These are the children of the baby boomers and as such, there’s a certain texture to their upbringing. The baby boomers were a generation that had a specific course once graduating high school. They would go to college and get a job that they would stay at until retirement age, and they expected the same from their offspring. Unfortunately, by the time the 80’s came around, the market had changed somewhat so that people were switching careers some seven-plus times in their lives, looking for something outside of the boredom they grew up in with their folks. This lead to increased generational gaps.
The epitome of 80’s high school films from which the others spawned is Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the second directorial project of Amy Heckerling based on Cameron Crowe’s (Almost Famous) book. Even if one gets sick of seeing the stereotypical angst normally portrayed in films about high school, they will still be charmed by this film, because it isn’t about teenage angst per se.
The circumstances and characters reflected in it still hold up to this day. If you go into any high school for a week you will still see the various characterizations evoked from this film. Certain personal styles just never get old. People may not listen to, or imitate, Pat Benatar anymore, but they still reflect fashion trends in pop music stars, still show up high to class, still wade through part-time after school jobs until they figure out what interests them.
Though the ensemble cast denotes many of the cliques found in high school, they aren’t forced to “clash” with each other, a la The Breakfast Club, which is a fine movie but is put forth to blend extreme, recognizable characters to show that no matter where you think you belong, everyone is in the same boat. Fast Times is also not about proving that those from opposite sides of economical levels can still make a good couple, as in Pretty in Pink.
The strength of this movie is that it is simply there. It combines drama and comedy effectively to show a slice of the environment of making your way through the teenage years. The story itself never gets old because it isn’t trying to prove any points, make any moralistic suggestions. Even when Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has an abortion, it is used more as a growth spurt in her character than as a means to promote contraception.
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