Summer of 1982: “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Friday the 13th Part III”

A great weekend for teens to discover the downsides of objects inserted into your body

“Fast Times at Ridgemont High”
Directed by Amy Heckerling
Released Aug. 13, 1982
Where to Watch

“Friday the 13th Part III”
Directed by Steve Miner
Released Aug. 13, 1982
Where to Watch

It’s amazing to discover the lengths teenagers will go to in order to get laid. That’s the common element between “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Friday the 13th Part III,” two different movies that became cult classics and would help prove that there are few genres more predictably popular than high school comedies and slasher flicks.

There is no doubt that the rapid increase in box office revenue, thanks to box office blockbusters like 1975’s “Jaws” and 1977’s “Star Wars,” was fueled by a more youthful audience making frequent trips to their multiplexes. That was especially true in the summer of 1982, which at that point, was collectively the highest grossing season theaters ever experienced. While Hollywood studios were following the leads of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas by investing big in science fiction, fantasy, and adventure films, they also tended to stretch the budget as well. But in addition to those blockbuster films, there were diamonds to be found with low budget films becoming highly profitable releases. “Carrie” in 1976 and “Halloween” in 1978 helped pave the way, relying on young unknown casts, the titlation of featured or suggested sex, and the horrors of youth.

The success of “Halloween” inspired a mini-genre expansion of slasher movies as murderous villains hunted down groups of unsuspecting teens. One of the most famous knockoffs was born in 1980 as “Friday the 13th,” which moved the murder spree location from the suburbs to campsites within the woods. “Friday the 13th” nearly matched “Halloween” in profitability as the story introduced Jason Voorhees as a young boy facing doom due to neglectful counselors, but the first film in the classic franchise featured Jason’s mother (Betsy Palmer) as the main antagonist seeking vengeance. Jason, now grown and scarred as a hulking monster, assumed his role as the series boogie man in “Part II” and would never relinquish it. 

By the time “Part III” rolled around, the general mysteries of the slasher movie plot were all rinsed and repeated within the series and elsewhere, so the filmmakers had to devise something unique to attract audiences who have already been on the ride, so to speak. They decided upon filming the movie in 3D, which back then, was still a relatively cumbersome and expensive process that largely fell out of mainstream films after the 1950s. Devising a horror movie with 3D was something new for young audiences, and as a result, gives “Friday the 13th Part III” a unique visual language (even in 2D) that makes it stand out among the other films in the series, even if so much of the plot mirrors the events of the first two films. The other element that gives “Part III” a boost: Jason dons his iconic hockey goalie mask for the first time.

“It was decided by just about everyone involved that we should stay reasonably within the format of the first two films,” director Steve Miner told Fangoria in 1982. “I spent a lot of time developing a number of different storylines and approaches that would be a breakaway from the other films. Finally, we all decided that it would have been a mistake. We have a certain audience that enjoyed ‘Friday the 13th,’ and we owe them the best possible film they will enjoy; suspense and scares within the format we’d already established.”

The 3D gimmick gives “Friday the 13th Part III” some life, but beyond that, this is also the definition of a safe bet by filmmakers. According to The Numbers, the movie’s budget was only about $2.2 million, and with franchise familiarity, the production didn’t have to do much to get people to show up and give them what they expected. Audiences did exactly that, helping to open “Friday the 13th Part III” at number one and ultimately propelling the slasher flick to a domestic gross total of $34.5 million.

It took me a while to see the appeal of slasher movies like these in the Friday the 13th series, but there’s nothing like a worldwide pandemic to force you to barricade yourself in the house with nothing to do but stream movies. The features of “Friday the 13th Part III” come not in its plot, but in its inventive weirdness. With this genre entering a boom period, the game becomes finding ways to outdo other slasher creators with nasty, gory, and unexpected death scenes. Everything else in between is designed to make you either laugh at or despise these characters, so you won’t care when they meet their demise.

Oddly enough, “Friday the 13th Part III” ages very well as a franchise film. The earlier films are still struggling to build the formula, later movies go heavy into melodramatic mythology and different locations to keep the series going. If you were someone who never seen any of the movies but were vaguely aware of Jason Voorhees, clad in a hockey mask, stomping around the woods murdering sex-crazed teenagers for 90 minutes, this is the movie to watch.

However, it’s exactly the sort of thing that rarely appeals to mainstream movie critics, especially in the early 80s before horror films found more respectability during the rise of Internet voices, social media advocates, and more niche-focused commentary.

“The effects are really quite special, among the best I've seen in my admittedly limited 3D viewing experience,” wrote Jay Boyar for The Buffalo Courier-Express. “Just watching the kids walk down the street or hop into their van in three dimensions offers a miraculous sensation. There are, of course, many grisly scenes. In general, these are better than a sharp stick in the eye, although often rather similar. Suppose that you're intrigued by the special three-dimensional effects but totally repulsed by the movie's mindless carnage. Then you've got yourself a problem.”

If the sight of mindless carnage repels you, then another movie released on this weekend offered more emotional carnage with two cups of teenage drama and a splash of cringe scenarios. “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” is also about the quest for teenage sex, but found that trading violent sprees for hormonal hijinks could prove to be as profitable as its horror cousin.

Based on the non-fiction book by Cameron Crowe (then a preternaturally-gifted young writer known mainly for his Rolling Stone articles) and directed by Amy Heckerling, “Fast Times” follows a year in the lives of a half-dozen high school students, including the naive Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh), her hyper-ambitious brother Brad (Judge Reinhold), the painfully-shy Mark (Brian Backer), his shifty friend Damone (Robert Romanus), Stacy’s high-status bestie Linda (Phoebe Cates), and the perpetually-stoned Spicoli (Sean Penn). While their friendships, schoolwork, and jobs offer their own complications, the vast majority of these teens are desperately searching for a fulfilling sexual experience, outside of Spicoli, whose personal philosophy encourages him to ride the wave of “just vibes” perpetually, to use the modern parlance. 

In its way, “Fast Times” would become as much of a cinematic landmark as “Halloween,” establishing the bar for a new subgenre of movies that would become profitable endevors for more than a decade. The movie skillfully blends comedy, sex, and drama with casual ease, while Heckerling put a premium on building a soundtrack that reflected the same punk pop culture that bore MTV. Meanwhile, the cast is filled with young and then-unknown actors, many of which are seeing their first major exposure on the big screen. It was a different perspective and style, and one that would influence and be improved upon with popular films made by John Hughes and even Heckerling herself in 1995’s “Clueless.”

“I’d rather see what young people are going through, than see things explode,” said Heckerling in a 2000 interview. “There are so many things about life that you’re just figuring out at that age, and it’s all new and exciting and heartbreaking. A teenager has to decide what they’re going to do with their life, and that’s one of the most important decisions that you’ll make. To try to figure out who you are, how good you are at various things, and how happy you are doing them, nobody deals with that unless it’s about somebody who wants to sing or dance.”

The spirit of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” made a huge impression with audiences, even years after its release, while another popular teenage adult comedy of the era, “Porky’s,” failed to have much more of a cultural legacy. But to Hollywood executives, it’s all the same: Making a huge profit off a low budget production. “Fast Times” had a reported $5 million budget but made $27 million at the box office. The film had even longer legs once it reached the video rental and cable TV markets. Sure, a scene where Cates removes her bikini top midway through the movie may have drawn the attentions of many teenage boys to watch over and over again, but as it turns out, the rest of the movie is pretty good too; another way “Fast Times” distinguishes itself from “Porky’s.”

“‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ continues to resonate as a substantial time capsule of the period, capturing the music, the fashions, the attitudes and the social mores of the time,” wrote Richard Roeper in a retrospective about the film for The Chicago Sun-Times. “ Thanks to the dialogue-rich screenplay by Cameron Crowe (adapting his own book) and the pitch-perfect direction by Amy Heckerling—not to mention a spectacular cast that included three future Oscar winners and a host of other young talents—’Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ is maybe the best ribald teen comedy ever made.”

There’s no question that several more movies made bigger splashes during the summer of 1982 than “Friday the 13th Part III” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” but few of them made more money off its investment. Hollywood would continue to chase big-budget spectacle decades after this summer, but this weekend is a strong reminder that there are few things more reliable at the box office than low budgets, young casts, and the trials and tribulations of horny teens.

At the Box Office: If you’re going to release a Friday the 13th movie with maximum marketing potential, you probably should time it so the film actually premieres on a Friday the 13th. That’s exactly what happened, as the Aug. 13, 1982, debut of the third movie in the franchise knocked off the summer blockbuster “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” from its box office throne. “Friday the 13th Part III” earned $9.4 million to win its opening weekend, while “E.T.” fell to second place with $8.4 million in ticket sales.

The Richard Gere-starring drama “An Officer and a Gentleman” expanded to 373 more theaters this weekend after a very profitable limited release so far. The movie made another $5 million to place third in the box office race.

Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton helped make “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” into the sleeper hit of the summer, selling another $4.4 million in tickets to bring its total up to $48 million four weeks into its run.

In fifth place was the re-release of the original “Star Wars” film, grossing $3.8 million for the weekend. One of the reasons why “Star Wars” became one of the most successful films of all time was that it was frequently put back into theaters after its original 1977 run because, in an age before streaming and mainstream video rentals, it was the only way to watch it again. With “E.T.” passing the $200 million revenue barrier this weekend, 20th Century Fox was looking to increase the lead of “Star Wars,” which was at that point the all-time box office champion, from its rapidly gaining competitor.

“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” also opened, but in a limited release of 498 theaters. The comedy grossed $2.5 million for seventh place, but had one of the highest per-screen averages for the weekend behind “Friday the 13th Part III” and “An Officer and a Gentleman.”

Next Week: “The Beastmaster”