Ferris Bueller is One Swell Guy, Everyone Loves Him

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Rating: 10 out of 10

Running Time: 1hrs 45mins

Genre: Comedy

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffery Jones, Jennifer Grey, Cindy Pickett, Lyman Ward, Edie McClurg, Ben Stein & Charlie Sheen

Director: John Hughes

Screenwriter: John Hughes

Producers: John Hughes, Tom Jacobson

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off follows the young hero Ferris Bueller (Broderick), who has only a month to go before he graduates but before he does he’s going to take the ultimate day off. He recruits his best friend Cameron Frye (Ruck) and girlfriend Sloan Peterson (Sara) and hit the streets of Chicago in Cameron’s father’s 1961 Ferrari GT California.

But its not all about the fun times the three teenagers have, there’s the stickler Dean Ed Rooney (Jones) and Ferris’ sister Jeanie (Grey) who decide to take it upon themselves to make an example of and to prove that he’s skipping, respectively. They also find out that the parking garage attendant took the car for a joy ride, Cameron freaks; and then later on has a very raw moment where he’s beating the car up as he rants about his father, and then the car skids backwards out the garage and dies. There are also a few close encounters with Ferris’ father Tom (Ward) while downtown but by the end of the day Jeanie joins Ferris’ side, tells Rooney off and neither of his parents are any wiser to his antics.

There are a few inconsistencies in the movie, which were probably explained in the original 2 hours and 45 minutes. Things like the Bueller’s dog which none of the Bueller’s mention and the hot tub and pool the teenagers are in, is it perhaps Sloan’s or did they jump a fence or two like Ferris does later on in the movie?

The acting is superb, the secretary Grace (McClurg) plays the role perfectly, while a little bit slow she still knows more then she really lets on; but there are casual hints throughout the movie. When we first see her she’s pulling pencils out of her hair, something Hughes arranged the moment he saw Grace’s big 60’s hair-do. Jones’ Ed Rooney is just as much as a classic archetype for uncaring principals as Veron from the Breakfast Club but has a very different day and knows, unlike Veron, that he has lost this battle. Teenage actors of the 80’s seemed to be way more professional than teenage actors of this generation, and that translates very well through Broderick, Ruck, Sara and Grey’s performances. Broderick is perhaps the only person who could play Ferris and not make people reach protectively for their wallets, while Ruck (though 29 at the time) perfectly displays a young character who worries too much and is always sick – in his mind – as a product of his parent’s discontentment for each other and their indifference towards him. Grey showed off her moody acting powers (which no doubt got her the role as Baby) and seems 100% believable. When she’s at the police station we see her first happy scene which took place after making out with Charlie Sheen’s character (which has a stunning resemblance to his real life character). It’s Sara who seems the least important actor in the cast, while he role is important and she is the perfect match for Farris she never really succeeded afterwards and as a character she only stands out as Ferris’ girl; its understandable why Hughes told his favourite actress, Molly Ringwald, she wasn’t allowed to do it.

Over all this movie is ingenious, touches the hearts of thousands and is still as cool now as it was back then, even if some of the music isn’t. This with every other John Hughes movie is what we call the 80’s classics, the movie made for teens about real issues.