Rare Finds | The Wild Life (1984)

Cameron Crowe struck mega success when he wrote the teen angst comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), which he adapted from his book published the year prior by the same title. It is indicative of the time with characters based on actual students he befriended when he spent a year undercover at Clairemont High School in San Diego. It was a herald film boasting a stellar line-up of actors, including Sean Penn, Judge Reinhold, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Phoebe Cates, whose nude scene is forever etched in the annals of the decade. Put it right up there in my top three favorite movies!

 

Crowe then took the leftover material from his book to write The Wild Life (1984). However, this “sequel” of sorts never received quite the same recognition despite featuring another solid group of talent, including Chris Penn, Eric Stoltz and Lea Thompson.

It is not released on DVD due to controversy surrounding music rights of the Eddie Van Halen soundtrack, but I was able to hunt down a fine-tuned copy on DVD-R. However, I will have to do some work on creating a better cover for a traditional case so it can fit in nicely with the collection.

My DVD-R copy of The Wild Life (1984)

The plot revolves around high school graduate Bill Conrad who yearns to get out on his own. After renting an expensive luxury apartment, he is forced to allow Tom Drake the extra bedroom to make ends meet. However, growing up for Bill is near impossible with Tom's innate desire to live the wild life. Whereas Fast Times at Ridgemont High focuses a large amount of the plot in the school, The Wild Life is set during the summertime and focuses more on relationships.

The Tom Drake character played by Chris Penn is congruent to the Jeff Spicoli character played by his brother Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. In the same likeness, the character of Bill Conrad played by Eric Stoltz is equated to Brad Hamilton as played by Judge Reinhold. However, the plots run in completely differing directions, and I quickly had to detach myself from viewing it as a sequel. The same motifs apply though—sex, corruption by drugs and alcohol, destruction of property—all the things that make a really great 80s teen angst film pop.

Every character has a strong position and personality that drive an incredibly sound story. I was immediately captured by the hilarious lines, anecdotes and exploits. The aged picture quality is completely forgotten as it all unfolds. Although, it is a certain shame that the film is unable to attain DVD release with digitally remastered picture. I was incessantly caught up in the comedy, and it left me wanting more as the credits started to roll.

If I was old enough to watch Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Wild Life when they were first released, I certainly would have exploded upon news of the Fast Times (1986) TV series breaking.

Unfortunately, it only lasted one season. But, although a bit melodramatic, it still till this day fills a portion of that "I want more" gap. Ray Walston and Vincent Schiavelli reprise their roles as school teachers Mr. Hand and Mr. Vargas, and it features two of my favorite actors—Patrick Dempsey as Mike Damone and Claudia Wells as Linda Barret. All seven episodes are available in their entirety on YouTube.