32 Things We Learned from the 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' Commentary "I can still smell this mall." Universal Pictures 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High remains an all-timer when it comes to teen comedies. It was an early feature, sometimes the first, for numerous talents who went on to stardom, and that includes director Amy Heckerling and writer Cameron Crowe. Both made their feature debuts here, and both found even greater success later on with the likes of Look Who’s Talking (1989) and Jerry Maguire (1996), respectively. Neither have done all that much this century as Heckerling’s last film was 2012’s