(By Giving Us a Bunch of Dumb Teenagers Who Thought They Had It All Figured Out)
There are teen movies that put adolescence on a pedestal—wistful coming-of-age stories that make growing up look like a carefully curated Instagram feed. And then there’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which looked at the chaos of teen life and said, “Yep, this is a total disaster.”
And honestly? That’s why it still works.
Fast Times doesn’t give us wise-beyond-their-years teens or grand life lessons neatly wrapped up by the final act. It gives us something far more accurate: a bunch of dumbasses stumbling through high school, way too confident in their bad decisions, painfully unaware of how little they actually know. Which, let’s face it, is the most realistic portrayal of teenagers ever put on screen.
Everyone Thinks They’re the Smartest Person in the Room
The beauty of Fast Times is that nearly every character walks around like they’ve cracked the code to life—only to crash headfirst into reality. Whether it’s sex, jobs, school, or relationships, nobody in this movie actually knows what the hell they’re doing. But that doesn’t stop them from acting like they do.
Take Stacy Hamilton. She’s 15, thinks she’s mature enough to handle adult relationships, and ends up getting life advice from a friend who operates exclusively in red flags. Stacy throws herself headfirst into a series of deeply questionable encounters, not because she’s reckless, but because she genuinely thinks she’s got it all under control. And when it all blows up in her face? She shrugs, recalibrates, and keeps going—because that’s what teenagers do.
Then there’s Mike Damone. Oh, Damone. This guy struts around like a mix between a Wall Street tycoon and a love guru, despite being a broke ticket scalper who’s one panic attack away from crumbling. His “five-point plan” for seduction sounds like it was pulled from a wet nap in a diner, and yet he dishes it out like gospel. Of course he’s the one to completely collapse under pressure. Because for all his bravado, he’s just another clueless teen pretending to have answers.
Brad Hamilton: A Man with a Plan (Until He Doesn’t)
Brad is the older, slightly more experienced teen who starts the movie believing he’s on the fast track to success via the glamorous world of fast food management. He’s confident. He’s composed. He has it all figured out.
Then life says, “Lol, no you don’t.”
He gets fired, dumped, humiliated, and ends up spending most of the film spiraling through a series of progressively worse food service uniforms. His dreams of being a big shot evaporate somewhere between the fish & chips and the pirate hat. And yet, like a true teenager, he keeps insisting that this next thing will be the one that puts him back on top.
Spoiler: it’s not.
Jeff Spicoli: So Dumb, He Accidentally Becomes Zen
Let’s not forget Spicoli—everyone’s favorite lovable burnout. He’s operating on vibes and snack runs, not even pretending to care about school, the future, or reality in general. And weirdly… he might be the most emotionally honest character in the movie.
Spicoli is dumb, yes—but he’s authentically dumb. He’s not putting on airs. He knows what he likes (surfing, pizza, Van Halen) and sees no need to stress about anything beyond that. In a movie full of teens trying to cosplay as adults, Spicoli is the only one not pretending. That might make him the wisest idiot of them all.
The Real Genius of It All
What makes Fast Times stick after all these years isn’t the pool scene (though, sure, that helped with VHS sales). It’s that every single character is a walking, talking example of how teenagers can be so sure of themselves while knowing so little.
And that’s the brilliance: it doesn’t judge them. It just lets them exist in all their awkward, overconfident, misguided glory. It doesn’t offer easy answers or teachable moments. It just holds up a mirror and says, “This is what being a teenager really looks like.”
Confused. Clueless. Overconfident. And somehow still marching ahead like they’ve got a map.
Final Thoughts: The Dumbass Years Are Universal
Everyone in Fast Times thinks they’ve got it all figured out—and none of them do. That’s the whole joke. That’s the whole point. Teenagers are dumb not because they’re bad people, but because they’re brand new at this. They’re making it up as they go, convinced they’re geniuses while doing deeply dumb things. And eventually, they (mostly) grow out of it.
But for that brief, shining moment in high school? We were all Damone. Or Stacy. Or Brad. Or Spicoli. And Fast Times at Ridgemont High is the only movie brave enough to just let that glorious mess play out, no filter, no moral, no apology.
And honestly, that’s why it still hits. Even if you have to cringe your way through half of it.