Dazed and Confused / Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Ultimate Party Collection
January 2005 Reviewed by: Marc Mickelson Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Don't let the title of this two-movie set confuse you: Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Dazed and Confused are re-released here in remastered widescreen format with 5.1-channel sound. I watched each movie separately, so there was no "ultimate party" in my living room, but I can say that these are two definitive movies about high school during the 1970s and 1980s. They are comedies, but they transcend the teen-comedy genre, which is plagued by some of the worst movies ever made. Both show that teen audiences appreciate sophisticated portrayals of themselves, even amidst practical jokes, partying and rebelling against authority.

Fast Times follows a group of fast-food-working, hanging-out-by-the-pool mall rats and surfer dudes, and it introduced a number of soon-to-be-significant young actors, including Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Eric Stoltz and Nicolas Cage. Dazed and Confused chronicles the last day of school in 1976 and has its own pack of up-and-comers, including Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey and Parker Posey. Fast Times is contemporary to the time during which it was made, while Dazed and Confused is a respectful look back. Neither film trivializes the issues of the day, including drinking and drug use, dating and sex, and the uncertainty the future holds for the characters.

The transfers for both films are very good, and the widescreen presentation is an enhancement for those who are used to seeing these films on cable TV, where they appear semi-regularly. The inclusion of special features such as an institutional filmstrip on the dangers of partying and a documentary on the making of Fast Times indicates that Universal has tried to add value to this set -- and succeeded.

I graduated from high school in 1981, so I span the timeframes shown in both of these movies. My preference is for Dazed and Confused -- it captures my high school experience to a surprising degree. However, Fast Times was very popular during its theatrical run and thereafter as a rental because it was true to its time and very funny (a topless Phoebe Cates didn't hurt its bottom line). If you want to laugh yourself into bleary-eyed adolescent oblivion, watch this set along with the John Hughes films Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.

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