"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" was on television the other morning. It's always been a favorite. "Fast Times" won't go down in history as a great film, but it was darned entertaining-- a couple of hours of escapist fun.
I've always been a Roget Ebert fan. He was not only a good critic, but he was also a great writer. I loved reading his blog.
Anyway, after watching "Fast Times," I looked up Ebert's review from 1982. I was surprised to see that he hated it. Ebert liked the performances, especially Jennifer Jason Leigh. "Fast Times" lost it, in Ebert's view, because of the excessive vulgarity.
While I get that, you do have to face facts. Young people, heck, even old people, can be vulgar.
"Fast Times" would have lost some of its realism if it cut the vulgarity. Looking at it from Ebert's point of view, it could have been toned down a bit.
Vulgar or not, I still look at "Fast Times" as one of the better movies of the 80's.
