsis

Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a pretty, but inexperienced, teen interested in dating. Given advice by her uninhibited friend, Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates), Stacy gets trapped in a love triangle with nice guy Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) and his more assured buddy Mike Damone (Robert Romanus). Meanwhile, Stacy's classmate Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), who lives for surfing and being stoned, faces off against Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), a strict teacher who has no time for the slacker's antics.

Director: Amy Heckerling
Producer: Art Linson, Irving Azoff
Screenwriter: Cameron Crowe
Distributor: MCA, MCA/Universal Pictures [us], MCA/Universal Home Video
Production Co: Refugee Films, Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 13, 1982, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2015
Runtime: 1h 29m