Ah, high school in Southern California, 1982. The mall. The retail jobs. The beach. The friends. The high jinks.
You could say they were fast times.
And although that wasn't my personal high school experience, there was a certain film released that same year which documented things fairly accurately. Or maybe not so accurately. Regardless, I felt the film and its major players needed a custom card.
As you might have already guessed, it's Fast Times at Ridgemont High!
You can't deny the big acting names up there. Sean Penn. Judge Reinhold. And
do I even have to mention Phoebe Cates? The red bikini scene? Shopping malls everywhere
must have been selling out of her posters on a weekly basis back in '82.
As for the character arrangement, Jeff Spicoli had to have the center position, of course. Brad Hamilton needed a spot on the bottom in order to accommodate his burger-flipping hat. Then I figured his little sister would be happy alongside him. That meant the top spots were open for Linda and Mike.
I even thought about adding history teacher Mr. Hand to the card, squeezing him along
the bottom between the Hamiltons. (One of the original 1963 Topps baseball cards
does include six players.) However, I decided against it because things just looked a
little crowded down there. Besides, Mr. Hand is a total downer compared to the rest of the crew.
To get back to some fun facts, this little subset of custom cards based on the '63 design is now three deep. The first card in the set featured the brave (or not-so-brave) knights
from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The second card showed the fab five from The Breakfast Club. With the third card complete, they're looking pretty good next to each other in a binder.
Here's a peek at the card back.
I used the stat line again, which provides some interesting data about the film. Overall, Fast Times did pretty well at the box office, considering it had to contend with blockbusters like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Rocky III.
Now here's a little clip of Mr. Spicoli in action. (It helps explain the title of this blog post, too.)
Life's not that hard, right?
How about all of you? Can you relate to any of the zany experiences depicted in Fast Times? Did you have a teacher like Mr. Hand? Did you ever have a pizza delivered to your school, during class? If so, you've got to share the story here.
Thanks for reading, as always!
Great card. This movie came out the summer before my senior year. It was talked about the entire school year.
ReplyDeletePerfect timing for you, Night Owl! Must have been a fun summer.
DeleteAnother excellent custom card! You're really nailing these late '70s/early '80s subjects.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Chris! Glad you're enjoying them. Why not treat yourself to an All-American burger this week? ;-)
DeleteGreat looking card. I will admit though, I have never seen this
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt! And you know what? I actually didn't see it until about 10 years ago. Not my favorite '80s film, but I think it's worth seeing at least once.
DeleteGreat custom (as usual). Didn't see this in the theaters (I was on in 5th grade when it came out), but watched it on VHS plenty of times. Classic movie that was backed by a solid soundtrack.
ReplyDeleteI actually had a few teachers who were similar to Mr. Hand. One of them ended up being a very influential teacher who helped me get back on track in high school. Never had pizza delivered to my classroom, but I know some of my students have used Door Dash to have food delivered. They almost always get caught, because the food gets delivered to the office (our middle schoolers aren't allowed to hang out near the front parking lot where the food arrives).
Totally agree, Fuji. I had a few Mr. Hand–type teachers throughout my elementary and high school years, and most of them played a definite and positive role in my education and growth. As for modern-day students ordering via Door Dash, that's hilarious. Next time that happens, you should eat it right in front of them and share with the class.
DeleteAwesome, totally awesome (card)! A favorite memory is organizing a dorm hall trip for the majority of my college freshmen to see the film in the fall of 1982 after school started. They had just finished high school, were mainly from southern California, so I'm not exaggerating when I say the outing was a huge hit!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a totally awesome experience, Mr. Haverkamp! Perfect timing for you and the freshmen, too. Thank you for sharing, and for stopping by.
DeleteI saw this picture probably around the age of 12, and aside from one scene (I'm sure that you can guess which scene), I don't recall anything else about it -- well, except that I didn't much care for it, and haven't seen it again since.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen it once as well. Not my top pick for '80s films, but it seems to hold a pretty high place for a lot of people out there!
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