Fast Times at Ridgemont High went on to inspire movies ranging from Pretty in Pink to The Breakfast Club, Booksmart, and even Liquorice Pizza. Fast Times at Ridgemont High is now available on a limited edition Criterion Collection Blu-ray.
Amy Heckerling and Cameron Crowe’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High marked the birth of a new coming-of-age movie that placed teenage voices and experiences centre stage while reflecting a changing 1980s youth culture. It marked the start of the 1980s teen movie era, inspired the John Hughes pictures to come, and sparked a cinematic revolution. Fast Times at Ridgemont High would go on to inspire movies ranging from Pretty in Pink to The Breakfast Club, Booksmart and even Licorice Pizza. Rather than opting for pure comedy, Fast Times would lace its humour with the dramatic realism of classic coming-of-age pictures ranging from The Last Picture Show to A Swedish Love Story.
When I first watched Fast Times at Ridgemont High on VHS as a teenager, it was a revelation. It was the first teen comedy/drama I had seen that captured the reality and humour of adolescent life without adult judgment. It captured the speed and urgency of growing up, as well as the need to try to define one’s place and purpose in a confusing world. Here, teenagers worked on weekends, just like I did, their first steps into the adult world wrapped in a confusing void between being treated as children at school and adults at work. Each character had a unique story, and every scene was rooted in the dramas of teenage life and the realities of adolescence. This group of kids were just trying to make their way through adolescence with as few scars as possible.
Heckerling and Crowe would, of course, go on to make a range of coming-of-age classics. Crowe would bring us Say Anything… and the outstanding Almost Famous, while Heckerling’s iconic Clueless has become a cult classic. But Fast Times at Ridgemont High will forever be the pinnacle of Crowe and Heckerling’s careers. Fast Times created a new style of teen comedy for a new decade, built on the realities of adolescence and the conversations teens had in the privacy of their bedrooms. It reflected the unquestioning optimism of youth and the changing ’80s experience, while never shying away from the pitfalls and anxieties of growing up fast in a changing world.
Follow Us