Review: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Imagine taking over a parade to sing Twist and Shout!

Yesterday I went back to my teens and re-watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off which was released in 1986 at the VIFF theatre downtown. The community theatre is having an 80s film festival, showing everything from Back to the Future and Ghostbusters, to Fatal Attraction, Sex, Lies and Videotape, and E.T.

The theatre was hardly full for the matinee, or maybe people were taking advantage of the nice (hot) weather?

Ferris persuades Cameron to take his dad's car

Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience re-watching something from 37 years ago. First off, it reminded me of how young and charming Matthew Broderick was, and how amazing it was that his character could pull off a sick day from school with such an elaborate plan as a teenager.

The other was all the antics he, his girlfriend Sloan and friend Cameron got up to in Chicago, from getting a table in a fine dining restaurant to catching the baseball in a Cubs game, and taking part in a parade -- on a weekday?

It was all a fantasy written by John Hughes, who had apparently finished the script in one week. That may explain why Ferris' character was quite flat, while his doting parents were just characters who had to be there because, well, they're his parents.

The only person who grows in the film is his friend Cameron, who starts off as someone who is sick all the time and then realises he needs to stop cowering in front of his domineering father and grow up. Meanwhile Ferris just seems to want to have fun all the time, and gets away with everything, much to the annoyance of his sister.

Contemplating art at the Art Institute of Chicago

In fact Ferris seems to dismiss Cameron's insecurities and moodiness which today feels insensitive. 

Perhaps this is why Broderick had trouble connecting with Ferris as a character as the time of filming, as Ferris didn't seem to care much about Cameron and his life problems while he hardly had any.

In any event it was enjoyable watching the school principal, Ed Rooney trying to catch out Ferris; he would probably still get away with it using today's technology like smartphones, Uber and maybe even ChatGPT?

What still stands the test of time is Ferris' statement at the beginning and the end of the film, which is very mature for a high school senior -- "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

So true.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Written and Directed by John Hughes

98 minutes