FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1986)

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1986)

Tagline: While the rest of us were just thinking about it...Ferris borrowed a Ferrari and did it...all in a day.

(Comedy, Fourth Wall, Ferris Sucks) [PG-13]

Looks it’s real nice that you hope my brothers feeling better, but I’m in danger okay, I’m very cute, I’m very alone, and I’m very protective of my body, I do not want it violated or killed alright... 

In this one, Ferris Bueller calls in sick and talks his friend Cameron and his girlfriend Sloane into taking a day off from school with him to cram all the fun things they could, into one day. Meanwhile, his sister and principal are on to him and are determined to complicate things. 

First off, if I had a friend like Ferris in high school (which I started 2 years after this movie came out) that dude would get punched into next week. Not because he took the day off, but because he’s a manipulative a-hole who uses and deceives his friends. I remember seeing this movie in theaters and kind of being blown away by the “fourth wall” aspect. At that time it had been done, but I’d never been to a movie where basically a character is talking to the audience every 15 minutes or so. Outside of that, I really didn’t get the “Richie Rich” style humor or the fact that these kids probably spent more in one day than I was ever going to make in a month. 

This is not to say that FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF doesn’t have some funny moments or doesn’t have anything tender or worthwhile. It does. I mean Kristy Swanson makes a brief appearance and pretty much every movie she is in, is worth watching. It’s also hard to not at least dance on the inside watching that “Twist And Shout” parade sequence. They also use the same high school used in WEIRD SCIENCE, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, and SIXTEEN CANDLES. 

I don’t however identify with Ferris, Cameron, or Sloane in any way. I might have liked this thing better if the role of Sloane was given to Molly Ringwald instead of Mia Sara. Mia was great in TIMECOP and the TV series BIRDS OF PREY, but she didn’t give me a comedic vibe here. Then again that could have been some of the writing which was just kind of plain in a lot of spots. The entire Cameron side story is like the wart on the face of this entire film. Ferris being a total selfish clown is basically the other bigger more hairy wart. For the most part, Jennifer Grey who plays Jeanie Bueller (Ferris’s sister) is made out to be a massive jealous paranoid lunatic but she will also kick you in the face which for me made her character more likable but not any less dumb, she falls for a guy busted for drugs later in the movie. 

The pacing of this movie feels a lot off and the last 30 minutes or so is a massive drag on the rest of the movie. In fact, after the parade scene, I honestly felt this thing took a massive downturn and never got better till after the credits rolled and Matthew Broderick made one final appearance. I actually don’t mind Broderick as an actor. I thought he was solid in WAR GAMES and GODZILLA. It’s more the rest of this movie when they let the “funny guard” down that caused this film to spiral out of the fun zone.

Overall I can’t recommend this as being one of the better 80s movies. It’s just not and this is coming from a dude that was completely coherent and a teen during the 80s. This thing also sadly hasn’t aged well. 

I give this one a 3 out of 7. I don’t absolutely hate it. We do get a few memorable moments, but it’s not worth a recommendation. The ’80s have hundreds of other more interesting cinematic offerings. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF PETER PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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