Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) First Time Watching! Movie Reaction!

[@misterkite]

It's a shame the younger generations didn't get to experience the glorious smell of a fresh ditto.

[@christophero1969]

I still miss "fresh copies", even our teachers would smell dittos, with the class.

[@LeRoy-z5f]

Truer words have never been spoken. 😂

[@scramblesish]

One of our first highs 😊

[@jancw]

Bright purple ink combined with that delightful scent almost made it worth having a pop quiz. Sniffffff... ahhhhhhh!

[@darthken815]

(Sniiiiifffff) 🥴

[@Cadinho93]

In case no one else said it, the girl in the corvette that Brad saw was Nancy Wilson of Heart. She was Cameron Crowe's wife at the time. He wrote the script for the movie. Also, Phoebe Cates coming out of the pool is one of the most paused/slowed down scenes of all time. VHS rentals were being worn out in just that section of tape.

[@christophero1969]

Me and my brother would do that too.

[@andrewq159]

Why isn't this widely regarded as one of the best films? It's rarely high on such lists.

[@Timmayytoo]

Crowe wrote the screenplay based on his book, which he went undercover as a H.S. student for a full school year to write, so it represented a pretty accurate picture of teens in the late 70's/early 80's

[@prs149]

As soon as I made my comments about Nancy Wilson I found out you actually beat me to it

[@Mikey_Sea]

She had a small role in 'The Wild Life' too, with Eric Stoltz and Chris Penn. Fun little movie from '84, I believe.

[@chrisolivo6591]

I was an 80’s kid and we were called latch-key kids. Meaning you came home with your key because everyone’s parents worked. You had the house to yourself so you would invite your friends over after school. No supervision, you just did what you wanted until your parents came home from work. It was a different time. Lol

[@Osprey850]

What I often did as soon as I got home was hop on my bike, ride over to the nearby video store, rent a movie (usually an R rated one, since it was one of my few opportunities to watch them and the owners didn't care that I was barely even a teenager), ride back and then hopefully watch it all before my parents got home from work. I'd then hide the tape in my room and take it back the next day, sometimes renting another movie while I was there. 😄

[@Corn_Pone_Flicks]

Nobody ever said "lol," either. Great days.

[@thomasgriffiths6758]

Anthony Edwards and Eric Stoltz are Jeff Spicoli's two surfer friends. Nicolas Cage is one of the fast food workers, he went by his real name Nicholas Coppola and happens to be the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola.

[@Harv72b]

And that's Nancy Wilson of Heart checking Brad out at the red light.

[@deathproofpony]

I like to think that Eric Stoltz's character grew up to become Lance in Pulp Fiction

[@ROBERTANDERSON-f2f]

Well bugger me! Learn something new everyday and I've seen this flick umpteen times and didn't realise! Cool.

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

"Happens to be." lol. yeah, totally has nothing to do with the whole existence of Cage's career.

[@andreadeamon6419]

​@@deathproofponymask is better. Rip your heart right out of your chest!

[@Jay.McCarty]

"The biggest problem is these parents do not exist". Welcome to the latchkey 80's. It was pretty amazing.

[@chrisolivo6591]

Ironically, our generation is more independent because of that now we are adults. I think Millennials had TOO much supervision and you have a generation of kids who have no street smarts in everyday life.

[@LA_HA]

I always thought it's so strange how the Boomers had both parents and the stay at home mothers. Then, one generation later, Bang, at least Half of the population of kids were from single parent (read: mother) households. Some had stepparents and some had the usual set-up. But, it's kinda wild. Gee. Wonder what happened... haha

[@alucard624]

@@chrisolivo6591Not all millennials thankfully. I was glad to grow up during a time when we basically had to be outside with our friends and finding fun things to do.

[@jenniferfoster1692]

Yes, I loved it!! Coming home to an empty apartment is still one of my favorite things, lol. And during the 80s, with no mobile phones or internet, our parents quite literally had no idea where we were for big chunks of time. And the parent back then were out a lot, either working, partying, taking fun classes at night or whatever, so we had a lot of freedom.

[@jenniferfoster1692]

@@LA_HA It's because women didn't have to stay in bad marriages anymore, so they got out & were single moms. That was my experience & many others for sure.

[@thunderstruck5484]

Hahaha you kids don’t even know about the mimeograph paper smell! How funny and geez I’m old! Time flies, this was on hbo round the clock in the early 80s me and my wife watched it , so many great movies and memories from back then, thanks y’all !

[@HershelStimsQuA]

Such a great movie! I smile wide every time that part comes up. Memories!!

[@nathanmeece9794]

I clearly remember the mimeograph ink smell. It's a smell you don't forget.

[@CroMagJohnson]

or sanka! we are old. damn!

[@Dularr]

The mimiograph fluid contained mentol which causes brain chemistry actions.

[@Fatty420]

You have to be of a certain age to understand the simple pleasure of taking a warm, freshly printed ditto copy and immediately taking a whiff of the copy fluid still evaporating off the paper. That little hit gave your brain a sharp jolt that made a boring school day just a little more enjoyable.

[@davidsandall]

This is a good depiction to how being a teenager was in the 80s.

[@andreadeamon6419]

Man it was fun!!

[@Jay.McCarty]

The question is did art imitate life or did life imitate art?

[@davidsandall]

@Jay.McCarty It's Hollywood. It definitely is a propaganda film. It helped promote and/or normalize, weed, promiscuity, and abortion.

[@Jay.McCarty]

@@davidsandall "Propaganda" is probably misused here but I think you're on to my point. FTARH came out the summer before I stated high school and high school was was pretty much FTARH. Hsd it always (late-70's - early 80's) been that way or was it that way because of FTARH?

[@davidsandall]

@@Jay.McCarty The CIA has a movie and entertainment department to help write scripts. We are definitely being shaped through the media, education department, music, arts and entertainment. There is an agenda.

[@butkusfan23]

Anytime something goes wrong in my life, I say out loud "my old man, is a television repair man, with this ULTIMATE set of tools. I can fix it!"

[@darthken815]

"You can't fix this car, Spiccoli!"

[@butkusfan23]

Have you guys seen Little Monsters with Howie Mandel and Fred Savage? Or another one from 1989 called The Wizard, also with Fred Savage? They're 2 80's classics.

[@dude-man]

same here, nobody gets the ref.. more often i say "alright Hamilton"

[@davidpoole5595]

Same for over 30 years!!

[@andrewkline5611]

Same!

[@Michael-px9rw]

SANKA is coffee that only comes decaffeinated, so you're allowed to say it that way because there's no other choice 😊

[@blechtic]

So, like sans caffeine?

[@DavidBush-wm1fe]

Back in the day Sanka was the only decaf coffee. Ask for it in a restaurant and you would get a container of hot water and an orange colored packet of Sanka powder. It had a nasty taste. When brewed decaf came along in the 1970s it was usually distinguished from regular coffee by using a coffee pot with an orange handle. Apparently a tribute to Sanka. Hopefully auto correct will quit changing the k to a t in SanKa.

[@DustinHawke]

@@DavidBush-wm1fe About as useless as non-alcoholic beer.

[@Michael-px9rw]

@DavidBush-wm1fe That is correct, I remember all of it, of course I'm 56yrs old and remember at say...a Denny's, the waitress would ask if you wanted coffee or Sanka with the always orange handle

[@joeriveracomedy]

Did sanka have the black jaguar in the commercial?

[@PaulSmith-sb7sj]

A long long time ago on this very planet, copies were made with ditto machines. When the papers were fresh of the machine, they had a very distinct smell. Most teen movies in the 80's have some reference to smelling the papers.

[@ashthecat3]

They were called “masters” at my school.

[@bradpriebe9218]

It was a little sweeter than nail polish remover and not quite as strong but in that family 😉😂

[@kristahartmann6712]

I believe it was called 'mimeograph' ink...it was intoxicating to s kid's brain. Purple was the best...

[@JohnnyUtah15]

I’m trying to remember what the smell reminded me of. Sometimes it had a faint smell of bananas and sometimes something else.

[@timross6990]

Was 17 when this came out. I knew that smell well. My mom had her own newsletter and mimeograph machine back then. The intoxicating odor was from the duplicating fluid used to enable copies. If the fluid got low, the copies would become lighter and harder to read, so you had to freshly moisten the "wick" every few dozen copies.

[@dreambrother82]

Love seeing peoples confused reaction to the smell of the mimeographed copies in school. ©️😵‍💫

[@Mister_Samsonite]

I'd like to recommend "Better Off Dead" and "One Crazy Summer". I can't exactly call them iconic in terms of cultural impact, but they had a big impact on me in high school.

[@LordVolkov]

Yes! Two Dollars!! Better Off Dead also has Amanda Wyss and Vincent Sciavelli.

[@Mister_Samsonite]

@@LordVolkov You are correct sir! Nice tie-in connection to this!

[@LordVolkov]

@@Mister_Samsonite And Taylor Negron too 😉 He delivers mail instead of pizza.

[@DanMcClinton]

Came here to recommend Better Off Dead as well. Weird Science is another that I would suggest.

[@dereknolin5986]

Better Off Dead is one of my favorite 80s comedies ever!

[@FeaturingRob]

A little background for you... - This was Cameron Crowe's first film as a screenwriter, and he became a director with movies like Jerry Maguire, Singles, Vanilla Sky, and his Oscar-winning Almost Famous. The script was based on his non-fiction novel of the same name. Before writing it, Crowe was the youngest Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone magazine, a job he has held throughout his film career. Crowe wrote the novel because a question was asked around the late 1970s, "What are the kids about today?" Crowe, who never went to college and started writing professionally as a rock journalist at age 15 (yes...see his film Almost Famous for that story), took on this challenge at age 26 to learn about "the kids" by returning to high school. He looked like he was still a teenager then, so he went to a particular high school and spent an entire year there as a student, taking notes, listening to conversations, etc. I have a copy of the novel in paperback. One day, he met Linda Barrett, the Phoebe Cates character. She introduced him to Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Brad Hamilton (Judge Reinhold), and the connections spread from there. Everyone in the film was either a real person whose name was changed in the novel and screenplay or a combination of people. Even Ridgemont High is (or was real) and, I believe, was in San Diego, not L.A. At the end of the school year, he came clean with all of them, asked if he could use their stories, did interviews, and basically started writing the book. Some later regretted being a part of it (especially after the movie came out), and others didn't care. - Some actors have told stories about running into the characters they played. The most famous is Sean Penn, who has told stories several times about running into the real Jeff Spicolli. In the most recent time, Spicolli changed a lot, so Penn almost didn't recognize him. - The teacher Mr. Hand (played by Ray Walston) has a back story not really fleshed out in the film. The way that he acts in the classroom is mannered, and Ray Walston took his cues from the source book. Mr. Hand loved the original 1970s version of Hawaii Five-0, so much so that he started acting like the character of Steve McGarrett, played by Jack Lord. So when he snaps his fingers or says,"Aloha," Walston basically imitates Lord. Walston is a legend of film, television, and the stage with films like South Pacific, Damn Yankees (playing a role he originated on the Broadway stage and won a Tony Award for), The Apartment, Popeye, The Sting, and others. Sanka is one of the earliest decaffeinated instant coffees. It was popular at the time, and it's fairly horrid stuff! - 18:36 - Hello, Generation X here. Allow me to answer with, "No, duh!" Parents were not around very much from the late 1970s through to the mid to late 80s. I was in high school from 1986 to 1990...we got away with A LOT of shit that most kids can't do today. There was even greater freedom for many high schoolers in the early 80s when this was filmed. - 18:42-This scene was filmed with both Robert Romanus (as Damone) and Jennifer Jason Leigh in full frontal nude. Both actors were very professional about it and did the scene. Because of this, the film was slapped with an "X" rating, so they cut out Romanus's nudity for the most part. The film then received an R rating. A lot of the intimate scenes are meant to be uncomfortable. - 19:33 - The blonde is Nancy Wilson, guitarist for Heart. At the time, Crowe was dating Wilson. They married in 1986, and divorced in 2010. During that time, she wrote scores for several of his films. They also had twin sons born in 2000. - 24:30-The robber holding up Brad is James Russo. This was the first film both Russo and Judge Reinhold were in. The second was Beverly Hills Cop. Russo played Michael Tandino, Axel's friend who was killed, and Reinhold was Billy Rosewood. Another Beverly Hills Cop reference is the doctor with Mr. Vargas in the hospital morgue, which was played by Martin Breast, the director of Beverly Hills Cop. - This film launched so many careers: Nicolas Cage (who is credited as Nicholas Coppola and was almost cast as Brad), Anthony Edwards (Goose from Top Gun, one of Spicolli's stoner buds), Eric Stoltz, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Sean Penn, and Judge Reinhold. It was the first Amy Heckerling film to launch a ton of hot new talent. The other was Clueless.

[@boballen818]

I'm so glad you posted so I didn't have to write all that out! The debut of this film had a bunch of the kids that Cameron wrote about in the audience. Cameron was extremely nervous about the reaction of the young lady that was the character Stacey would have. Actually. This is a truthful at the times movie. Like life, there are dark parts.

[@porflepopnecker4376]

Agreed, this is an excellent post and covers everything I was going to say but better.

[@treetopjones737]

Anthony Edwards is most well known for starring in tv show "ER" - his character leaving the show by getting cancer, and then spending his final days with his girlfriend and his daughter in Hawaii was an iconic goodbye.

[@jsekaquaptewa]

excellent post.

[@reneedennis2011]

Thanks for the info!

[@sithlordkaeyl21]

Every time I watch this movie, it always makes me miss hanging out at the mall, listening to this music when it was new, running around with my friends from the morning until after dark, etc. Such a great time to grow up.

[@deaconbluezzz]

As a class of '84 HS graduate, FTARH is a perfect time capsule of what being a teen in the early 80's was like. It does kind of make me wonder why so many younger generations seem so shocked by the promiscuity depicted...it was the norm back then. 40 years ago, high schoolers were thought of more as "young adults" rather than "older children".

[@rayzrsharp]

Plus, promiscuity is like 10x worse now! It's crazy!

[@charlize1253]

This movie is SUCH an accurate time capsule for Gen X/80s teens. Parents? Everybody had 2 parents who worked, no cell phones, no internet, no email, no cable TV, so all of my friends were on our own all day long with nothing to do but go to the mall, work part-time jobs, and hit on girls. If someone's house had a pool we were always there. If you weren't old enough to drive, you hitched rides with friends or took the city bus by yourself. And as the movie portrays, when we got lucky with a girl, with no internet we had no idea what we were doing and it was awkward as heck. Everything that TBR thought was off about this movie was actually so, so real for our entire generation.

[@seanswinton6242]

Another classic film from the period was "The Last American Virgin." A great period for films and corresponding soundtracks.

[@rayzrsharp]

@@charlize1253 NAILED IT!! Every word written was spot on! THIS was EXACTLY how it was.

[@caseymoe816]

1983 HS graduate of Monroe High in the San Fernando Valley, where a lot of this movie was filmed. Ridgemont High was filmed at Van Nuys HS, and footage from the Monroe-Van Nuys football game was used in this movie (we were the team in white btw; score was probably accurate😂). Sean Penn really nailed Spicoli. If you weren’t exactly in that world (I was), you certainly knew a few at your school. Cameron Crowe definitely nailed it.

[@333halfevil]

Another Nicholas Cage teen movie to watch is Valley Girl (1983).

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup. I like that movie!

[@jflaugher]

People smelled the sheets of paper handed out in class because they were made on a ditto machine. In an age before computers and Xerox machines, there were ditto machines. Ditto machines produced copies of the master sheet - and with each and every copy, the paper was cold and the smell of the ink was intoxicating. And Sanka was the first decaffeinated coffee brand.

[@evildano1313]

Where are the parents? Welcome to Gen X, the generation that raised themselves.

[@ROBERTANDERSON-f2f]

That's it! Free range childhood was the best thing that happened to us! X👍

[@pencilnecked1579]

Lasted for a bit longer than just Gen X. I was born in 82 and much of my early childhood was spent alone or with friends in the woods behind the apartment complex, riding bikes in construction zones (great ramp building material), etc etc. Family eventually bought a house when I was 9 and when I was 13 my parents took my younger sister to Yellowstone for a week so I stayed home by myself because I didn't want to go since I had my paper route to do and was told if something went wrong to call an aunt or uncle. Fun times.

[@Osprey850]

@@pencilnecked1579 Yeah, the older half of Gen Y also experienced a free range childhood. It wasn't until the mid-90s that society started to get overprotective.

[@charlize1253]

Parents? Everyone I knew had 2 parents who worked, and with no cell phones, we were on our own all day long, every day.

[@charlize1253]

@@Osprey850 I think "Gen Y" is actually called "Milennials." Most label the generations as Boomers, Gen X, Milennials, Gen Z, then Gen Alpha.

[@The_Other_Dan]

This was before photocopiers so all handouts were done by a machine called a mimeograph which was like a small printing press. The teacher would create the template and would print out 'stencils' of the handout. The stencilled paper had a very strong and distinct smell that pretty much EVERYONE loved so as soon as you got a nice fresh handout the first thing you'd do was put it to your nose and give it a good sniff.

[@reesebn38]

I was 18 when Fast Times came out. This was my time. This movie is accurate. Everything in this movie was my High School and the Mall. I was the 3 main guys put together, Cool/Nerd/Stoner. I even worked as an Usher, from 1980-84. When all the cool movies came out. It was the cool job to have because kids from school would beg you to sneak them into Rated-R movies. The other Ushers and I would smoke weed in a back exit. All the Ushers dated the Candy girls. You have to watch Risky Business(1983).

[@gluecement]

I'd be curious their reaction to RISKY BIZ. Another 80s "comedy" that mixes in drama very well.

[@reesebn38]

@@gluecement I just rewatched it. Holds up so well! Great acting from everyone. The ways it was filmed is very unique. Another killer soundtrack too. The movie that made Tom famous.

[@prs149]

I was also 18 myself

[@prs149]

My how time flies I was 18 when I saw it and now I'm 60

[@norwegianblue2017]

I worked as an usher at a movie theater in 86-87. Worst paying, but most fun job I ever had. Free movies and popcorn, worked with cute girls and would throw around the Nerf football while cleaning the theaters.

[@jentoby73]

An under appreciated coming of age movie I’d recommend is ‘Say Anything.’ So good, and hardly anyone reacts to it.

[@jenniferfoster1692]

Such a great movie!! Also a Cameron Crowe movie! He didn't direct Fast Times but is was all based on his book from being undercover at a high school. I assume he wrote the script or at least worked on it, too. Almost Famous, basically Crowe's autobiography, is one of my all time favorite movies.

[@reneedennis2011]

I agree.

[@Harv72b]

I've always really liked the character of Mike Damone, and Robert Romanus did a wonderful job of portraying him. He is 100% all talk, and he's built his entire image around that attitude (which obviously isn't really working as Mark is his only friend). He _tries_ to do the right thing both times with Stacy, but in the end he's more afraid of blowing that image than he is of letting people who care about him down. It's a flawed character, definitely, but it is *such* a believable character in a high school setting.

[@williammatthews693]

You're right about this being more of a coming-of-age film than a straight-up comedy. So many directors and studios in the 80s tried to emulate this movie but only succeeded in making sex comedies, which were just as abundant in the 80s as Slasher films were. This is a one-of-a-kind film, and I think it's far better than "Dazed and Confused" because it's set in the decade it was released. "Dazed and Confused" feels a bit forced being a period piece.

[@OSVS_Mike]

Oh the days of smelling the "copies," actually called mimeographs (technically called aa "sprit duplicator.") Google / Wikipedia it... I can smell it now...

[@thomasgriffiths6758]

I started going to concerts in the mid-80s when I was a teenager and the prices are correct in this movie, I have my old ticket stubs that were like between $10 and $20, t-shirts cost more.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

I saw Van Halen on their 1984 tour & I believe I paid $15 for those tickets. As far as I can recall, that was roughly the price of tickets for quite some time (through the 80’s & 90’s).

[@toddjones1480]

​@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192I remember feeling like I really got taken advantage of when I paid a scalper $30 for tickets to a sold-out Metallica show at the beginning of 1992.

[@samhainnc9416]

​@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 l went to the 5150 tour I think it was 86. I remember the tickets were 15 bucks because my friend and I had to raise the 30 ourselves and if we did then his mom would drive us there and home. We were 14. We mowed lawns and yard work and raised 80 so we had money for tee shirt each and mc ds after paying for his mom to. Great memories and this movie reminds me of that.

[@Theomite]

$10 in 1982 was probably a solid chunk of change though.

[@visaman]

​@@Theomite$ 33 today.

[@JasonMoir]

Two words: Phoebe Cates 😍

[@John_Locke_108]

Jennifer Jason Leigh is much hotter. That was the scene I... watched the most.

[@darthken815]

Oh, Phoebe. The girl who ruined thousands of VHS tapes. 🥰

[@darrellpasion8925]

​@@John_Locke_108much hotter ? Lol. I guess everyone has their own preference.

[@Don-lg3oy]

@@John_Locke_108Jennifer for me as well. Yeah who didn’t like Phoebe but there’s just something more about Jennifer back then.

[@blechtic]

@@Don-lg3oy Seems like girl next door vs. ...not.

[@bjgandalf69]

Fun fact: the actor who played Mark Ratner was from New York City, so was new to town and didn't have a place to stay or could afford it at the time. Jennifer Jason Leigh's family offered a place to stay and he accepted.

[@reneedennis2011]

He's also in that Doritos commercial 😊.

[@bobschenkel7921]

Ray Walston, the actor who played Mr. Hand, was a TV star in the 1960's with a comedy show called "My Favorite Martian". He played the titular Martian, as Uncle Martin, and he had two little antenna that came out of his head. Ray Walston was also in the movie "The Sting".

[@richardpetty9159]

…and Steven King’s “The Stand.”

[@markwilliams6394]

And Johnny Dangerously.

[@jackcole4013]

And “Galaxy of Terror”!

[@reneedennis2011]

He also won an Emmy for Picket Fences.

[@coreydean6540]

The Eighties were only 40 years ago yet soooooo much has changed culturally. It was the best of times, it was the....best of times.

[@visaman]

40 years ago in 1982 was 1942!

[@treetopjones737]

Not a great time to be an adult. High unemployment, worrying about Ronnie Reagan launching WW III, the AIDS crisis, anti-LGBT bigotry was common...

[@jimross1976]

Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Saint Elmo’s Fire, Short Circuit, Cocoon, Goonies, Ferris Bueller’s Day off, War Games, The Lost Boys, Heathers, Stand By Me, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs…. All great 80’s flicks. And yes, born in the 70’s, raised in the 80’s… it was EPIC!!!

[@ROBERTANDERSON-f2f]

Catholic Boys with Donald Sutherland is a beaut too.

[@seanswinton6242]

​@@ROBERTANDERSON-f2fThe film was called "Heaven Help Us." It starred Donald Sutherland, Andrew McCarthy, Kevin Dillon, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Patrick Dempsey. Also I believe Wallace Shawn- you will know his voice from many animated films like "Toy Story" and Young Sheldon's first professor who dated Sheldon's grandmother Connie.

[@Don-lg3oy]

I’ve probably seen Fast Times a 100+ times since 1982. It’s funny and serious in a realistic way. Some of the subtle jokes are probably missed unless you were a teen back then. The uncomfortable moments hit because those things happen in real life. This and Valley Girl are two of my favorites. True classics.

[@dggydddy59]

Yes! Valley Girl, too! Great music in that film, plus a friend of mine from those days is in it briefly during the high school dance scene singing backgrounds on "Johnny Are You Queer" with the Josie Cotton band. Early 80's in L.A. was incredible times. I wish I could do it all again just for the fun of it!

[@seanswinton6242]

​@@dggydddy59I agree. That film had an awesome soundtrack. "Monster Of Love" was a favorite of mine along of course Modern English's "Melt With You." As you mentioned Josie Cotton was great as well as The Waitresses.

[@Don-lg3oy]

@@dggydddy59 That’s really cool about your friend, and yes…great soundtrack! Love all of those songs. I still play the soundtrack from time to time. It’s missing some songs from the movie but still great. And of course I watch the movie every now and then just like I do with Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

[@johnnyblaze6667]

Saw this flick when I was waaay too young and have been in love with Phoebe Cates ever since 🤘🏽💞🤘🏽

[@charlize1253]

You and every other male who grew up in the 80s!

[@bradwilson4795]

Smelling new test papers was real I think the ink is different now but yea it was trippy most of class would do that

[@lordflashheart3680]

Yep, the Ditto machine used to copy the papers made them smell awesome when the copies were still warm.

[@Roadie777]

Mimeographed pages (Xerox was too expensive) that used a fixer.

[@libertyresearch-iu4fy]

You didn't have to put the paper up to your face to smell it if it was fresh.

[@fionnmaccumhaill3257]

Definitely watch 16 Candles

[@conureron3792]

The teacher is Ray Walston who starred as the Martian in the TV series My Favorite Martian, also with Bill Bixby.

[@Theomite]

He was also the first celebrity death of the new millennium: he died of lupus on January 1, 2000.

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

Im class of 85, bud. This was a huge movie when I was in high school. Porkys was stupid- this was totally awesome.

[@utcnc7mm]

I'm surprised they didn't like it more, I thought it was an 80's classic.

[@zziicckk01]

I find it hilarious that throughout the movie TBR's instincts were completely off the rail and he was wrong every step of the way... Samantha on the other hand seemed so level headed and composed. Thank you for your reaction!

[@rugan0723]

Speaking of coming of age and Nicolas Cage there is "Valley Girl" from 1983. I remember it being a fun watch.

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup.

[@poppyleon_6275]

Paper copies were made on mimeograph machines then (no copiers) and the ink had a smell similar to the old magic markers. We always smelled the papers! 😆 Also, the teacher said he'd switched to Sanka, this was a decaf instant coffee. Love this movie! Thx for reviewing! 😁

[@GPinAtlantaIN]

My sister lived in an apartment in 1972 when she was 16 years old and still in high school. She never once went back home. She had a roommate until she was 17, at which time she was completely on her own. And today she lives in a more than half million dollar home with an in-ground pool, and she never went to college. People today are so shocked when they see movies and yearbooks and videos from the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s, because they think there’s no way they could be high school students; they look so much older. People today treat young people like four-year olds until they are 30 years old. It was very common for people 15 years of age to talk about blow jobs and to get high and to even have sex. Many people drank when they were 12 and 13 years old, and these were not bums living in the ghetto: often times they were the smart kids from wealthy families. The 60s, 70s, and early 80s were different times than today. Today, high school students look and act like they are in the fifth grade, and everyone thinks that’s normal. But people today think it’s abnormal for a high school student in the past to look like they were in their 20s or 30s.

[@phohead]

I had my own apartment at 16 too and I was the "baby" (the youngest). I so miss the 80's.

[@gazoontight]

There has definitely been a babyfication of teens. In the 70s and 80s we were treated as young adults. Now they’re treated as if they are still children.

[@treetopjones737]

I'm 62. Drinking at age 13? No. Never knew any kids doing that at that age. Around age 16 is when some kids did that.

[@martyklestadt6766]

Well, they also had actors in their twenties playing high school kids. In FTARH, Stacy tells the stereo guy that she's nineteen even though her character is only fifteen; yet Jennifer Jason Leigh was actually 20 at the time.

[@williamuptgraft1755]

❤ I grew up in the 80s and all through my high school years i was able to come and go pretty much at will. I just had to let my parents know where I waa.

[@hshaughnessy17]

So many stars in this movie. The three stoners - Sean Penn, Anthony Edwards and Eric Stoltz. Judge Reinhold, Nicolas Cage (under his real name Nicolas Coppola), Jennifer Jason Leigh, Forest Whitaker and Ray Walston.

[@michaelpoore21]

This is one of my top 5 favorite comedies or movies period of all my life. I watch this alot and it never gets old.

[@TreyBlythe]

"Why are they smelling the paper?" Things younger generations will have no idea of.

[@ROBERTANDERSON-f2f]

Nothing like a good whiff of the fresh forms! I think we've all done it regardless of where on earth we schooled! 🇦🇺🤠👍

[@guitarman8462]

Brad's gf was in " A Nightmare On Elm Street ". Also many famous faces in this movie.

[@LordVolkov]

And Better Off Dead

[@MattTownsend-t4b]

​@@LordVolkovAnd Nightmare on Elm Street. In fact, at the prom in B.O.D, the director had one of the dudes standing behind Amanda wear the striped Freddy sweater.

[@ThePensive8]

Loooove the 80s...miss this decade so much!!!

[@mawkushbrody7748]

Great soundtrack. Moving in Stereo will always remind me of the pool scene.

[@angelagraves865]

I think that's true for all of us 80s kids 😃👙😈

[@AlecSmith-jk5mb]

Pavlovian, you might say. Ha.

[@Tr0nzoid]

The appeal of reactions to movies from the 1980s is hearing what the viewers think of the culture at the time, as well as how they were made.

[@greghansen-o8t]

In the 80's I never seen concert tickets over $15. We went all the time and seen a lot of great bands. Luv the 80's

[@MattTownsend-t4b]

Classic 80's teen movies: Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club,Pretty in Pink, (my favorite) Better Off Dead, The Sure Thing, Less Than Zero (great drama), Back To School...

[@johnathanHannaford]

True story - Sean Penn based his character on a guy he knew in school, 20 years later he meets the same guy again and the other guy is wearing a business suit in a expensive restaurant with his wife and six kids 😂

[@TheChristafershawn]

And Sean Penn turned into a total douche

[@socalpaul487]

For a coming of age film, I recommend "Breaking Away" 1979. The test papers that everyone smelled were printed on a mimeograph (or Ditto) machine and had a chemical smell when fresh. In the '70's & '80's parental supervision was often minimal. Both parents working was common. Kids walked to & from school at a young age. There were no cell phones or pagers.

[@BohoBunMom]

I didn't see your comment, I just recommended Breaking Away as well. What a fantastic movie! I still own the DVD.

[@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary]

In the 70s and the 80s kids used to actually Go Out and Play till Sundown out on their own or with friends and All WaS Right in our world! Parents were Free to go about their day without worrying about us for the most part Without Cell Phones. We were taught to take care of ourselves and be creative doing so! Our families would come together at the Dinner Table and spend the Weekends together with each other. We hung with our friends and in a kid's life our parents were appreciated but still Supporting Cast to our daily adventures.. Teens were able to be very unsupervised in those days without getting up to much trouble.. It was definitely a different time and I'm sooo glad I grew up then!

[@tofersiefken]

For a great '80s movie featuring a very young (18/19) Nicholas Cage, check out Valley Girl (1983). It is similar in genre to Pretty In Pink (1986), but I always considered Valley Girl the more "underground" choice for some of the art-house films I used to view.

[@JoeCool7835]

Fun fact: Phoebe Cates' reaction when she walked in on Judge Reinhold was genuine. He had a realistic-looking toy (you know what kind) in his hands. She wasn't told ahead of time & actually thought she walked in on him whacking off.

[@excalibur2024guy]

The owner of the pirate food place is Stuart Cornfeld. He produced The Fly.

[@reneedennis2011]

I didn't know that.

[@billiam8554]

Blow Out and Say Anything are 2 of my top favorite 80s movies. Hope to see you react to them soon.

[@LordVolkov]

Blow Out is fantastic. I hope it gets some reactions eventually.

[@OSVS_Mike]

This came out the year I graduated high school 1982. Good times... Also, they didn't tell Phoebe that he'd be holding a certain "item," so her look of disgust was genuine.

[@user-EricWatson55]

Sanka was an instant decaffeinated coffee made by the chemical method. There are three methods for making coffee decaf. Chemical is just one of them. It was unhealthy to drink.

[@RobertSmith-bz5ug]

It was Decaf,, that's why the teacher was not quite awake lol

[@clh35]

Yes, but the point is that it's decaffeinated.

[@black6q]

For more 80s movies check out “The Last American Virgin”, “Private Lessons”, “My Tutor”, and “My Bodyguard”.

[@rodneywoodcock8235]

The Last American Virgin is by far the most realistic movie in the genre with the most f-uped ending I've ever seen.

[@dustinjones8887]

I think TBR would love the best John Hughes movie that no reactors has done, is "Some Kind of Wonderful".

[@reneedennis2011]

That's a good movie.

[@dustinjones8887]

@@reneedennis2011 - The movie is fantastic. I'm really surprised none of the main top 10-15 reactors I watch has reacted to it.

[@reneedennis2011]

@@dustinjones8887 Yup. It's an underrated movie. Say Anything is good, too.

[@rxlxviii]

Even though it didn't win the poll, I hope you guys watch Blow Out. It's a good movie that many people don't know about or has been forgotten by many.

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup.

[@fionnmaccumhaill3257]

The girl in the car that laughs at Brad in the late uniform was Nancy Wilson of Heart. And yes, that was Nicholas Cage in his first role, I think.

[@utcnc7mm]

I didn't even recognized her.

[@shanenolan5625]

Thanks guys, this was written by cameron crowe , he made jerry maguire and almost famous, Jennifer jason leigh and phebe cates meet during this and are still best friends, pheobe had great success, gremlins and a few other movies but she got married and had k8ds and quit acting, she married a movie star Kevin klien) Jennifer directed a movie in 2001 and pheobe was in it as her best friend, she played an actress and pheobe played a former actree who quit to have babies, movie was set at a holly housparty , ( the anniversary)

[@roryotoole3279]

Nicolas Cage's first starring role is an '80's classic that is one of the best of the decade, Valley Girl (1983). My Bodyguard (1980) has a great concept with some serious twists and turns. The Last American Virgin (1982) is another interesting coming of age '80s movie that has some serious undertones. Three O'clock High (1987) is a lot of fun

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup.

[@sweetwentworth]

I rented this at blockbuster in the 90s with my grandparent's because we thought it looked fun. Watching this with them as a teenage boy...My grandpa kept snickering and my grandma kept saying "oh my." I couldnt look them in the eye the whole night!

[@80socpunk89]

Hi from Huntington Beach! You two are my FAVORITE reactors ever. I spent months recovering from a broken back and binging your reactions kept me sane! I was a freshman in HS when this came out and trust me when I say that I wasn't the only kid that fell in love with Pheobe Cates after this movie LOL. Just a side note......as a very proud dad, my son has two engineering degrees and also works in the aerospace industry (Northrop Grumman). I love Daniel's hilarious comments when he is shocked by something. You guys are great! Keep up the good work!

[@James_Loveless]

Similar movie also from Eighties Some Kind of Wonderful

[@KD-cd2ck]

A John Hughes classic! (I know he didn’t direct it)

[@greeneyesinfl9954]

One of my all-time favorites!! Sean Penn should have won an Oscar but comedies never get their due 😊🙏 I'm sure someone has already posted about this but the girl laughing at Brad wearing the pirate uniform is Nancy Wilson from the rock band Heart, she was either married to or dating the director Cameron Crowe at the time.

[@utcnc7mm]

Classic 80’s movie! Now for the 1960’s version of this watch “AMERICAN GRAFFITI” by none other than George Lucas!

[@danieljohnson2005]

Aw, man! That would be so great if they watched that. It’s one of my favorites.

[@ROBERTANDERSON-f2f]

Great film and great suggestion !

[@joelwillems4081]

But doesn't that all just happen in one night? I think they run across a teacher or two but no school. Let's watch the "Wanderers" instead. :)

[@treetopjones737]

Meaning early 60's, not the later 60's.

[@charlize1253]

This movie is SUCH an accurate time capsule for Gen X/80s teens. Parents? Everybody had 2 parents who worked, no cell phones, no internet, no email, no cable TV, so all of my friends were on our own all day long with nothing to do but go to the mall, work part-time jobs, and hit on girls. If someone's house had a pool we were always there. If you weren't old enough to drive, you hitched rides with friends or took the city bus. And as the movie portrays, when we got lucky, with no internet we had no idea what we were doing and it was awkward as heck. Everything that you guys thought was off about this movie was actually so, so real for my entire generation. You Milennials will never know

[@BishopWalters12]

Great movie, I don't think Mark should've forgiven Mike or Stacy but what can you do. The scenes with Jeff Spicoli and Mr. Hand were the best.

[@LeRoy-z5f]

Mr. Hand was the type of teacher Spicoli needed.

[@Chris-fd9er]

Played by Ray Walston, who was the Martian in "My Favorite Martian": a 60's sitcom with Bill Bixby. Also starred in South Pacific.

[@deanhibler3117]

I agree 100%. I had a similar teacher in my senior year named Mr. Mazarov. He was a ex colonel in the Marine Corps and served in the Korean War as a 2nd LT.. The man was a real hardass, but he had a heart. I learned more in that class and I think in any of the other classes combined. It was the fall of 1983, everybody was all worried about tensions in the world thinking that we were about to get attacked by the Soviet Union, his comment to the class was " Well if there's a nuclear war tonight make sure that you take notes because we're going to go over it in class tomorrow" LOL

[@DavidBush-wm1fe]

@@Chris-fd9er And was in Picket Fences.

[@gregall2178]

@@Chris-fd9er Played Glen Bateman in The Stand, also 🙂

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup.

[@robertjewell9727]

In my top 2 favorite coming of age films of all time, AMERICAN GRAFITTI being the other.

[@utcnc7mm]

That would be a great suggestion. I hope someone on their Patreon list recommends it.

[@stsolomon618]

Love American Graffiti

[@reesebn38]

Holy sh--- dude mine too!! They feel the most real. I saw American Graffiti in the theatre when I was 9. It was the first movie that made a big impact on me.

[@robertjewell9727]

@@utcnc7mm me too. 👍

[@ROBERTANDERSON-f2f]

Same here and another fave of mine is Catholic Boys with Donald Sutherland and Kevin Dillon.

[@sisterdebmac]

I love how as an 18 year old in 1982 when we saw this in the theater, my friends and I weren't shocked at all. We recognized this world. But you guys found it darker than we perceived it. I've seen it many times over the years. And I totally get that sensibilities are different now. I doubt real life teen behavior has gotten any less raunchy or intense or awkward though.

[@YoureMrLebowski]

5:53 that freshly mimeographed paper. good times. 😎

[@verribarry]

Mimeographed.

[@YoureMrLebowski]

@@verribarry you are correct! 😉

[@numberphive]

The best and weirdest smell of all time

[@Hibbs4Prez]

Three future Oscar winners in the film. All for Best Leading Actor.

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup. Nicholas Gage, Sean Penn, and Forrest Whitaker.

[@hapa817]

Yes, the 80s were great. This movie is definitely iconic and a part of my childhood, another couple of movies that are coming of age, "The Last American Virgin" 1982 and "The Wild Life" 1984, which is kind of the guys version of "Fast Times"

[@maceomaceo11]

When GenXers tell you they raised themselves, we aren't exaggerating too much. There was always somebody's house to hang out at because their parents were gone. Drinking age was 19 (at least in my state) and finding an older sibling to buy alcohol was not difficult. Hell, a very hairy 15 year old could buy it. Also friends asking if they could borrow a hundred bucks to get them out of a spot wasn't that uncommon.

[@horrorshow-wu5po]

"Valley Girl" with Nic Cage came out not long after this. It's pretty great.

[@1010burl-g7y]

This film was directed by Amy Heckerling who also wrote, produced and directed "Clueless" in 1995. Another classic from 1982 is "Diner" which has yet to be reacted to on KZbin. Please be the first ones to do so.

[@clarkness77]

Clueless is a great movie!

[@reneedennis2011]

Both are good movies.

[@sca88]

Since i was in H.S. when this came out, the reason it's my favorite H.S. film is because it's the closest to my H.S. experience.

[@gswithen]

I think, in time, you'll like and appreciate this film a lot more. Definitely watch Sixteen Candles, Risky Business and Fletch.

[@jasonhughes3152]

Kinda shocked this beat Risky Business and Do the right thing, but it could be patreons thinking what you 2 would like better. I do like this movie

[@clh35]

I would have been shocked if it didn't. From my experience, this film is much more well-known and beloved than either of those 2. Different perspectives, I guess.

[@Don-lg3oy]

Those are good but Fast Times is the clear choice and picked for a reason. I don’t think it’s shocking at all.

[@RetiredSailor60]

Sanka was a brand of coffee.

[@butkusfan23]

I can drink some bad coffee but that instant crystal nonsense is absolutely terrible.

[@chrissmalley83]

_Decaffeinated instant_ coffee. The name Sanka came from "sans caffeine."

[@Harv72b]

Porky's is another classic '80s coming of age flick that's fallen by the wayside over the years. It is *way* raunchier than Fast Times, but it'll also surprise you with some of the subplots.

[@Theomite]

There's a surprisingly poignant subplot to that movie that always gets overlooked.

[@bran1886]

A man? If a man is being what you are, I would rather be queer.

[@phillipjones4983]

For watching not another teen movie if you watch Sixteen candles She's all that Can't hardly wait Breakfast club Bring it on American beauty American pie Never been kissed Cruel intentions Varsity blues Some are more important than others to watch, but all are referenced in NATM

[@kirkkitsch]

16 Candles, Some Kind of Wonderful, Pretty in Pink, Better Off Dead, The Wild Life (considered a companion piece to Fast Times), Heathers, Weird Science, The Last American Virgin, Valley Girl, Modern Girls, Back to School, Just One of the Guys…

[@Bluedreamflying]

Spicoli is the reason for a huge surge in sales of Vans shoes, especially the checkerboards. They were Sean Penn’s idea, he bought them himself at a Vans store in the Valley, and showed up on set with them. You missed Eric Stoltz as Spicoli’s bud. Check out 1987’s Some Kind of Wonderful, with Stoltz, Lea Thompson, and Mary Stuart Masterson.

[@excalibur2024guy]

I love that song "I Don't Know" played at the end of the hospital scene. I recently discovered that it was written and performed by Jimmy Buffet (Margaritaville) 😂

[@williamjones6031]

1. JAILBAIT 2. This was Forest Whitaker's (Jefferson) first roll. 3. Nicholas Cage's first gig also. 4. That table size in the restaurant was done on purpose. 5. Jefferson would have been kicked out of the game for bumping the official. 6. That pool scene when Linda comes out of the water is the most paused on VCR's in history. 7. The hot blonde in the convertible is Heart's very own Nancy Wilson. She was Cameron Crowe's squeeze at the time. 8. My first concert in 1978 was ZZ TOP and only cost $8. T-shirts were $12.🤑🤑 9. Mr. Vargas/Vincent Schiavelli played the train ghost in "Ghost" and Fredrickson in "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest". 10. They were really smoking pot in that van before the dance.😎😎😎😎 11. I liked Mr. Hand. I had one in high school. Just do what you're supposed to do, and everything will be fine. 12. My High School had a live band in the late 70s and in a smaller town. 13. Goof: There's no sausage on the double cheese and sausage pizza.

[@norwegianblue2017]

Back in the day, it was easy to be a scalper. You just got in line at the venue before dawn and bought as many tickets as you could afford. It was way more democratic, and tickets were cheap. My buddy has a collection of concert stubs from the late 70s and early 80s. Pretty much all of them were under $20 for decent seats. Parking was usually free or like $1. It was a glorious time to see live music.

[@YoureMrLebowski]

1:47 fun fact: Sean Penn was 21 during the filming of Fast Times.

[@mikethemotormouth]

It IS fun to be 21 😄

[@darthken815]

"When I reached 21, I knew the time had come. I had an old rebellin' itch. Broke a little girl's heart, tore the world apart. A guitar playing sonofa . . ." -George Thorogood

[@positivelynegative9149]

I'm watching these Fast Times before it gets removed. 😃 I usually am not affected by the videos being taken down because I watch them right away. 🤣

[@davewhitmore1958]

You guys are awesome, totally awesone for watching this!

[@Stogie2112]

James Russo (the store robber) also played Axel Foley's doomed friend, Mikey Tandino. Russo also played the thug rapist in "Extremities" with Farrah Fawcett on stage and screen.

[@Theomite]

A really odd role for him is Bernie the rare book dealer in THE NINTH GATE. Really out of left field performance for him.

[@UserAndLoser1985]

He played one of the Speck brothers at the beginning of Django Unchained.

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup.

[@reneedennis2011]

I was a teenager in the 80s and a lot of this movie is realistic. I used to watch this on HBO all the time!

[@TheChristafershawn]

Yeah, it’s extremely accurate for growing up in the 80s. I used to frequent the Sherman Oaks Galleria as I lived in the neighborhood where this and Valley girl were filmed. I was a little younger than these characters/ actors , but I could definitely relate to some degree.

[@reneedennis2011]

@@TheChristafershawn Yup. I used to watch Valley Girl all the time, too.

[@jjsdad4952]

Guys, believe it or not, this is how it was. No parents to be found. When I was 12 (1984) and my sister 14, my single mother went to the Caribbean for a week. We had anywhere from 5-20 kids sleeping at the house every night. Even when she was home, we left the house first thing in the morning and came home well after dark. I had my own key to our apartment, no joke, when I was 6! Hence…latchkey kids.

[@deaconbluezzz]

Yet another reason GenX had the greatest childhoods of any generation, before or since...especially since.

[@davids2096]

I prefer the early 80's 📽️🎥 films as opposed to the mid and late 80's 🍿🎥 movies! Another movie worth watching is The Last American Virgin that's also comical as well as conveying meaningful messages! The soundtrack to that movie also has a lot of great hits 🎯 of the time like this one does! Take care!

[@vpg722]

Love that you guys had no idea why everyone was sniffing the papers in class. Before copy machines they would use a mimeograph to make copies and the smell was wonderful. Probably blew out a thousand brain cells huffing those papers.