Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Rating: 4.5/5

Hands down my favorite of the John Hughes films, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is an entertaining film about the world's most lovable jerk.

Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is a high school senior who is just months away from graduating. He wakes up one morning and decides that there is not way he could go to school on such a beautiful day, so instead he takes the ultimate day off. Faking a mystery illness, Ferris convinces his parents he needs to stay home and begins to set out his plan.

Knowing that the day would not be nearly as entertaining alone, Ferris ropes his reluctant best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) to join. Tricking their highly suspicious principal Mr.Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), Ferris and Cameron get Ferris's girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) dismissed from school, and the three head for big city of Chicago.

John Hughes' specialty was movies about teenagers who hated authority and knew how to trick them in the most ludicrous ways. Of the John Hughes films that I have seen, I would say that Ferris Bueller's Day Off is the most reasonable when it comes to adult hoodwinking. Of course, there are many moments where it is really hard to believe that an adult wouldn't see past the schemes of three teenagers, but those sequences don't seem as over the top as some of his other works.

Even though Ferris Bueller's Day Off could be considered a teen film, technically, it is more complicated than most. For one, Ferris' character frequently breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the camera. Sometimes in other films, this can be unnerving or out of place, but it makes perfect sense for Ferris' personality, and also adds a wonderfully comical element to the movie. There are times when it is completely straightforward, and Ferris is staring down the barrel of the camera and having a complete conversation with the audience, but there are also times where there is more of a subtlety to it. As much as I love the former, it is the latter that I find the most endearing. When Ferris is frustrated about Cameron's responses, or attempting to avoid being caught and just sneaks a glance at the camera, it adds a genuine facet to Ferris that may not have been there otherwise. By having him make those small gestures, the breaking of the fourth wall feels like just another character trait, and not a gimmick.

In addition to the unusual style of the story, Matthew Broderick is able to take this technique and use it to aid in his role's effortless likability, which is not necessarily easy to do. If you really think about it, Ferris is not exactly the greatest friend or brother, and spends most of his time thinking of lies he can use to get out of his responsibilities. However, Broderick is able to not only make this character entertaining, but someone you are actually rooting for. Broderick has always had a boyish charm about him, and that definitely works for this character and how he plays it. Even though he may be ignoring the reasonable requests of his friends or blatantly lying to his family, it is almost impossible not to like him.

I am not someone who has loved John Hughes movies all my life, and frankly there are some that I am really not a big fan of, but ever since I first saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off, it has not just been a favorite John Hughes film, but a favorite comedy for me in general. There's a beautiful sense of charisma about it and it has a semi-out of sequence musical number smack dab in the middle of it, and that's just too fun not to enjoy.