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Fast Times At Ridgemont High


Brad Hamilton

Fast Times Poll  

19 members have voted

  1. 1. Who was your favorite character in "Fast Times At Ridgemont High"?

    • Brad Hamilton
    • Jeff Spicoli
    • Mark "Rat" Ratner
      0
    • Stacy Hamilton
    • Mr. Hand
    • Linda Barett
      0
    • Mike Damone
    • Mr. Vargas
      0
  2. 2. What was the best line in the film?

    • Jeff Spicoli: People on 'ludes should not drive!
      0
    • Mike Damone:... And five, now this is the most important, Rat. When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV.
    • Mr. Hand: What are you, people? On dope?
    • Brad Hamilton: Jeez. Doesn't anyone fucking knock anymore?
    • Jeff Spicoli: Heading over to the Australian and Hawaiian internationals, and then me and Mick are going to wing on over to London and jam with the Stones!
      0
    • Brad Hamilton: I shall serve no fries before their time.
    • Mike Damone: You are a wuss: part wimp, and part pussy.
      0
    • Jeff Spicoli: All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine
    • Stacy Hamilton: When a guy has an orgasm, how much comes out?
      0
    • Linda Barrett: A quart or so.
    • Brad Hamilton: Mister, if you don't shut up I'm gonna kick one hundred percent of your ass!
      0
    • Jeff Spicoli: Well Stu I'll tell you, surfing's not a sport, it's a way of life, you know, a hobby. It's a way of looking at that wave and saying, "Hey bud, let's party!"


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Another of my favourite scenes is when the kids come and ask Damone if he has Blue Oyster Cult tickets, and Damone says "No I don't have any Blue Oyster Cult tickets...where were you 3 months ago? I was THIS close to working at 7-11."

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Wow, I had no idea Swensen's was still around. Although, if they are still in LA, they're doing a good job of hiding. All the old Swensen's I remember in Santa Monica, Westwood and Hollywood are all gone. Haagen Dazs and Penguins wiped them out.

Even when I'm in San Francisco I don't notice any Swensen's. Can't really recall how good they were and where they stand in relation to Haagen Dazs, Baskin-Robbins, Coldstone Creamery, Fosselman's, etc.

1999 Hyde Street

San Francisco, CA 94109

wiki

Swensen sold the rights to franchise Swensen's Ice Cream Factories and Restaurants to William Meyers and investors in the 1970s but retained exclusive rights in San Francisco and continued to operate his original store (which still exists today) until 1994, a year before his death at age 83. Under new management the company expanded to 400 stores, mostly franchise locations, by the 1980s. However, in the 1990s it contracted to half of that size before being acquired and expanding again, mostly in Asia.

Today the company is owned by International Franchise Corp (IFC) of Markham, Ontario, Canada, which bought the franchise business from CoolBrands in 2006.

Edited by Silver Rider
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Enough talk about song licensing and ice cream...it's making me hungry.

Back on topic. Regarding your poll, BH, my favourite character on seeing the movie was Jeff Spicoli, and he remained so for most of my life.

But now, I find myself liking Mr. Hand the most...Ray Walston is dead-on in the role. By underplaying him perfectly, he is hysterically funny in a way a Rodney Dangerfield-type wouldn't have been.

Aloha, Mr. Hand. :wave:

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Depends on if whoever oversees licensing is aware of the song's use.

Oh good grief. They've got lawyers on retainer shutting down ordinary fans who produced a batch of ten dollar t-shirts and your suggesting they've overlooked the use of Led Zeppelin's music in a major motion picture release. I've got nothing more to say about this.

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Oh good grief. They've got lawyers on retainer shutting down ordinary fans who produced a batch of ten dollar t-shirts and your suggesting they've overlooked the use of Led Zeppelin's music in a major motion picture release. I've got nothing more to say about this.

And if I were one of their lawyers I would know that.

Edited by Silver Rider
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Also, I always got the impression that Stacy got pregnant from the stereo guy and not Damone. Remember how she complained about gaining so much weight sometime after her date with stereo guy?

That's interesting because that allows Damone, for all his faults, to remain a cool character at heart instead of becoming a real jerk.

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As to say who would take a chick to a baseball dugout to get busy, well.....I grew up in the smallest city of New York state and there weren't that many place to choose from!!! ;):slapface:

Too much time lapsed between the stereo guy and Damone's quick romp with Stacy. It had to be Damone's "bun".

Another good line -

"Alright, so I've got you down for Earth, Wind and Fire and little brother." (Damone)

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I think the whole point of "the point: was to make the stereo guy a complete scumbag, and underscore Stacy's complete vulnerability. Recall the way she had to look up at graffiiti on the walls during her "first time". In my time we had a make out spot we would go to up off of Havenhurst near Mullholland Dr. a spot where you had views back down to the valley, over to Westwood and Hollywood hills, or during the day the coastline near Santa Monica. No way we would go to a baseball field in Encino or anywhere else. Well, other than to maybe get stoned.

Also, I always got the impression that Stacy got pregnant from the stereo guy and not Damone. Remember how she complained about gaining so much weight sometime after her date with stereo guy?

You see, there ARE good things that can come from internet message boards. Just when you think you've had enough of trolls, a moment like this happens.

Brad, I had never in my previous viewings of the film conceived the idea that it was Ron, the Pacific Stereo jerk, that impregnated Stacy, not Mike Damone. You've given us all something to consider.

I'm not ready to say it was definitely Ron just yet. I'll have to rewatch the film...I think there may be timing issues with your thesis.

And even if it does turn out to be Ron, it doesn't TOTALLY absolve Damone. He still left her in the lurch at her hour of need, too chicken-shit cowardly to even face her. Ok, so he couldn't come up with his share of the money...but at least man up, and drive her there and stay with her so she isn't alone.

And OH MY GOD!!! Hamilton, I know EXACTLY that spot off Mulholland Dr. you're talking about! Made out there a few times, myself.

Small world.

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Ok, so he couldn't come up with his share of the money...but at least man up, and drive her there and stay with her so she isn't alone.

But that's the thing, Damone's just a high school student. Meanwhile, the Stereo Guy, who is an adult, has a steady job and might be responsible for the pregnancy, accepts no responsibility. I like this thesis on Stereo Guy being the one responsible, because it's such a great contrast against everything Phoebe Cate's character says about older men. It makes her, Stacy and Damone seem that much more naive. We can only imagine to what extent Phoebe's character gets taken advantage of in college because of her naivety concerning older men.

Anyway, though this works quite well for a plot it may not have worked so well for a light comedy film.

Edited by SteveAJones
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It was funny how Linda (Pheobe Cates) when asked by Stacy about how much "comes out" of a man; Linda replies "about a quart.' It was a laughable moment (probably scary to inexperienced young girls), but it showed just how much Linda really didn't have a clue about.

Film critic Roger Ebert hated the film, I think he called it "scuzzy" or something. But really between all the funny lines and silly teenage stuff, there were good life lessons taught as well. For example the Mr. Hand / Jeff Spicoli relationship.

Hopefully everyone had a Jeff Spicoli in their class, or a Mr. Hand and even a Dennis Taylor boss to have enriched our very short youthful times. Roger Ebert was amazingly clueless on this one.

:)

Linda was just kidding around with Stacey when she said a quart. She may have been naive about older men, but she knew about sex. In fact, when Stacey's eyes get all big when she says that, Linda immediately reassures her she was joking.

Frankly, there were much better quotes you could've chosen for Linda in your poll.

And don't worry Brad, your little sister ain't a slut. Like most girls her age, she sometimes confuses sex and desire with love and acceptance. Adolescence and high school is a minefield.

As for Damone, since he is a high schooler, I'll cut him some slack...but just barely.

Actually, it was because this was the first teen comedy to deal with things like oral sex and abortion that got prudes like Roger Ebert all in a lather. Every generation likes to think they discovered sex. People get all excited about oral sex between students today, when actually kidz have been giving each other head for as long as I can remember.

You can't get pregnant from it, and for most girls, it's a surer way to orgasm than vaginal intercourse, which when you're talking about teenage boys, usually doesn't last long enough for the girl to get off.

Oh, and Silver Rider suggested this was for over 17 and over. I think that's a bit late. I think 15 and over is suitable...14 even, depending how mature the kid is. There are many teachable moments a parent can have with their kid watching this movie, regarding personal responsibility and respecting others and sexual boundaries.

You want to discuss these issues BEFORE your kid enters high school hell, not AFTER, when it may be too late.

That's how I see it anyway...watched it with my godson with his dad before he started high school, and plan on loaning my dvd to my sister-in-law in a couple of years to watch with my nieces.

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Oh, and Silver Rider suggested this was for over 17 and over.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High was rated R in 2005. If you were under 17 and wished to see the film then, you needed to bring a parent or adult guardian with you.

Edited by Silver Rider
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From the blog:

"Over the past week, for example, Web lookups for "phoebe cates" jumped 17% and related queries for "phoebe cates today" also surged. "

I believe I have the answer for this Steve. Aftter you posted those hot video clips of Phoebe in this thread, there was probably a huge rush of inquiries by a vast sea of Led Zeppelin fans from around the world.

At least we are keeping her memory alive. :beer:

Undoubtedly so on all counts. I've never forgotten Phoebe but I commend you for starting a thread that rekindled not only my own interest but that of so many others.

:beer:

phoebecates%2byoung.jpg

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I read somewhere that back when "Fast Times" was released on VHS that after a few years (or whatever) that the (in)famous scene of Phoebe Cates coming out of the pool and taking her top off was rewound so much that it literally screwed up thousand of videotapes. Of course that being because alot of young adolescents and even adult males kept rewinding the tapes to Jack Off to the incredible Breasts and Beauty of Phoebe. I, personally, am guilty of such pleasure. What American heterosexual male isn't?

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Fast Times at Ridgemont High was rated R in 2005. If you were under 17 and wished to see the film then, you needed to bring a parent or adult guardian with you.

Ok, Silver Rider :)

You see, I thought you were stating your personal opinion on who should see it; didn't realize you were just referring to the MPAA rating.

Of course, the R rating didn't stop lots of kids sneaking in anyway. In fact, theatres had gotten so blasé about it all, that if you were tall or looked mature for your age, you could buy a ticket to an R movie, no problemo.

This probably wasn't the case in the bible-belt.

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Damn straight Strider! biggrin.gif

I remember talking my dad into letting me see 9 1/2 Weeks when it came out and I was 15 or 16. He brought his girlfriend along and I sat a few seats down from them. (I really wanted to see Mickey Rourke).

MPAA ratings are easy to get around esp when it comes to renting movies so in 2005, renting Fast Times wouldn't be too hard to do.

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The MPAA is a joke; a shadowy organization whose bizarre decisions over the years have become legendary. Take this year, for instance...they gave THE KING'S SPEECH an R, just because of a few swear words, that in the context of the film weren't gratuitous at all, and quite reasonable.

You should've heard the howls of laughter and outrage from my UK and European acquaintances over that one. Of course, it's an old joke in Europe that in the US a kid shouldn't see a man kissing a woman's breast; hacking it off with a chainsaw is ok, though.

And you see it time and time again...the MPAA cut violent movies more slack than films with a sexual theme...and small independent films get tougher treatment than studio fare.

Witness the Black Swan/Blue Valentine imbroglio. Both films feature a woman receiving oral pleasure...in Black Swan it's Mila Kunis and Nathalie Portman, and in Blue Valentine, Michelle Williams is on the receiving end from Ryan Gosling. Blue Valentine even shows less nudity than the Black Swan scene.

Yet, Black Swan got an R, while the MPAA slapped Blue Valentine with an NC-17, which is the kiss of death in the US, as most newspapers and theatres won't advertise or show NC-17 movies.

Only after an uproar ensued did the MPAA on appeal change the rating to an R.

Sadly, this is what we're stuck with. For it's only the the film industry's creation of the MPAA in the 60's that has kept the government from sticking its censurous-nose in the mix. There's a good documentary that came out on the MPAA a couple of years ago...it's called "This Film is Not Rated".

Back to Fast Times...I know there's quite a few women here, who were old enough to see it when it came out, either in theatres or home video, and who now have daughters of their own. Do you agree with me that this movie offers an excellent opportunity for a mother to engage her daughter on the pressures to have sex, knowing when it's the right time, all the trials and tribulations of high school?

Even though Cameron Crowe wrote the script, much was made of the fact that the director was Amy Heckerling, and that it was her woman's point-of-view

that allowed the movie to transcend the usual teen-sex comedy cliches. In other words, Stacy and Linda were able to be flesh-and-blood characters, not just stand around in bikinis, which was, and still is the norm.

So women of the LZ board...what say you?

You really had to be there back in 1982 to appreciate how groundbreaking and culturally significant Fast Times at Ridgemont High was. And you had to be North American, it seems as well.

Discuss.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Good film. I really like Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Anything that Jeff Spicoli says in the film is funny and he is also my favourite character. The quote with Led Zeppelin in it was really good and surprising but my favourites are Spicoli's quotes like: "Aloha Mr. Hand", "Those guys are fags!", "Something must have happened to them.", "Hey Bud, let's party", "Awesome! Totally awesome! All right Hamilton!", etc.

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Yeah Spicoli had lots of great lines. One of my favorites was the one where he was demonstrating to Mr Hand what he had actually learned in his American History class:

"What Jefferson was saying was, Hey! You know, we left this England place 'cause it was bogus; so if we don't get some cool rules ourselves - pronto - we'll just be bogus too! "

:thumbsup:

Yes, that was a great quote. At first I thought that it was all in Spicoli's head when Mr. Hand came to his house. And I totally forgot about "I don't know". :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

ATTENTION ALL "FAST TIMES" FANS IN THE LA AREA!

Tonight(Friday July 8) at 7:30pm, director Amy Heckerling will be at the American Cinematheque's Aero Theatre in Santa Monica for a screening of two of her films, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Clueless". There will be a Q & A between the films and who knows...maybe some "special guests"?

Read about it here...Fast Times/Clueless at the Cinematheque

Edited by Strider
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