The Wild Life

After the success they had with Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Universal Pictures was more than eager to buy screenwriter Cameron Crowe's next script, 1984's The Wild Life.

Like Fast Times, The Wild Life was another teen comedy, only this time it dealt with those teen years that follow high school. Eric Stoltz stars as Bill, a recent high school grad who has just moved into his first apartment. Realizing that money is going to be tight on his bowling ally job salary, he lets his coworker Tom, Chris Penn, move in with him against his better judgement. Tom is a high school senior who's always looking for a party.

Both guys are having issues with the women in their life as well. Bill's ex girlfriend Anita, Lea Thompson, has moved on and is seeing a much older and married cop, Hart Bochner, making Bill super jealous. Tommy wants to marry his girlfriend Eileen, Jenny Wright, even though he has a hard time being faithful.

There's also Bill's younger, freshman brother Jim, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, who's obsession with the Vietnam War and a shell shocked vet, Randy Quaid, is leading him down a rebellious path.

Crowe intended this as part of his young adult trilogy, with Fast Times being the high school years, The Wild Life the late teens, and Singles as the early twenties. Not a sequel to Fast Times, but that didn't stop Universal from marketing it that way. They put major emphasis on the fact that it was written by the same author and that Fast Times' star Sean Penn's brother Chris was the star. I think this hurt it at the box office.

The cast is all great. Penn has a lot of fun with his role. I had such a crush on Wright in this movie when I was a teen. She's adorable. Rick Moranis and Lee Ving also appear in some funny scenes.

Producer Art Linson took the director's seat when the original director was fired. Eddie Van Halen composed the score to the movie which fits the film nicely.

I'll admit, I like The Wild Life just as much as Fast Times. It's a fun look at those first steps into adulthood.

It's available on dvd via the Universal Vault Series.