Script To Screen: “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”

A memorable scene from the 1982 comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, written by Cameron Crowe.

Here Mr. Hand (Ray Walston) does battle with Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) over a popular adolescent food item.

INT. U.S. HISTORY CLASS - DAYThe third attendance bell rings, and Mr. Hand
strides to the front of the class. He locks the
door. Then he takes the front of the class and
notices something very different.ANGLE ON JEFF SPICOLIbright and clear-eyed, sitting in the front row.
His hands are clasped in front of him on the desk.
His textbook is open to the proper page.Mr. Hand is suspicious, but continues with class. MR. HAND
Now in 1898, Spain owned Cuba.
Outright. Think about it. Cuba,
owned by a disorganized parliament
4,000 miles away. Cubans were in a
constant state of revolt.Mr. Hand begins pacing the aisles as he talks. MR. HAND (CONT'D)
In 1904, the United States decided
to throw a little weight around,
and...There is a brief, sharp knock at the door. Mr. Hand
whips his head around, like McGarrett. He
approaches the door like a cat. MR. HAND (CONT'D)
(sweet voice)
Who is it? VOICE
Mr. Pizza. MR. HAND
Again? VOICE
Mr. Pizza, sir!Hand swings the door open, out of curiosity. In
walks a young Man in a Mr. Pizza delivery shirt. PIZZA MAN
Okay, who had the double cheese
sausage and bologna?Jeff Spicoli speaks up. SPICOLI
That's me.The Delivery Man takes the pizza, sets it on the
desk, as Spicoli whips out some crumpled dollars.
Then he produces yet another crumpled dollar, and
presses it into the Delivery Man's hand. SPICOLI (CONT'D)
For you, my man.The Delivery Man thanks him warmly, just as Mr.
Hand rages into the picture. MR. HAND
Am I hallucinating here? Just what
in the hell do you think you're
doing? SPICOLI
Learning about Cuba. Having some
food. MR. HAND
Mr. Spicoli, you're on dangerous
ground here. You're causing a major
disturbance in my class and on my
time. SPICOLI
(cool and urbane)
I've been thinking about this, Mr.
Hand. If I'm here... and you're
here... doesn't that make it our
time?Mr. Hand is so furious he's almost shaking. SPICOLI (CONT'D)
So I thought I'd order us a pizza.
Just leave me a lot of bologna...Mr. Hand snatches up the pizza, and starts to throw
it in the wastebasket. Then he thinks better, and
heads for the door. He opens it just as a gang of
young Stoners walk past. STONER #1
There's the pizza. STONER #2
Totally!Mr. Hand pushes the pizza into their hands and
slams the door. SPICOLI
You better save some for me, you
swine! MR. HAND
And you, my friend. I'll see you
for a two-hour detention every
afternoon this week.Spicoli eases back in his chair, shrugs. It was a
good idea at the time.

Here is the scene in the movie:

The scene plays out pretty much as written with the ending less random and more of a slap in Spicoli’s face, especially when Mr. Hand himself chows down on a slice.

One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

For more articles in the Script To Screen series, go here.