Based on a somewhat uninteresting novel, what we have here is a boring film about So Cal kids on coke in the 80s. It hasn't held up. Only Robert Downey Jr. shows a spark of acting ability, along with James Spader. Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz are just awful. Every adult is portrayed as a one dimensional stereotype. You won't learn anything here, except how awful were film adaptations of 80s novels. Of course, the dopers here went on to imitate their art in real life.