Fast Times at Ridgemont High (R, 2005)

Based on Cameron Crowe's book, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH is a satisfying portrait of teen life. The film shows a number of teenagers over the course of one school year. They fall in and out of love, work menial jobs, and attend school. Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) looks to her best friend Linda (Phoebe Cates) for advice on love and sex. Stacy's brother Brad (Judge Reinhold) is at the top of his game, with a lovely girlfriend and a job. Rat (Brian Backer) courts Stacy with often disastrous results. Jeff Spicoli's (Sean Penn) concerns are mainly surfing, smoking pot, and passing Mr. Hand's brutal American History class. Believable complications arise, as Brad loses his job and his girl in the course of one week, Stacy loses her virginity with troubling results, and Spicoli fails history.

It's easy for movies to exaggerate or misinterpret teen life, but Fast Times does not. Crowe posed as a high school student while researching his book and it shows. Issues such as peer pressure, clashes with teachers at school, and the sheer boredom of after-school jobs are portrayed with humor and even-handedness. Problems are neither black nor white. Actions have consequences, (although, not in an after school special kind of way). Both Crowe and Director Amy Heckerling show genuine respect for their characters and refuse to belabor obvious points about life, love and growing up; instead letting the viewer make up their own minds.

Fast Times might appeal to girls in the tween set. However, parents should know that adult themes concerning drugs and sexuality featured in the film make it inappropriate for children under sixteen. Parents might want to view the film separately from their teens (for fear of embarrassment on both sides).