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Beer for My Horses Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Fast Times at Ridgemont High
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MPAA RATING: R
Starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Robert Romanus, Brian Backer, Phoebe Cates, Ray Walston, and Forest Whitaker
Amy Heckerling's chronicle of a year in life of a group of teenagers at a Southern Calfornia high school in the 1970s is based on Cameron Crowe's undercover experiences and has clearly set the bar for all teen comedies to shoot for.
| GENRE(S): | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: | Cameron Crowe (also novel) |
| DIRECTED BY: | Amy Heckerling |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: December 21, 1999 Video: May 14, 1996 Theatrical: August 13, 1982 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 90 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
John Yeager gave it a10:
Very funny movie.
Andrew M gave it a 6:
As a young bloke I was in awe of this film. In many ways it gave me my first real dose of profanity, nudity and sex on film, and boy was it exciting!!! I felt like I'd been finally given membership to an exclusive club or something. At the same time it made me feel a little guilty, and it was also all a little scary. I must have watched Fast Times about a dozen times in a couple of months; I just kept going back to it. But this was all about 17 or 18 years ago... I caught Fast Times again just last year on tv and managed to tape it (for reminiscences sake, if nothing else) I watched it a couple of days later...and what a let down when I realised that this film is....really....only average. It's just another coming-of-age film that doesn't really cover any ground that other films haven't covered also. Maybe at the time it was ground-breaking in some ways, thereby warranting it more respect, but at the end of the day it's still just average! The performances are generally good. Leigh for me is the standout - she dominates every scene she's in. Reinhold is in auto-pilot mode with his character (he could do it in his sleep) and Cates shows why she never made the big(ger) time. And then, of course, there's Mr Penn. If you've heard all the wrap, and then seen the film, and then felt that Penn's performance is somewhat run-of-the-mill or cliched, just remember that he nailed it first! He is the original doped-out, pizza-eating, surfer dude. And he's just great to watch, uh-heh-heh. The actors lift the film's overall quality - they do a great job with the material - but, for me, it's just standard teen fare material. To be fair, the script and directing are occasionally incisive in terms of teen behaviour, but mostly this vehicle just casually trudges along, stopping at the prescribed stops along the way, and picking up all the pre-ordered passengers. Worth seeing but, in truth, these days it's all been seen before. Most credit comes for it's influence over the years and the performances of the young actors. Just get American Pie instead - you'll certainly laugh more!
J. Lava gave it a 9:
Don t get heavy on me, comedy!!! Talk about a real escape from reality, loved the breakfast refund scene, i don't know anyone who didn't like this film!!!
Yoon Min C. gave it a 5:
Equally promising and corrosive, honest and fraudulent, this movie is the product of Cameron Crowe's earnest crowing crossbred with Amy Heckerling's superficial, lipstick glossed cynicism. Just when it seems to get honest about kids it veers into exploitative mode; just when it gets smart about relatiohships it degenerates into bawdy slapstick routine. Well, thank god for the videotape and the fast forward button. Ultimately, this movie shouldn't be taken seriously and should be enjoyed for Sean Penn's truly inspired--not to mention, incomparable and immeasurably influential--role as the archetypal California teenager; it's silly but it's also totally awesome.
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