Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Amy Heckerling 's adaptation of Cameron Crowe 's Fast Times at Ridgemont High is often considered one of the finest films of a disreputable genre (the teen sex comedy), and kick-started the careers of many future stars. The center of this ensemble film is Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy Hamilton. She is a young, innocent high-school student who, as the film opens, is asking for advice from her friend, the sexually outspoken Linda Barrett ( Phoebe Cates ). Stacy takes a liking to nebbish Mark Ratner ( Brian Backer ), but he is too afraid to make a move even after Stacy all but throws herself at him. She eventually hooks up with Mark's more confident best friend, Mike Damone ( Robert Romanus ). When not concerning itself with these four characters, the film spends time with stoned surfer dude Jeff Spicoli ( Sean Penn ) and his ongoing feud with history teacher Mr. Hand ( Ray Walston ). The film includes brief appearances by such future stars as Nicolas Cage , Eric Stoltz , and Forest Whitaker . — Perry Seibert