{"id":246757,"date":"2021-05-11T01:05:21","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T22:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/32-things-we-learned-from-the-fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-commentary\/"},"modified":"2021-05-11T01:05:21","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T22:05:21","slug":"32-things-we-learned-from-the-fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/32-things-we-learned-from-the-fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#32 Things We Learned from the &#8216;Fast Times at Ridgemont High&#8217; Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e9c02f96d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e9c02f96d\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/32-things-we-learned-from-the-fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-commentary\/#Fast_Times_at_Ridgemont_High_1982\" >Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/32-things-we-learned-from-the-fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/32-things-we-learned-from-the-fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#32 Things We Learned from the &#8216;Fast Times at Ridgemont High&#8217; Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.9--><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Welcome to\u00a0<\/i><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Commentary Commentary,<\/i><\/b><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits an 80s comedy classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/i>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>1982\u2019s <strong><em>Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/em><\/strong> remains an all-timer when it comes to teen comedies. It was an early feature, sometimes the first, for numerous talents who went on to stardom, and that includes director <strong>Amy Heckerling<\/strong> and writer <strong>Cameron Crowe<\/strong>. Both made their feature debuts here, and both found even greater success later on with the likes of <em>Look Who\u2019s Talking<\/em> (1989) and <em>Jerry Maguire<\/em> (1996), respectively. Neither have done all that much this century as Heckerling\u2019s last film was 2012\u2019s <em>Vamps<\/em>\u00a0and Crowe hasn\u2019t made anything since 2001\u2019s <em>Vanilla Sky<\/em> \u2014 I said what I said.<\/p>\n<p>The film has just joined the Criterion Collection, so keep reading to see what I heard on the filmmakers\u2019 commentary track for <em>Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fast_Times_at_Ridgemont_High_1982\"><\/span>Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Commentators: Amy Heckerling (director), Cameron Crowe (writer)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.<\/strong> Heckerling recalls that one of the film\u2019s producers wanted \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qRai43YkM_c\">Raised on the Radio<\/a>\u201d by the Ravyns as the opening title track because it was going to be \u201ca big hit song.\u201d The filmmaker went with her preferred choice instead, \u201cWe Got the Beat\u201d by The Go-Gos, but still used the other song elsewhere in the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> Crowe\u2019s thanks Heckerling for having the idea to center much of the film\u2019s action inside the mall. \u201cI\u2019m agoraphobic,\u201d she says, \u201cI don\u2019t like going outside, so the idea of a bunch of fast-food places on a s<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a> outside in fresh air was frightening to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> Crowe breaks the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> to her that the Sherman Oaks Galleria is closing \u2014 this track was recorded in 1999 \u2014 and she\u2019s crushed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> The cast is stacked with familiar faces, but the list of those who auditioned and didn\u2019t land a role is equally big including Ally Sheedy, Meg Tilly, Matthew Broderick, and Ralph Macchio (who they couldn\u2019t afford).<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> <strong>Jennifer Jason Leigh<\/strong> actually got a temporary job at the pizza place where her character works before the film\u2019s production began. \u201cShe\u2019s a method actor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> The film\u2019s \u201cteenagers\u201d only included two actual teens \u2014 <strong>Phoebe Cates<\/strong> was nineteen, and <strong>Nicolas Cage<\/strong> (who lied to them about his age) was actually only seventeen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> <strong>Sean Penn<\/strong> is wearing a half-wig. \u201cThat\u2019s his <em>Taps<\/em> hair on the top and a wig on the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> Heckerling was confused by the prospect of picking a car for Brad (<strong>Judge Reinhold<\/strong>) to drive, as being from the Bronx she was flabbergasted at the thought of teens owning cars and knowing how to drive them. She thought maybe a junker, but Crowe and others kept telling her he should have a \u201ccherry\u201d car which left her even more befuddled.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> This was <strong>Forest Whitaker<\/strong>\u2018s first time auditioning for a film, and Heckerling recalls seeing him out the window after securing the job. \u201cHe was skipping to his car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> Penn asked Heckerling for permission to drink a little something something before his scene where he falls out of the VW bus to go to school. She said yes given that it was his only scene that day, and \u201cthat\u2019s my only story about any substances on this movie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> Heckerling wanted Fred Gwynne as Mr. Hand (<strong>Ray Walston<\/strong>) but the actor passed as the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a> featured \u201ctoo much nasty stuff.\u201d The character is big in the novel, but Walston proved even little guys can be mean assholes. Unsurprisingly, the elder actor didn\u2019t quite gel with Penn who improvised a line calling Hand a \u201cred-faced mother fucker\u201d \u2014 which sent Walston to Heckerling to complain about the kid not following the script.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> Find someone who loves you as much as Crowe loves hearing Penn say \u201cYou dick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> Producer Art Linson was upset by the \u201cblowjob\u201d scene in the cafeteria where Linda (Cates) and Stacy (Leigh) practice on carrots. No, he wasn\u2019t angry at its existence \u2014 he was irritated that Heckerling didn\u2019t make it sexier. \u201cYou should have scene lips with big carrots going in and out.\u201d Good lord.<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> They had seriously considered Cage for the role of Brad, but Heckerling felt he wasn\u2019t a good fit as Stacy\u2019s brother. Leigh always felt \u201cdown\u201d compared to the rest of the cast\u2019s pep, and the director thought pairing her with another \u201cdown\u201d performer wouldn\u2019t work. \u201cWe wanted something a little brighter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> Surprising exactly no one, Cage \u201cmade up some really weird improvs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> \u201cI was trying to make sex seem scary and uncomfortable,\u201d says Heckerling regarding her approach to showing Stacy\u2019s awkward first time. As with the carrot scene referenced above, they weren\u2019t aiming to make a salacious T&amp;A comedy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> Thom Mount, the head of Universal Pictures at the time, wanted David Lynch to direct the film. They sent him the script, but he wisely replied \u201cThis is funny. Not really my material.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> Universal wanted a \u201cSpicoli Goes to College\u201d follow-up almost im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> Spicoli\u2019s (Penn) dream where he wins a surfing award was originally meant to see him on <em>The Tonight Show<\/em>. Johnny Carson passed on the cameo, so they offered it to Tom Snyder \u2014 \u201cI talked to [him] on the day he was leaving <em>The Tomorrow Show<\/em>, and he was depressed and said \u2018I\u2019m gonna go get drunk now but thanks for thinking of me.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> Crowe asks what she thought while watching dailies during production, and Heckerling reveals that \u201cI was so crazy about all the guys and so worried about how the girls were coming out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> Numerous fans over the years have pointed out to Crowe that Led Zeppelin\u2019s \u201cKashmir\u201d isn\u2019t on <em>Led Zeppelin IV<\/em> and is instead on <em>Physical Graffiti<\/em>. He knows that. \u201cThrough a publishing snafu of some kind\u201d they were unable to secure something from <em>Led Zeppelin IV<\/em> but were offered this song instead solely because Crowe was a known entity to the band.<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> <strong>Brian Backer<\/strong> plays Rat, and he was apparently cursed at and berated during early <em>Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/em> screenings by audiences upset that his character didn\u2019t make follow through with Stacy after their date. People are weird. \u201cThis gives me a stomach ache even now,\u201d says Crowe watching their awkward encounter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> Cates\u2019 topless scene saw her worried that people were watching from nearby rooftops despite it being a closed set. She should have been worried about Reinhold\u2019s decision to have a big dildo in his hand \u2014 it surprised her when she opened the door and sent her flying back into a wall on the first take.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> The extra at 55:39 nearly ruined the take.<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> Crowe recalls Cates asking him how the pool scene went, and he said people were saying she was great \u201cfor a model.\u201d her face fell and she didn\u2019t talk to him for a while. He apologizes for his choice of words and corrects himself that she is great as an actor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>26.<\/strong> The cabana sex scene between Stacy and Mike (<strong>Robert Romanus<\/strong>) features full-frontal nudity on his part, and the studio warned that it would get them an X-rating. Heckerling challenged it on the equality front, and the MPAA reps said \u201cthe male organ is aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>27.<\/strong> Crowe mentions <em>Over the Edge<\/em> (1979) as something of a reference point, but there\u2019s no shout out for <em>The Last American Virgin<\/em> which released the month before <em>Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/em> and features some similarly dramatic character beats.<\/p>\n<p><strong>28.<\/strong> That\u2019s director <strong>Martin Brest<\/strong> as a doctor at 1:11:26. \u201cHe was my ex-boyfriend,\u201d says Heckerling. Her ex-husband is the lead singer of the band at the graduation dance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>29.<\/strong> Penn gave numerous takes for his \u201cOh, gnarly!\u201d line at the organ removal scene using different expressions, and Universal threw out the footage back in 1985.<\/p>\n<p><strong>30.<\/strong> Crowe\u2019s parents wanted to visit the set, and the only day that was available was when they were shooting the scene in Spicoli\u2019s bedroom with Mr. Hand. The problem was that Penn didn\u2019t like having non-essential crew members on set during his scenes. Crowe brought them in anyway and kept them well out of Penn\u2019s eyesight, but after the scene was finished the actor approached Crowe and said \u201csomebody\u2019s here, right?\u201d Crowe said yes but added that Penn couldn\u2019t see them to which the actor replied \u201cbut I felt them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>31.<\/strong> John Landis visited the set at the request of the studio who were concerned because they expected a teen comedy but \u201cwere getting people crying and getting abortions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>32.<\/strong> The <em>Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/em> end credits are influenced by the likes of <em>American Graffiti<\/em> (1973) and <em>Mean Streets<\/em> (1973), obviously.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote\">\u201cThis is the first fight I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey went from looking like teenagers to looking like thirty-year-olds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can still smell this mall.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m amazed that we were able to film this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s Phoebe. She\u2019s a hottie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had some of that pizza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had to use a lot of music that I totally hated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was happy as a clam to have her clothes off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNancy Wilson is about to make her appearance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe should talk over other <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><em>Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/em> remains a funny film elevated by a tremendous cast including Penn, Leigh, Reinhold, Cates, Whitaker, Amanda Wyss, Kelli Maroney, Eric Stoltz, Anthony Edwards, and James Russo. It\u2019s also a rarity of the \u201cteen\u201d genre that feels authentic in its balance of tone \u2014 it\u2019s essentially the lighter balance to <em>The Last American Virgin<\/em> which prioritizes the darker elements. The commentary shows that both Heckerling and Crowe still look fondly on the film, and the track is just one of the new disc\u2019s worthwhile special features. A very good film gets a great Blu-ray release!<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#32 Things We Learned from the &#8216;Fast Times at Ridgemont High&#8217; Commentary&#8221; Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits an 80s comedy classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. 1982\u2019s Fast Times at Ridgemont High remains an&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":246758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/fast-times-at-ridgemont-high.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[58685,58688,22447,53306],"class_list":["post-246757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-amy-heckerling","tag-cameron-crowe","tag-commentary-commentary","tag-fast-times-at-ridgemont-high"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}