I love Phoebe Cates she is so beautiful but Jennifer Jason Leigh is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay way hotter and I grew up on Phoebe Cates in this and Gremlins and Paradise and Private School and Drop Dead Fred and that's hard to say but it's true. JJL looks so good in FTaRH, like somebody's baby alright! OMG. I love Jennifer & Phoebe!!This is the best movie ever. To all the newer generation kids watching this for the first time, even though older movies aren't as consistently stimulating as newer ones evolved to be, kinda lully, Fast Times at Ridgemont High is all about sex and it is so, so sexually stimulating that I don't even remember what I was talking about...........something to do with like, you learning to love it as you grow older like I learned to love megahot Jennifer over supersweet Phoebe, or something. Phoebe AND Jennifer's pool scene is the hottest nude scene in movies forever thanks to Phoebe AND Jennifer...........but Phoebe's part is particularly exquisite ODL, ODL! I love Phoebe Cates & JJL.BEsT tEEnAge hIGh SHcoOL SeX CoMEDy EVER!!

"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982) is a pop-culture scared cow that needs to be skewered. I'd rate it a 2 out of 10 for being a surprisingly inept and poorly scripted 1980's "classic."I just don't understand the fervent popular reverence for this movie among people in my age bracket. It was a minor legend when I was growing up. I was a fourth grader in 1982, and gradeschool boys could be divided into two groups: 1) those who had seen the "Phoebe Cates pool scene" and 2) those who had not, but wished they had. When I mentioned on social media a couple of months ago this year that I'd never actually gotten around to seeing this movie, my friends were roundly astonished.Why do they think this film is indispensable viewing? Maybe there's something I'm missing. I'm tempted to group "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" together with other beloved 80's films that just don't resonate with me -- like the understandably campy "Tron" (1982) or the unexpectedly sleep-inducing "The Big Chill" (1983). (I couldn't even finish the latter.) But I can't compare, because I know those movies are objectively good in a lot of ways, even if they weren't to my taste.Nor am I squeamish about raunchy sex comedies. (C'mon.) I pretty fondly remember "Porky's" (1981), "Porky's II: The Next Day" (1983), and "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984). I mentioned "Porky's" to the friend with whom I watched "Fast Times" -- I told her that it wasn't highbrow entertainment, but I still remember it being crudely, blasphemously funny.This movie was just a thinly scripted small collection of vignettes, with no overall plot outside of teenagers having sexual encounters that are ... awkward and bluntly sad, for the most part. (Sean Penn's character does drugs.) The dialogue is terrible. None of the characters are likable -- even the story's nerdy, well-meaning protagonist is grating.I didn't really laugh once at anything the director intended -- I only laughed at the haircuts and the clothes. I just can't believe that the screenwriter here was Cameron Crowe, who also wrote what is possibly my favorite movie of all time -- the widely but unfairly maligned "Vanilla Sky" (2001). (Crowe apparently adapted the screenplay from a novel he wrote.)There is some enjoyment to be had in watching Penn's stoner character. It was fun seeing a well known serious actor in an early comedic role. Penn is a decent character actor, and it looks like he was having fun. I do get why kids in the 80's found him funny.It's also fun seeing the handful of other young actors who would go on to great careers (Judge Reinhold is always funny) but, again, this is something that the filmmakers can't take credit for.Hey, if you want a slice-of-life dramatic comedy about teenagers in the 1980's, then go rent "The Breakfast Club" (1985). It wasn't perfect, but it was damn good movie that tackled many of the same issues as this movie, but with intelligence and effective humor. Or, try the oddball "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986). Both movies portray teenagers in the 80's who are smart, likable and emphathetic, in varying degrees. I myself went to high school in the 1980's, and I assure you they were around.

Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has a typical teen life in California. At fifteen, she works in a pizza parlor after school and longs to have her first true romantic encounter. That's right, she's never gone "all the way". Her older brother Brad (Judge Reinhold) also works hard at his job at Burger World and has been dating a fellow student for two years. Meanwhile, surfer-student Jeff Spicolli (Sean Penn) would far rather be smoking weed or riding the waves but his parents say he must attend school his senior year. What a shock when he gets put in a history class run by the no-nonsense Mr. Hand (Ray Walston). From his first late arrival, Spicolli rubs Mr. Hand the wrong way. A year long battle ensues. Unhappily, Stacy DOES become sexually active with the wrong guys. The first, a twenty-something, doesn't have any guilt about being with a gal so young and the second partner is also an out-for- himself dirtbag. Will she ever find someone who loves her? This classic coming of age film has its funny moments. Penn is a total laugh generator and many of the teens have such awkward moments they are comedic. Forest Whitaker likewise delivers many smiles for his annihilation of the opposing football team after his car is wrecked by others. But, there are also many serious scenes and situations which make the movie a good bet for teens who need reassurance that they are not alone with problems. Leigh is terrific and all of the other young actors are, too. The sets, costumes, script, and lively direction enhance the flick as does the wonderful soundtrack. If you somehow missed this movie, as I did, make a fast track to get your hands on it soon.

This is the kind of movie that makes me regret not growing up during the 1980s. Truly, it was a decade I wish I'd experienced. I love this movie, I can't really explain why, I just do. It gives me a sense of nostalgia, even though I wasn't born until the 1990s, so I don't quite know why, perhaps its nostalgia for a better era of 'coming of age' films or perhaps it's not nostalgia at all but rather a feeling that I can't explain.I've heard some people say it's not acted well. Well, it may not be the highest calibre but that doesn't take very much away from the unique plot of so many stories running into one another. You learn to feel for the characters, sympathise with some while laughing at others (anyone who has watched this will know which characters I'm referring to here). No, it isn't a dramatic masterpiece, but it's not lazy. It's easy watching and is a great underrated ambassador for an interesting decade.P.S. I had no idea that this is where 'Staceys Mom' comes from. Another aspect that links back to my nostalgic youth.