This ’80s Classic Is Leaving Streaming at the End of the Month
What To Know
- The 1982 teen classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High will leave Netflix at the end of December, after which it will only be available via physical media or rental streaming platforms.
- Directed by Amy Heckerling and based on Cameron Crowe’s undercover reporting, the film authentically depicts teenage life and features future stars like Sean Penn, Forest Whitaker, and Nicolas Cage.
- Despite initial doubts from Universal, the film became a cult classic, was widely released due to strong audience reactions, and is now preserved in the National Film Registry.
If you have been meaning to revisit Ridgemont High, this is your heads up: The 1982 teen classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High is streaming on Netflix right now, but current listings show that it is set to leave at the end of December. Once it is gone from Netflix, you’ll have to find an old DVD or VHS tape to watch it, or pay to rent it on streaming platforms.
What inspired Fast Times at Ridgemont High?
Released in 1982, the film marked Amy Heckerling‘s debut as a feature director and was based on Cameron Crowe‘s nonfiction book Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story. Crowe (who would later go on to become an acclaimed director) was a wrier who had gone undercover as a student at Clairemont High School in San Diego, spending a full year in classrooms and hallways so he could write honestly about teenage life; he later turned that experience into both the book and the screenplay. I
The film follows freshman Stacy Hamilton, Mark “Rat” Ratner, Linda Barrett, Mike Damone, plus Jeff Spicoli and Brad Hamilton as they make their way through a school year in the San Fernando Valley. Many of the mall scenes were filmed at the Sherman Oaks Galleria after closing time, and the production used Van Nuys High School for Ridgemont’s hallways and classrooms. The school was still in session during much of the shoot, which meant actual students could stand off to the side and watch a future cult classic being made right in front of them.
Universal/Everett Collection
The cast is stacked with young actors who would go on to huge careers. Sean Penn became instantly known for his portrayal of Jeff Spicoli and stayed in character so deeply on set that he sometimes reportedly did not respond unless people called him Spicoli. The film also features early appearances by Academy Award nominee Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy, Forest Whitaker as star linebacker Charles Jefferson and Nicolas Cage, still credited as Nicolas Coppola, in his feature debut. Cage originally tried to land a bigger part but was only 17, which meant the production could not work him as many hours as someone who was 18, so he was cast in a small supporting role instead.
It is funny to think now, but at the time, Universal did not expect the movie to be a hit. The studio initially planned a limited release because the cast was mostly unknown and the story was more candid about teenage life than most comedies at the time. But strong audience reactions convinced Universal to expand it wider, and it quickly caught on. Since then, it has been recognized as one of the defining American high school movies of its era and was eventually selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
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