Amy Heckerling

Amy Heckerling is one of the better maker of teen films (about them, and often for them) and other poppy movies. Hit and miss, but worth looking at.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) -- Probably the first of its kind, but I haven't decided if "its kind" is a good thing or not yet. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, and this isn't the best one, even if it is the first. If I would have seen it originally in 1982, I might have appreciated the newness of it, but seeing it for the first time in 2001, I could only appreciate the original originality of it, and only minorly liked it as a movie itself, one which stands alone without any historical context. Or... um, it was decently funny. Judge Reinhold was good. B

National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985) -- From what I remember, this was funny enough. I'll have to see it again to give it a proper review, and I think I agree with those who say the first is still much better. (See Harold Ramis for the predecessor, National Lampoon's Vacation. See Jeremiah S. Chechik for the sequel, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.) B

Look Who's Talking (1989) -- It's not awful, it's funny enough. Bruce Willis from back in his ha-ha days, John Travolta from his pre-Pulp Fiction post-Saturday Night Fever days, Kirstie Allie looking cute. It's worth seeing. It's got something to it. The best news of all is that computer graphics weren't advanced enough in 1989 to make the baby's mouth move. (See below for the sequel, Look Who's Talking Too.) C

Look Who's Talking Too (1990) -- I haven't even seen it all the way through, but I'll grade it anyway. Anything that says "Add another baby, and what about Roseanne for the voice?" can't be that great an idea. (See above for the predecessor, Look Who's Talking. See Tom Ropelewski for the sequel, Look Who's Talking Now.) D

Clueless (1995) -- My favorite Amy Heckerling movie, and maybe because I was around this time in the 90s to see this movie help define the decade in much the same way Fast Times at Ridgemont High did for the 80s. Though I think it works beyond that as well, and is still funny with great performances all around. Movies would try to copy it later (like Legally Blonde), but those seemed to miss most of the point and just go for some dumb blonde character, which Cher wasn't. A

Loser (2000) -- Amy Heckerling tries to make a movie for the college kids of the new millennium and fails. A pretty uninteresting movie. D