Greatest Film Scenes
and Moments



Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

 



Written by Tim Dirks

Title Screen
Movie Title/Year and Scene Descriptions
Screenshots

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

In Amy Heckerling's cult teen, coming-of-age sex comedy, her directorial debut feature film (from a script by future film-maker Cameron Crowe) - the quintessential teen comedy and seminal high-school film of the 80s:

  • senior Brad Hamilton (Judge Reinhold) - skating through his last year of Ridgemont HS, and working entry level jobs at All-American Burger, then also fired at Captain Hook Fish & Chips, and finally employed at Mi-T-Mart (where he foiled a robbery heist by tossing a pot of hot coffee into the thief's face, retrieving the gun, and holding the man at gunpoint - and became a hero in Spicoli's eyes)
  • the HS and classroom scenes involving perpetually-stoned, often truant and tardy, happy-go-lucky, bleached-blonde California surfer slacker-dude Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn); when he arrived at school, he tumbled out of his VW min-van (filled with pot-smoke), late for his American history class taught by Mr. Hand (Ray Walston) - and was kicked out for tardiness and for calling the teacher a "dick"; later, when Spicoli was late and had no excuse, Mr. Hand used his response for a lesson written on the chalkboard: "I Don't Know"; in another encounter, Spicoli ordered a double cheese and sausage pizza delivered to his desk by "Pizza Guy" delivery man (Taylor Negron) during a class lecture, causing outrage: (Mr. Hand: "Am I hallucinating here? Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?" - Spicoli's laid-back response: "Learning about Cuba, and having some food"); Mr. Hand confiscated the pizza pie and offered some of the pieces to other students
  • the scene of 'worldly', sexually-outspoken high-school, liberated sexpot Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates) 'tutoring' sexually-inexperienced but curious 15 year-old friend Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in the finer points of performing oral sex ("blow jobs"), by demonstrating with a carrot in the school cafeteria ("There's nothin' to it. It's so easy...Relax your throat muscles. Don't bite. And slide it in...Good. Push it slowly in and out. You got it"); the naive Stacy then asked: "When a guy has an orgasm, how much comes out?" Linda revealed her tendency to exaggerate: "A quart or so," but then claimed she was just kidding
Oral Sex Lesson - With Carrot
  • the scene of lecherous, smooth-talking, ticket-scalper Mike Damone's (Robert Romanus) 'five-point plan' to successfully make-out and score with girls, told "for free" to inexperienced and shy Mark "Rat" Ratner (Brian Backer): ("All right, now pay attention. First of all, Rat, you never let on how much you like a girl. 'Oh, Debbie. Hi.' Two, you always call the shots. 'Kiss me. You won't regret it.' Now three, act like wherever you are, that's the place to be. 'Isn't this great?' Four, when ordering food, you find out what she wants, then order for the both of ya. It's a classy move. 'Now, the lady will have the linguini and white clam sauce, and a Coke with no ice.' And five, now this is the most important, Rat. When it comes down to makin' out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV")
  • the two uncomfortable, awkward and devastating scenes of Stacy's sexual initiation:

    (1) first, in a night scene in a dilapidated softball dugout with older 26 year-old home stereo salesman Ron Johnson (D.W. Brown) - during her painful and uncomfortable deflowering, Stacy (from her POV) looked up at the graffiti-covered ("SURF NAZIS") concrete walls
    (2) and second, her painful and quick impregnation by lecherous Mike Damone in her own poolhouse's changing room; after he kissed her and she was complimented, "You're really a good kisser," she asked: "You want to take off your clothes, Mike?" He responded: "You first." She decided: "Both of us at the same time." After stripping off her top and her panties and lying down on a sofa, he laid on top of her and quickly climaxed during love-less sex, causing her to ask: "Are you OK?" He said he had come, then hurriedly left ("See ya!") as she sat up and looked bewildered, used, unsatisfied and hurt
  • the dream-fantasy sequence of Jeff's surfing interview with sportscaster Stu Nahan and his fantasy dream of glory and fame as a championship-winning, world-class surfer - while surrounded by two bikinied babes, and his line: ("Well Stu, I'll tell ya, surfing's not a sport, it's a way of life. No hobby. It's a way of lookin' at that wave and sayin', 'Hey bud, let's party! Ha, ha, ha'")
Pool Party Fantasy Scene with Linda
(Phoebe Cates)
  • at Stacy's house by the outdoor swimming pool, the slow-motion sequence of the emergence of red-bikinied Linda speaking seductively: "Hi, Brad! You know how cute I always thought you were," and the slow opening and shedding of her bright red-bikini top from the middle as she walked over to Stacy's brother senior-year Brad and toplessly kissed him (to the tune of The Cars' hit "Moving in Stereo") - often rated the best nudity scene in any film; it was revealed to be a fantasy mental disrobing; Brad was discovered pleasuring himself in a nearby pool-side bathroom by a shocked Linda ("Doesn't anybody f--king knock anymore?" he asked himself)

Brad (Judge Reinhold) in One of Many Lowly Jobs

Jeff Spicoli's Arrival at School in VW Van

Tardy for Mr. Hand's History Class

Delivery of Pizza to Spicoli in History Class

Mike Damone's 5-Point Plan

Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh): Sex in a Dugout


Stacy: Sex in Her Pool House with Mike Damone

Spicoli's Fantasy Surfing Interview

Linda Discovering Brad in Bathroom

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