"Fast Times at Ridgemont High"

During the opening credits of Amy Heckerling's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (Universal, 1982) we see ticket taker Mark 'Rat' Ratner, played by Brian Backer, at the Pacific 4 Theatres in the Sherman Oaks Galleria.

The film also features Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Ray Walston, Kelli Maroney, Eric Stoltz and Forest Whitaker. Cameron Crowe did the screenplay based on his book. The cinematography was by Matthew F. Leonetti. Marty Glassman comments: 

"I was in there watching 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' with a friend, when they showed the scene of the inside of the mall. Everyone started laughing in the theater, and then they showed the kid taking tickets in the theater that we were watching the movie, and then we really started laughing."

 

"Smoking is upstairs and to your left." 

 

Local scalper Mike Damone, played by Robert Romanus, comes by for a chat.

 

 The kids want Van Halen tickets. They're not happy but they pay $20 for the $12 tickets. 

 

 

 

Stacey, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, works at Perry's Pizza. Rat gets brave and asks for her number. 

 

 

 

A look across from Perry's. On the theatre's readerboard: "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas." Thanks to Whiteberry for this screenshot he shared in a great post on Blu-ray.com that gives a rundown of the mall's appearances in various movies and TV shows.

 

 

 

At the end of the film we see Rat closing doors after a show. A new year has begun.

 

Stacy and her co-worker, Phoebe Cates, are on duty at Perry's Pizza. Stacy waves.  

 

 

Rat waves back. Stacy beckons him over and they kiss. The end credits advise that they're in a passionate romatic relationship but they haven't yet gone all the way.

See the page about the Pacific 4 Theatres on the Los Angeles Theatres site. There's also information on the replacement 16 screen complex that opened in the mall in 2001. It was later rebranded as an ArcLight and in 2021 became the Regal Sherman Oaks Galleria.  

Todd Tarpley analyzes the mall layout and has a number of shots from the film in a post on his site The Tarp Report. The mall exterior we see in the opening credits was shot at Santa Monica Place. The school they used was located in Van Nuys. 

On IMDb: "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" 

A production shot of Brian Backer at the theatre entrance. Thanks to Whiteberry for sharing this image in his superb 2021 post about the mall's movie appearances on Blu-ray.com.