Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Starring Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones

Directed by John Hughes

The coming-of-age comedy age of the 1980s belonged almost singularly to director/writer John Hughes, who gifted the world with classics such as "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "Weird Science," and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."  He somehow captured the essence of being a teenager living in an 80s world, and all the fears, insecurities, highs,and lows of it all.  "Ferris Bueller" achieves a rarity in film, especially compared to today's day and age - it's a wholly innocent, light-hearted film with an important life message delivered by a modern-day sage who simply desires to skip a day of school and give his friend a memory that will last a lifetime.

Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is the most popular kid at school, someone who is beloved by every demographic - except the high-strung principal Edward Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), who is noticing a pattern: Bueller has skipped school nine times, and even though his parents think he's sick, Rooney knows better.  Bueller pulls off another fake sickness to miss school so he can convince his stiff, loner friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) to spend the day with him and his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) in Chicago because Cameron has a terrible family life as his father loves his Ferrari more than his son.  As they experience Chicago and share a memorable day, Rooney sets out to prove Ferris is faking his illness, while Ferris's snooty sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey) also desires Ferris to face the music as well - but no one will stop Ferris and his friends from having the day of their lives.

"Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."  This is the mantra Ferris Bueller lives by, and is an important message for everyone to hear, no matter how old you are.  We spend our lives worried about one thing or another, waiting for the next day so it'll get better, and don't fully appreciate the time we live in at the moment.  We miss out on opportunities to make memories that will last a lifetime because we're stuck in our humdrum existence, and Bueller's advice is something that we need to take to heart.  Sure, he breaks the rules by skipping school, but the ends justify the means as he sets out to make his best friend Cameron's day by showing him a world that Cameron never knew existed because he's spent all his time in the darkness of his troubled family's upbringing.

Matthew Broderick is an inspired choice to play Ferris, a highly intelligent young man who values life lessons over school, but who also has a sincere heart and a kindness that knows no bounds.  Ferris orchestrates this huge endeavor not for himself, but for his friend - even if at first it doesn't seem that way.  Bueller is one of cinema's most iconic characters due to his loving, fun-loving nature, and how everyone seems to know and love him (including the running gag in the film of students, faculty, and even complete strangers who are worried about his well-being).  Ferris often breaks the fourth wall to impart important life lessons to the audience as well as giving us the heads up on what's going through his mind, and it's something that's rarely done in films now, let alone then.

Alan Ruck plays Ferris's best friend Cameron, who is so depressed that he values actually being sick because it makes him feel better.  Cameron eventually allows Ferris to show him a good time, and the day totally changes his outlook on life and his own importance in it.  As Ferris's girlfriend, Mia Sara plays Sloane in a way that's hardly seen by girlfriends in movies past or present - as a constant source of optimism, a girl who is as loving as Ferris is and who shows genuine concern with those around her, especially Cameron.  Even Jennifer Grey (who went on to date and become briefly engaged to Broderick after filming) shows a sense of forgiveness and love as Ferris's older sister Jeanie, who begins the film angry that Ferris gets away with everything, but slowly begins to understand the differences between them and values his impact on society.

Whereas Ferris is fun-loving and carefree, Jeffrey Jones's Edward Rooney is the direct opposite - the lone vice in Ferris's life (besides Jeanie) who has spent four years trying to prove Ferris as a fraud. While Ferris and his friends embark on a memorable day filled with humor, heart, and carefree actions, Rooney's day consists of everything the opposite: and we can all guess how that turns out.  Jones creates a memorable antagonist in Rooney, a character that's still studied today, and he brings not just a sense of malice, but also pity as well.

A great hallmark of a film is how it's remembered - or even if it's remembered at all.  "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" was released in 1986, and over thirty years later it's still as beloved as it was when it was released.  The film has been cited, spoofed, and quoted in modern day shows and films like "The Simpsons," "Archer," "Family Guy," "Deadpool," and even a Dominoes Pizza commercial, and its effortless charm has captured the hearts and souls of people who are just longing to be carefree and fun, who want to take the darkness life offers and turn it into shining moments.  "Ferris Bueller" will be remembered for that, and for giving a character that we can all aspire to be more like.

Proving that a film can be completely innocent and fun, John Hughes gave the world "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and shows that not everything in life should be taken so seriously - we all need to stop and look around, or we'll miss the best part of our lives.

The Score: A+