Illini, people will laugh off the acting in this film. They'll blow it off as your standard hi-school film. The acting in this film was pretty good. I can say that because the characters stood the test of time. You had to have just the right temperament to pull it off:
*Judge Reinhold - playing the fool
*Sean Penn - playing the surfer dude
*Rob Romanus - playing the scumbag
Funny note on Romanus, and not many would remember this. He was so good in this role. It actually got him future work. After this movie, Romanus appeared on "Facts of Life" (which was pretty big at the time).
Romanus was Natalie's boyfriend on the show. Romanus' character de-flowered Natalie. And Romanus said the "Facts of Life" producers thought he could play that role because of his work on "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".