Phoebe Cates and Jennifer Jason Leigh in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 1982
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1982 saw the release of three hit high school-set comedies about sex: Porky’s, The Last American Virgin and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The only one to survive as a classic, Fast Times turned Phoebe Cates – who also appeared in the Blue Lagoon rip-off Paradise the same year – into a frozen-in-time icon of adolescent sexuality. Today we’ll talk about this sudden explosion of teen sex on movie screens, and compare Cates’s public persona and attitude to on-screen sexuality to that of Blue Lagoon star Brooke Shields.
Brooke Shields in a 1980s Calvin Klein ad
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Long Live the New Flesh! Or, Why Video Stores With Real Employees Will Always Win, By Ross Scarano, Matt Barone, Complex.com, Nov 06, 2013
Teen Sexploitation --The Young Girls Talk: Movies by Kristine Mckenna, Laura Daltry Los Angeles Times, Sep 25, 1983
’They Want us to Look’ Through the Lens of the Teen Sex Comedies of the Early 1980’s by Andy Selsberg, believermag.com, May 1, 2006
In ’80s Comedies, Boys Had It Made. Girls Were the Joke. by Wesley Morris, New York Times, Oct. 4, 2018
The 'R' Rating-A Lure Or A Barrier by Susan Heller Anderson, New York Times, May 2, 1982
The Movie No Theaters Thought Worth Showing; Rationale Explained Atkins Used Alone in Publicity Focus on Scantily Clad Youths Some Controversy Stirred by by Aljean Harmetz, New York Times, Nov. 4, 1980
Brooke Shields Tells the Story Behind Her 80's Calvin Klein Jeans Campaign, Vogue.com, October 28, 2021
Joseph Cates, 74, a Producer Of Innovative Specials for TV by Robert Mcg. Thomas Jr., New York Times, Oct. 12, 1998
Audio discussion from 1982 with Amy Heckerling at the American Film Institute, from the Fast Times at Ridgemont High Criterion Edition
New Talent Featured in ‘Fast Times' by Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times, August 13, 1982
The Life and Times of ‘Fast Times’” Dale Pollack, Los Angeles Times
Watching Innocence Take Wing by Charles Champlin, LA Times, September 2, 1982
Jennifer Leigh and Her Trip Trom X to R, New York Times, September 3, 1982
Fast Times' Director On Fast Track To Fame by Lawrence O’Toole, The Globe and Mail, 10 Sep 1982
Fast Times at Ridgemont High 1 Star Review by Roger Ebert, January 01, 1982
The Test Screening That Almost Killed Fast Times at Ridgemont High by Dana Stevens, Slate.com, May 27, 2021
Pheobe Cates Cover & Story, Interview Magazine, June 1982, Vol 12 Iss 6
Jennifer Jason Leigh Can Be Fearless Because it’s Pretend by Phoebe Cates, Photographed by Eli Russell Linnetz, Interview, September 14, 2018
Film Reviews: Paradise, Variety Vol. 307, Iss. 2, May 12, 1982
Paradise Review Box Office Vol. 118, Iss. 7, Jul 15, 1982
‘Paradise': A Lovers' Oasis Revisited by Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1982
A Suitful Of Trouble In 'Paradise': Film Clips by Deborah Caulfield, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1982
Judge Rejects Attempt to Block Advertisement for 'Paradise' Los Angeles Times, May 20 1982
Paradise Star Phoebe Cates Hangs Her Own Film with a One-Word Review—'Rip-Off' by Josh Hammer, People Magazine, June 14, 1982
Film Review: Blue Lagoon, Variety, Jun 11, 1980
Despite Success, a Tough Fight for Backing” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 7, 1980
The Blue Lagoon, The Director A Common Denominator, The Cincinnati Post, July 11, 1980
Brooke Shields Cover & Fashion Spread, Vogue Magazine, October 1980
Brooke Shields, US Magazine, May 15, 1979
The Day Blue Jeans Became Sexual; Those TV Ads Anger Some - But They Sell by Julie Hatfield Globe Staff, Boston Globe, October 16, 1980
WNBC Also Bans Sultry Jeans Ads, New York Times, Nov. 21, 1980
Brooke Shields on Barbara Walters c. 1980/81
Brooke Shields Calls Her 1980 Interview With Barbara Walters “Practically Criminal” By Emily Kirkpatrick,Vanity Fair, December, 7, 2021
There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me by Brooke Shields
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Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.
Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:
"Rumoi Night" - Kokura Station
"Dimming Circuit" - Limoncello
"Pxl Htra" - The Fence
"Kovd" - Fjell
"Even Dreams of Beaches" - Resolute
"Trek VX" - Limoncello
"Pxl Deter" - The Fence
"Hutter" - Pglet
"Still Nite" - Pglet
"Pxl Cray" - The Fence
"The Killjoy Brothers" - Kittyhawk
"Gamboler" - Pglet
"Readers Do You Read" - Chris Zabriskie
Credits:
This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.
Our editor this season is Evan Viola.
Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.
Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.
Logo design: Teddy Blanks.
