Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Feminist Perspective

In 2009, Yahoo published a list of the top one hundred movies to see before you die. Of these films, only one was directed by a woman. That film was Fast Times at Ridgemont High and was directed by Amy Hecklering. The screenplay was adapted from the book of the same name and has become one of the most well known teen comedy films along side Porky’s, Revenge of the Nerds, and the American Pie series. Hecklering’s Fast Times is a unique film; it is a teen film, but it also has a focus on women’s issues. In Fast Times at Ridgemont High, having a woman director affects the nature of the teen film, but the teen film has an affect on the nature of the woman’s issues film as well. The teen movie genre has been made relatively available for female directors due to the films usually lacking an expensive budget and famous actors (Speed). The films usually bring in a profit from the teenaged population, but they rarely are a widespread success. Fast Times stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy. Most of the film is spent following Stacy as she seeks out to become more familiar with her own sexuality. She tries to find herself through sex until the end of the movie where she comes to the realization that she may not be ready to grow up, and instead decides what she really wants is a relationship. This story easily could have made an entire movie, but because the film needed to make money, the screenplay needed to supply material for a male audience. Films that are solely concentrated around women’s issues tend to dissuade men from seeing the movie. Vulgar and low comedy usually gain an audience of both males and females, even when the females on screen are highly objectified (Speed). This is the reason why Fast Times has become such an iconic teen movie. The audience focuses on the humor of male masturbation, fantasy, and premature ejaculation opposed to centering their focus on the teenaged girl’s sexual curiosity. Even though the film’s story mainly follows Stacy,

Cited: Positive Images by Linda Artel and Susan Wengraf. A World Ruled by Hilarity: Gender and Low Comedy in the Films of Amy Heckerling by Lesley Speed. Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Porky’s: Gender Perspective in the Teen Comedy by Kerri VanderHoff.