Review: 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' classic 80s comedy

"Fast Times At Ridgemont High - R            

                Amy Heckerling strikes gold with this tale of LA teenagers done exactly as they acted in 1982, inspiring the whole valley talk thing, and riffs on the phrase, "totally awesome!". Sean Penn's best movie. Nick Cage's first flick. And who can forget the Phoeme Cates poolside scene, which is actually a fantasy by a guy in a pirate hat! Ha! That gloriously titillating scene was ripped off countless times in other movies, but here is the original. And the portrayal of the naughty young lovers who make a kind of sordid and controversial decision was played down, but actually quite shocking for the time. This movie is a sweet teen comedy and a dirty comedy all in one. One of the best flicks, and certainly the best of 1982. All others were imitating.
     This movie was the landmark teen coming of age comedy of the time, beating out the brooding tempest of 'The Last American Virgin" and still recalled fondly as a fun and fitting movie. Even though the plot is similar to other movies around it, and the critics didn't like it for that, it was pulled off well, partly because Amy Heckerling understands teenagers, whereas the other directors kind of didn't, with the exception of John Hughes. 

     True, there is an abortion suggested in this one also, but unlike the sadistic other film, 'LA Virgin' we don't actually see inside the clinic or anything that happens there, as it should be. The audience, mainly teen boys, would have not liked to see that kind of stuff anyway.

     And the actors are memorable and still in movies today, a lot of them stinkers but they're around, and some have gone on to win Oscars, (including Penn), so the cast clearly knew what they were doing, even then. It helps to have a memorable cast and a pleasant ending. 

     The more realistic end for the stud guy is also satisfying. Nobody mopes off not stinking up for his or her self, and the girls even mess with his car, and even the dopey pizza guy gets a heroic moment. Stoner guy even gets to take the last history test. 

     Review by Adam Browne

Reviews: 'The Last American Virgin' is gloomy and has no virgins

"The Last American Virgin - R       

     Teen comedy and dark satire aside, this is one of the stupidest movies ever made. Really. Staple teen comedy, er drama, idea really, teen boys try to get laid, girl gets pregnant, stoners are there, and oddly enough there is an abortion. Unfortunately, Boaz Davidson is a sicko and decides to show the abortion room, and to strip down the actress to show the only full nude scene, while she's crying her eyes out. (This is a comedy)? This is just wrong. As a young teenager at the time, I found this movie gross and disturbing, not funny or even titillating at all. It was a horror movie, not a comedy, and not a good horror movie either. Later on, a rental confirmed it was actually lowbrow drivel. Not only that, the title is misleading. Nobody in the flick is a virgin! And it ends with the ridiculous non-ending of having the hero end up walking away like muted and neutered pansy, and he takes no responsibility for any of it. Crap. Festering crap. 

     This movie doesn't know what it's trying to be. It at first appears to be edgy teen comedy, but so much of it is peppered with angry and dark tones that it comes off as a drama, or even at times a horror movie. Like later 'Kids' it is raw and probably not something a young teen would have liked, at all. Unlike it's cousin, 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High', a lighthearted almost feminist take on the 'boy's first time' movies of the time, this brooding little farce doesn't know if it wasn't to be cynical or just plain mean. 

     Part of this is the director's fault. The story is based upon his earlier work, Lemon Popsickle,by all accounts an equally dreary movie.  Boaz seems obsessed with showing how he personally was screwed over by the friends he thought he had. That's the main problem. 

     In Fast Times, Heckerling does not include an obvious foil for herself, well maybe the girl at the pool, but she is not brooding about it. Clearly her life turned out just fine. 

     And yes there are actually no virgins in the movie by the end, and everyone is bitter for it. Maybe in a decade they will all be forgotten or dead, while those in the other film will be senators or something. Clearly the tone fails, and really the only reason for it being an R rated movie was the depressing nude scene and the cussing.
     Review by Adam Browne