FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Would you want your children to know you were the real-life inspiration for a famous tale of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll? Fast Times at Ridgemont High holds up as a heady brew of authentic teen life in the late 70s / early 80s, mixed with a fine sense of the absurd and served up by an amazing cast. It's definitely a teen sex comedy that DOESN'T suck. The movie's 25th anniversary two years ago inspired plenty of "Where Are They Now" recollections; our own Erik Davis offered his observations on an eye-opening gallery of "then and now" images for the cast.

Before the movie, however, there was the book, and before the book, there were the real-life students of Clairemont High School in San Diego, California. Cameron Crowe, then 22, went undercover at the school in 1979 to research a book on teen life. He'd graduated from another area school in 1972 -- at the age of 15! -- and was busy writing for Rolling Stone (as documented in Almost Famous), so he took a refresher course by soaking in the atmosphere at the school. Recently the class held its 30-year reunion and it turns out that some of those students have become very protective parents, according to a report in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

One graduate won't let his 15-year-old son watch the movie: "We are not going to show it to him until he's in college." The former class president says she finally allowed her daughter, a senior at the school, to read Crowe's book but isn't ready yet to allow her to see the flick, though she admits that it accurately portrayed the sex and drug activity among teens at the time.

1. Near Dark (1987, Kathryn Bigelow)
Bigelow has already racked up an impressive career of male-bonding films of all genres. Most of them are underrated gems or cult films, and I like all of them, but this vampire film is my favorite (though, technically, the word "vampire" is never used in the film). It was one of the first films to remove the classic gothic setting and place the bloodsuckers in the modern-day American west, among the denim-clad rednecks, neon bars and pickup trucks. It's relentlessly violent and sometimes disturbing but at the same time it knows how to pause for moments of glorious beauty and even a touching love story.

I'll be quite honest with you: The only reason I love to read these "Where are They Now" pieces is for the photos. When you remember a particular actor for a certain role -- and then never hear from them again -- it's often fun to see what they turned into. Fortunately, some actors and actresses age very well (ahem, Jennifer Jason Leigh). Others ... not so much (poor Brian Backer). Moviefone is currently hosting a "Where are They Now" for the cast of Fast Times at Ridgemont High; the classic teen sex comedy (that DOESN'T suck) currently celebrating its 25th anniversary. Yup, it's already been 25 years since Jeff Spicoli ordered a pizza to his classroom (I always dreamed of doing this growing up, but never had the balls), and so why not catch up with the crew and see what they've been up to since.

Of course, we all know what happened to Sean Penn. Following Fast Times, he went on to never star as a stoner surfer dude in another movie again -- even if Spicoli will most likely go down as his most memorable role of all time. With the exception of folks like Penn, Leigh, Forest Whitaker, Anthony Edwards, Nicolas Cage (originally credited as Nicolas Coppola in the film, aka "Brad's Bud"), Eric Stoltz and -- for a majority of the '80s -- Judge Reinhold, everyone else sort of faded away into oblivion. Phoebe Cates has been having kids with Kevin Kline, Brian Backer went from scoring with Jennifer Jason Leigh to scoring a feel-sorry-for-ya spot in Amy Heckerling's 2000 flick Loser (heh), and Robert Romanus (ticket scalper Mike Damone) fell so far into obscurity, there's not even a current pic of the guy. Then again, I'd rather have a starring role in one classic film than appear in 20 duds. So check out the gallery, and let us know what your favorite Fast Times memories are ...