Combustible Celluloid


New movie reviews, DVD reviews, interviews, and all things film.

rss for combustible celluloid
 
Home | Archive | About | Cinematical.com | Lists | News | Links | E-mail me | Sign up for my weekly newsletter!  
 



Public Enemies ***
Surveillance **1/2
Whatever Works ***
More
 




Sno Cone, Inc.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Tokyo!
12 Rounds
Tunnel Rats
Two Lovers
Zane Grey Theater: Complete Season One
More
 

Film Features

Kathryn Bigelow
Willem Dafoe: The 2009 CineVegas Interview
David Carradine
A 2002 Interview with Edward Asner
Vinessa Shaw
Henry Selick
2008: The Year's Ten Best Films
The San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2008
The 25 Best DVDs of 2008
Bruce Campbell
Darren Aronofsky and Marisa Tomei
Josh Brolin
A Tribute to Paul Newman
Steve Coogan on Hamlet 2
Manny Farber (1917-2008)
Bernie Mac (1957-2008)
Emily Mortimer
Brad Anderson
Don Cheadle at CineVegas
Abel Ferrara at CineVegas
Tina Sinatra
My Top 100 Films [Updated]
My Top 60 Directors [Updated]
The Top 50 Movies of the Past Ten Years (1997-2006)
Terry Zwigoff on the new Bad Santa Director's Cut
Alfonso Cuarón Interview
Guillermo Del Toro Interview
Christmas Movies
Combustible Celluloid's Big Guide to Halloween & Horror Movies
Cult Movies
Actress Interview Gallery
The Top 100
More Features and Interviews
 

Film Books

Not Quite a Memoir: Of Films, Books, the World, by Judy Stone
James Agee: The Library of America Collection, by James Agee
Just Making Movies, by Ronald L. Davis
Guide to Essential Movies, by Joe Leydon
Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, by Robert S. Birchard
Profoundly Disturbing, by Joe Bob Briggs
A Third Face, by Samuel Fuller
Dark Lover, by Emily Leider
Agee on Film, by James Agee
Lulu in Hollywood, by Louise Brooks
Negative Space, by Manny Farber
5001 Nights at the Movies, by Pauline Kael
More Books
 



Home
Reviews A-C
Reviews D-F
Reviews G-J
Reviews K-M
Reviews N-Q
Reviews R-T
Reviews U-Z
 

The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

 
SEARCH MOVIES / CELEB

Advanced Search

 
© 1997-2009 Combustible Celluloid



Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)

Hey Dude, Let's Party

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Fast Times at Ridgemont High on DVD.

Based on Cameron Crowe's book, for which he went undercover at a real high school, Fast Times at Ridgemont High centers around several characters and their problems, none of which have anything to do with homework or studying.

Sean Penn plays by far the most effective and memorable character, the stoner/surfer Jeff Spicoli, who gets all the best lines and whose look inspired a season of fashion statements. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Stacy, a shy, naïve girl who feels the pressure to have sex in order to stay up to date. Phoebe Cates is Linda, her cheerful friend who plays like she has more experience than she actually has. And Judge Reinhold plays Stacy's older brother Brad, whose coveted job helps pay for his coveted car, but who can't get his priorities straight. Mike (Robert Romanus) is the school's wannabe cool guy who scalps concert tickets; his best friend is the school shy guy "Rat" (Brian Backer).

I must have seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High a dozen times in the summer of 1983 when it debuted on cable, just before I entered high school. It clicked with my friends and myself because of its odd mix of emotional truth combined with sex and stoner comic relief. We wanted to be like Spicoli, but in reality we were more like "Rat," and the film allowed us to safely identify with both.

Director Amy Heckerling (Clueless) almost encourages the film's shapelessness, letting the individual moments speak for themselves, rather than molding a cohesive whole. Yet the lazy direction gives the film a kind of grungy look (even on the new DVD), which is rescued only by the bouncy early 1980s song selection.

Universal has released their new DVD as part of the two-disc Ultimate Party Collection along with Dazed and Confused (1993). Extras include a commentary by Heckerling and Crowe and several featurettes.

Starring: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold, Eric Stoltz Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, Ray Walston, Forest Whitaker
Written by: Cameron Crowe, based on his book
Directed by: Amy Heckerling
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 90 minutes
Date: November 20, 2004

Home
News
Search Reviews
Classic Movies
DVDs
Features
Film Books
Gallery
Links
About
The Rating System
Email Me
All scribblings © 1997-2009 Combustible Celluloid