1986

Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Premiered June 11th, 1986.
Directed by John Hughes.
Starring Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck, Jenifer Grey, Jeffrey Jones.
Music by Ira Newborn, Arthur Baker, John Robie.



     "They bought it. Incredible! One of the worst performances of my career and they never doubted it for a second. How could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?" This was the question that sparked a day of adventure for Ferris Bueller, Sloan Peterson, and Cameron Fry. They ate pancreas, saw priceless works of art, and brought a gaggle of parade goers to their dancing feet, all in place of writing a test on European Socialism.

     Maybe it's cliche, but this is one of my all-time favorite films ever. Ever. Like, ever. It's as close to perfect as most filmmakers can only hope to get. With a script of solid gold, performances so genuine you'd think Hughes just pulled them out of their third period classes and an endless cache of charm, It's a landmark North American film of this decade. It's a landmark North American film, even. You know what? It's a landmark film. Details aside, this is a great movie. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you make a point to do that. It is so choice.

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     John Hughes started as one of the many disposable comedy script writers in Hollywood. He did most of his work for The National Lampoon's franchise, so some of his first attempts at writing independently have some very slapstick elements (i.e. Sixteen Candles and that super racist depiction of the Chinese exchange student). This being said, there was always an element of a realistic depiction of teenagers. Samantha Baker (of Sixteen Candles) turns 16 at the beginning of the film, and Molly Ringwald really was 16 when they were filming. Good luck finding a film made recently about teens that has anyone younger than 22 in it. Part of the exceptionable relatability of a Hughes film is that, while he wrote fantastic scripts, he wasn't precious with them. He told the people he worked with that if something he'd written wasn't something that they themselves or their peers would say, they should say something different. He wanted them to truly connect with their audience, and what better way to do that than have members of said audience collaborate on the content. Another part of this is that he never talked down to the kids he was speaking to. He didn't give them something to aspire to that was way outside any realm of possibility for them. He just showed them themselves. A lot of so-called "teen" films are absolutely not relatable at all, and that's because we know when we we're being pandered to. We're not dumb. So, Hughes didn't really do anything revolutionary, he simply recognizing teenagers as people with valid feelings and experiences.

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     With this film specifically, he saw a fantasy teens everywhere experience: Not going to high school and doing something awesome instead. So Ferris convinces his parents that he's sick, and as soon as they leave, he breaks the fourth wall and starts describing his situation. The whole opening monologue is awesome (and it's located here). Not only do we get a ton of exposition about Ferris and his life and his friends, we also see him clearly setting something up in his room that goes unexplained until about half an hour later. In the first 25 minutes or so, we already have established what kind of kid Ferris is, and we love him. He's calm, collected, cool, smart, funny and adventurous. He's got an eccentric best friend and a beautiful girlfriend. He's everything we want to be. And yet, Hughes manages to make him as relatable as the kid that lives next door to you with the extreme asthma, the acne so thick he looks red all the time, and who's always asking you if you want to play doubles on his D&D team at school. So when Ferris pretends to be Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago, in order to steal a reservation in a swanky restaurant, it's totally believable.

"Bueller, Bueller, Bueller..."

     I've gushed about the script enough already, I think, but if you'll humor me...it's great. It's funny, it's real, it's smart. The scene where Cameron (Ruck) call's the principal Ed Rooney (Jones) impersonating Sloan's (Ferris's girlfriend, played by Mia Sara) father in order to get her excused from class is a particularly good example (and it's here). It's also a great display of Alan Ruck's exemplary performance. The scene where Cameron has his breakdown about his relationship with his tightly wound and icy cold father is one of the best examples (it's here). The way the Cameron character grows and changes throughout the film is awesome.

     In terms of cinematography, everything's pretty standard. It's good, and Hughes definitely has a directorial style, but it's a pretty straightforward one. There is this absolutely breathtaking scene that takes place in the museum in Chicago that displays how Hughes conducts a scene. The music used in that one is particularly beautiful. It's a song by The Smiths that in this instance was covered in an instrumental version by The Dream Academy. On that note (pun definitely intended), the music is something to be admired. There's a story that Anthony Micheal Hall (a favorite of Hughes) tells about how Hughes would choose the soundtracks for his films. He'd take his principal cast out to a local record store and spend hours listening to the things they recommended. Like the language used in the films, he wanted the music to be authentic and relatable, so he had members of the target generation chose the musical content. Some examples are this, this, and oh so infamously, this.
 

9.5/10. A fun ride with a hefty side of substance. Smart. Funny. Sweet. And, if that's not enough for you, there's this little slice of heaven.


Honorarily, the films worth mentioning this year are as follows: Top Gun (Tom Cruse continues to be creepy, but he's airborne this time), "Crocodile" Dundee (he's right, that is a knife), Platoon (young Johnny lookin' so fine), Children of a Lesser God (deaf people are clearly the best. In all seriousness, this is one of my favorites. I highly recommend it), Hanna and Her Sisters (Woody still being awesome), Absolute Beginners (not a good film, but Bowie, so I love it), 9 1/2 Weeks (is it creepy, or is it sexy? Even now, I don't think anyone knows), About Last Night... (Rob Lowe, surprise surprise, just being a babe), An American Tail (Spielberg can make anything great, even an animated mouse immigrant), Blue Velvet (another David Lynch film that makes no sense and yet is really good anyway), The Great Mouse Detective (my childhood in a nutshell), Labyrinth (Bowie's tight pants are legendary), Pretty in Pink (not one of Hughes' better ones, largely in part because he wrote but didn't direct, but there is this scene with Jon Cryer that's pretty fab), Vamp (actually not that bad), and Youngblood (featuring Rob Lowe in a jock strap).


Peace,
Gang.