If you’re going to try and mimic one of the most successful teen comedies of the eighties, at least have the budget to back it up. “Hot Times at Montclair High” is one of the lamest rip off of “Fast Times” I’ve ever seen. It’s one of those films that takes every chance to copy from the previous film, except it fails to deliver what made the film such a success. Like great writing, engaging characters, comedy, and a truly interesting series of narratives and sub-plots.
“Hot Times at Montclair High” is never quite sure how to ace the attempts at comedy, so it instead doles out these really awful characters, instead. It also tries for an ensemble, but the budget is so low it can only really focus on three characters in the whole film. Meanwhile the entire premise is barely based around high school at all. I’m not even sure there is a premise, to be honest. It’s all just an aimless, meandering, poorly written farce that it’s just impossible to derive any entertainment value. For long periods of time, nothing happens to anyone here. The attempts at conflict are painfully weak and fail to derive even the slightest bit of empathy from the audience. This is the peak of conflict in the film:
“You screwed up my football!”
“Well excuse me for livin’.”
Pretty groundbreaking melodrama, isn’t it? One character is a football player whose dad wants him to “toughen up,” and not be a “sissy,” which is about as complex as the sub-plot goes. Two of the female characters spend their time hanging around a goofy rock band that do nothing but party in large yachts, and Johnathan Gorman plays a goofy nerd who entertains creepy sexual fantasies about his gorgeous teacher. None of it is remotely involving, and is absolutely flaccid. Eventually it all culminates in the sub-plots combining in to one big plot of revenge after a bad date ends in rape. While it could be exciting and a great bit of karmic justice, it’s tough to even remotely care since none of the characters are written with enough substance to feel realistic or likable. “Hot Times at Montclair High” can never really achieve any semblance of comedic momentum, thus it’s a cheap late eighties last ditch attempt to copy the raucous fun of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”