Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Unlike many of the immature '80s teen comedies that were obsessed with sex, the star-making Fast Times At Ridgemont High stands out for not treating it like a leering joke. Amy Heckerling's first film actually cares about the young women in the huge cast, especially Jennifer Jason Leigh. Sean Penn is uncharacteristically hilarious in one of his characteristically Method roles, but this movie belongs to JJL. She gets to be funny sometimes the way Penn and Judge Reinhold do, sure, but her story gets into dark territory like unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Heckerling and Cameron Crowe (this was his first screenplay) do a masterful job of balancing that kind of serious material with a steady string of laughs. Anyway, you don't have to scalp tickets to listen to the 452nd Ellises' Analysis, especially if you're a cool guy who's intimidated by the intense football player. Just be somebody's baaaay-by tonight. And if you want to sip some coffee while learning about Cuba and having some food, then you should become a Sparkplug Coffee customer. They'll give you a 20% discount if you use our promo code ("top100project"). Also, tweet us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) and gander at the selections on Ryan's sports movie podcast ("Scoring At The Movies").