FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, 1982
Movie Reviews!

Follows a group of high school students growing up in southern California, based on the real-life adventures chronicled by Cameron Crowe. Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. The center of the film is held by Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer dude who faces off with the resolute Mr. Hand, who is convinced that everyone is on dope.

REVIEW:

This was the film that changed a lot of things for me. I was a big fan of movies growing up and wanted to get in the "game" of film in some part, but growing up where I did I had no possible idea how. So as a teenager I just watched a lot of movies and read about a lot of films. And movie reviews where always there to read in the paper and in books by the heavyweight reviewers. I got the Roger Ebert book of reviews for Christmas one year, and whenever I watched a movie I would go to his book and read his take on it. FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH was the movie that made me realize that movie reviewers really don't know all that much.

Roger Ebert ripped this film and called the nudity scene of Jennifer Jason Leigh's character disgusting. He said that the film makers were taking advantage of a young girl and the nude scenes had no point to them. Then he went on to talk about how this wasn't a high school he knew and for a comedy this film sure was disturbing.

I remember reading this review and realizing something that would stick with me for the rest of my life. Whenever you talk or write about something that you have no idea about, you sure sound like an asshole. And I've tried my hardest for the rest of my life to make sure I don't sound like an Robert Ebert Fast Times asshole.

Ebert misses the point of this film because he wasn't aware of the teenager psyche and had no idea what this generation was going through. So he was making judgements about a subject matter and people that he wasn't aware of. And that's the problem with most movie reviewers. A reviewer is supposed to be a journalist and give their views from that point of view. You watch a movie and figure out what they are trying to say and what story they are trying to tell. And usually you also need to understand what audience this film is made for. And that's how you write your review. FAST TIMES was made for teenagers who were going through the same emotions and situations that were in this film. Ebert needs to write from that perspective. And if he can't, then he shouldn't write the review.