Tone and context. That's the problem with this movie, and it's all Amy Heckerling's fault. The material is funny and the actors are great, but the execution results in an rambling and uneven film.
I saw this movie as part of my new quest to see popular films that I have never veiwed, to avoid those conversation moments of "You've never seen Napoleon Dynamite?" Other films on this list include Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Garden State, Sixteen Candles, The Notebook and Armageddeon. I hope they are better made than this movie.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Cameron Crowe, who also adapted his work into the screenplay. Crowe, then working as a journalist, posed as a California high school student for a year and recorded his experinces. I have not read the book, I have a strong feeling it is better than the film, because the movie's central problem is that there is no point of view. Heckerling simply records what happens, which is occasionally funny (sometimes very funny) but doesn't add up to anything. There is no heart and no point.
The movie has several loose plot lines, but the main thread involves Stacy's (Jennifer Jason Leigh) attempts to get laid, and a series of misadventures that prevents this. The absolute nadir of the film is when this non-stop comedy takes an awkward turn involving Stacy's abortion. It's not funny, doesn't say much and should not be in a movie this light.
On the plus side, there are some very moments in the film. I particularly liked the manager of a fast food restraunt who takes his job much too seriously. Also, the film is famous for its cast of young actors who later became famous and they are all great: Leigh, Sean Penn, Forest Whitaker, Nicholas Cage, Nancy Wilson, Judge Rienhold, Anthony Edwards, and Eric Stoltz. Although I can't say much for Heckerling, I will giver her credit for moving the short (90 minuet) film along at a fast clip-it is never boring.
This could have been a great film it had been directed by someone like Kevin Smith, what is a smartass uninvolved narrator commenting on everything and some more focus. It's a not a terrible movie, but it's also not worth the time it takes to watch it.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)