Fast Times at Ridgemont High
National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
A group of Southern-California high school students ignore their studies in favor of indulging in their teenage distractions.
What critics thought
Initially dismissed as another disposable teen-sex comedy, Fast Times at Ridgemont High has grown substantially in reputation over the decades, now widely regarded as a sharp, humane portrait of adolescence. The sharpest critical disagreement was never really about whether the film was entertaining, but about whether its frank treatment of female sexuality — particularly Stacy's storyline — was exploitative or unusually empathetic for its era.
“a jumbled but appealing teen-age comedy with something of a fresh perspective on the subject.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“While neither as slapstick as Animal House, nor as apocalyptic and biting as Over the Edge, Fast Times at Ridgemont High is both serious and funny enough to hold its own in their company.”
LA Weekly
“Fast Times is the polar opposite of exploitation. Deep in its horny heart, this is the story of one fifteen-year-old girl's clumsy and sometimes painful introduction to the world of sex, related without judgment or preconception or the least hint of sentimentalization.”
Dana Stevens·Criterion Collection
“continues to resonate as a substantial time capsule of the period, capturing the music, the fashions, the attitudes and the social mores of the time”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun-Times
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorAmy Heckerling
StarringSean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Brian Backer
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
National Film Registry
A group of Southern-California high school students ignore their studies in favor of indulging in their teenage distractions.
What critics thought
Initially dismissed as another disposable teen-sex comedy, Fast Times at Ridgemont High has grown substantially in reputation over the decades, now widely regarded as a sharp, humane portrait of adolescence. The sharpest critical disagreement was never really about whether the film was entertaining, but about whether its frank treatment of female sexuality — particularly Stacy's storyline — was exploitative or unusually empathetic for its era.
“a jumbled but appealing teen-age comedy with something of a fresh perspective on the subject.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“While neither as slapstick as Animal House, nor as apocalyptic and biting as Over the Edge, Fast Times at Ridgemont High is both serious and funny enough to hold its own in their company.”
LA Weekly
“Fast Times is the polar opposite of exploitation. Deep in its horny heart, this is the story of one fifteen-year-old girl's clumsy and sometimes painful introduction to the world of sex, related without judgment or preconception or the least hint of sentimentalization.”
Dana Stevens·Criterion Collection
“continues to resonate as a substantial time capsule of the period, capturing the music, the fashions, the attitudes and the social mores of the time”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun-Times
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorAmy Heckerling
StarringSean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Brian Backer
Rent/Purchase