FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF [1986] review
August 8, 2009 · Print This Article
I had been wanting to re-watch FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF for over a year now. It is unfortunate that it took the passing of the film’s writer and director, John Hughes, to finally get it to be in my movie queue. I have no idea when the last time I watched this movie was. Maybe I only ever saw it once. This 80s movie totally holds up in 2009 and remains the classic I always remembered it as in my memory. It is a prime example of why the 80s were, unquestionably, the best decade for a kid to grow up in.
Matthew Broderick plays the title character and seems to have the golden touch and a knack for just about everything. Mia Sara as Sloane Peterson, and Ferris’ girlfriend, is stunningly beautiful in the movie. It’s hard to fathom she basically had no career after that. I just cannot fathom it. These two are joined for the day by sidekick Cameron as Ferris leads them on a whirlwind, charmed tour of Chicago.
The movie is laugh-out-loud (or in my case HA!) funny. The derogatory names the characters all call each other, the physical comedy (a triple kick to the head!) & the struggles of Dean of Students Ed Rooney in particular are fabulously funny.
All the adults in the movie are portrayed either as idiots, fools, oblivious, or bad people in general, especially the parents. This is a wise move as it makes the movie all the more powerful for any teen watching it.
There was a certain nostalgia factor, but actually I didn’t remember much of the movie, so it was almost like a fresh viewing for me. I did learn two new things. I listen to a punk-ska band called Save Ferris, which I always thought was oddly named. Now there can be no doubt they took their name from the campaign to save Ferris from the non-existent illness he suffers from in the movie. I also think Rich Eisen of the NFL Network got his pronunciation for Adrian PETERson’s name from how Cameron says the name Peterson in the movie.
I have not actually commented on the movie itself much. It is an absolute feel-good movie that will have your spirits way up by the time the credits roll. I was shocked it was only rated at 7.9 stars on IMDB. I don’t see how this movie is not a top-50 all-time movie.
I am starting to realize that things that existed in the past will never be duplicated. I really wonder if a movie could be made with such pure joy in 2009. A movie totally devoid of toilet humor, sarcasm, and malice. BUELLER is not just a farce though, the difficulties of real teen life are interwoven with the fantastic.
Scenes I really liked: kids walking hand-in-hand into a museum with the trio in the middle of them. Pure cinema joy. Rooney trying to get into Bueller’s house. Great physical comedy.
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