Fast Times :: Vincent Schiavelli :: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

From his role as Mr. Vargas (who just switched to Sanka), I'm connecting Vincent Schiavelli - one of the best character actors ever - to his role as Fredrickson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I love Cuckoo's Nest. Apart from Jack Nicholson's fantastic R.P. McMurphy, this film is stacked with some of the best character actors of the past 30 years.

You've got Schiavelli of course, who was not only in Fast Times, but also in Amadeus, Batman Returns, and hundreds of other roles on TV and film.

Plus of course Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Scatman Crothers (notable for another film with Nicholson - The Shining), Brad Dourif (Grima Wormtongue from the Lord of the Rings movies - and also the voice of Chucky from the Child's Play series), and one of my favorite performances in the film from Sydney Lassick as Charley Cheswick.

But I can't discuss Cuckoo's Nest without discussing one of the greatest villains on film: Nurse Ratched. Louise Fletcher plays the role with perfect icy malevolence thinly veiled behind a mask of compassion. What's so chilling about her character is the subtle way in which she shames her patients or manipulates the group into shaming each other. She is more concerned with maintaining her power by making these men feel bad about themselves than in helping the men under her care.

Check out more on Nurse Ratched in the Villains episode of my At Home Film Festival Podcast by clicking here.

Pulp Fiction :: Eric Stoltz :: Fast Times at Ridgemont High

From one stoner role to another, I'm connecting Eric Stoltz from Pulp Fiction where he played John Travolta's drug dealer and the guy who helps revive an overdosing Uma Thurman - to his role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High where he played one of Jeff Spicoli's stoner buddies.

No shirt. No shoes. No dice.

I grew up in the 80's, but never saw Fast Times until I was in college... I was too young to see it in theaters, and I suppose my older brother had never taped it off of HBO (which was how I got exposed to most other 70's and early 80's classics).

Sure, Fast Times looks dated, and you could dismiss it for the clothing styles, music, and mall-culture references that plant it firmly in 1982. You could also dismiss it as a stupid teen comedy or a stoner film. But still every time I watch it I'm impressed by the real issues that the characters have to go through, especially Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh). While most teen comedies revel in the "Yeah! Let's get laid!" mentality, Fast Times actually tackles how teenagers can get scared and confused about the realities of actually having sex and dealing with its consequences.

Plus, it's got Spicoli. Come on, there may not be a better stoner character on film. Sean Penn is great. And Mr. Hand as his nemesis is brilliant.

But who cares about any of that... It's got Phoebe Cates naked.