It's so hard for me to decide which of John Hughes' films is my favorite. I'm tempted to say it is Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but then I feel a pang of guilt when I think of others that I have the same level of affection for. But at the same time I have to concede in the end it is indeed my favorite, based solely on the fact that it is the one I've seen the most to the point I still have the entire movie memorized. It's not hard to see why as this is easily one of the most effortlessly charming comedies I have ever seen.
Ferris Bueller (played by Matthew Broderick) decides one spring morning that he can't possibly handle school and decides to play sick. He parents easily fall for his shtick, but his sister Jeannie (played by Jennifer Grey) doesn't buy it for a second. After his parents and sister depart for work and school respectively, Ferris sets about recruiting his best friend Cameron (played by Alan Ruck) to help him get Sloane (played by Mia Sara) out of school. In the process they borrow (without permission) Cameron's dad's priceless Ferrari. They con the Assistant Principal, Edward Rooney (played by Jeffrey Jones), into dismissing her from class and the three head off to downtown Chicago for some fun.
Meanwhile, both Rooney and Jeannie suspect Ferris isn't really sick and independent of each other are determined to prove that they are right. The antics of these two, especially the series of misfortunes visited upon Rooney as he sneaks around the exterior and interior of the Bueller house makes an amusing contrast to the amazing day Ferris, Cameron and Sloane are having. And of course, when these two characters meet, it leads to one of the funniest confrontations I've ever seen as Jeannie mistakes Rooney for an intruder, kicks him in the face three times and then hightails it upstairs before he's even hit the floor.
The emotional backbone of the film though is with the character of Cameron. When we first see him on screen, he's lying in bed, convinced he's sick. His house is very dark and feels very cold. His parents are non-existent with an absent mother and a father who clearly loves his classic cars more than his family. There is a very potent scene that illustrates this when the three friends visit the Chicago Museum of Art and Cameron stares transfixed on one painting. The camera cuts between Cameron and one kid in the painting each time cutting closer and closer to the kid's face and at the same time showing less and less detail. This is a clever use of visual imagery to show how Cameron is feeling, that the closer you look, the less he feels there is to him. The antics Ferris gets up to over the course of the day are clearly meant to try to cheer up Cameron a little, show him a good time and maybe improve his confidence a little.
John Hughes crafted a certified comedy classic here that delivers in a large part because he has the perfect star in Matthew Broderick, who embodies Ferris with so much charm and wit. This is important because the character of Ferris frequently breaks the forth wall to address the audience throughout the film. It's a technique that can either work well or fail spectacularly, but it works here quite well. Alan Ruck and Mia Sara do great as Cameron and Sloane as well and you buy in easily that these three are close friends. Jeffrey Jones makes the perfect smary foil for Ferris as Rooney, with his dingbat, White-Out sniffing secretary Grace (played perfectly by Edie McClurg) as the perfect sidekick.
I've always loved this movie ever since I first saw it as a young kid. While I was never as daring as Ferris was driving off to the city for a day of adventure, I did cut class a time or two. Whether or not my parents really fell for it is another question since they had seen the film too, that's another question. But in the end, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, is probably Hughes' best film. It's certainly one of his funniest, warmest and most consistently entertaining ones.
Ferris Bueller (played by Matthew Broderick) decides one spring morning that he can't possibly handle school and decides to play sick. He parents easily fall for his shtick, but his sister Jeannie (played by Jennifer Grey) doesn't buy it for a second. After his parents and sister depart for work and school respectively, Ferris sets about recruiting his best friend Cameron (played by Alan Ruck) to help him get Sloane (played by Mia Sara) out of school. In the process they borrow (without permission) Cameron's dad's priceless Ferrari. They con the Assistant Principal, Edward Rooney (played by Jeffrey Jones), into dismissing her from class and the three head off to downtown Chicago for some fun.
Meanwhile, both Rooney and Jeannie suspect Ferris isn't really sick and independent of each other are determined to prove that they are right. The antics of these two, especially the series of misfortunes visited upon Rooney as he sneaks around the exterior and interior of the Bueller house makes an amusing contrast to the amazing day Ferris, Cameron and Sloane are having. And of course, when these two characters meet, it leads to one of the funniest confrontations I've ever seen as Jeannie mistakes Rooney for an intruder, kicks him in the face three times and then hightails it upstairs before he's even hit the floor.
The emotional backbone of the film though is with the character of Cameron. When we first see him on screen, he's lying in bed, convinced he's sick. His house is very dark and feels very cold. His parents are non-existent with an absent mother and a father who clearly loves his classic cars more than his family. There is a very potent scene that illustrates this when the three friends visit the Chicago Museum of Art and Cameron stares transfixed on one painting. The camera cuts between Cameron and one kid in the painting each time cutting closer and closer to the kid's face and at the same time showing less and less detail. This is a clever use of visual imagery to show how Cameron is feeling, that the closer you look, the less he feels there is to him. The antics Ferris gets up to over the course of the day are clearly meant to try to cheer up Cameron a little, show him a good time and maybe improve his confidence a little.
John Hughes crafted a certified comedy classic here that delivers in a large part because he has the perfect star in Matthew Broderick, who embodies Ferris with so much charm and wit. This is important because the character of Ferris frequently breaks the forth wall to address the audience throughout the film. It's a technique that can either work well or fail spectacularly, but it works here quite well. Alan Ruck and Mia Sara do great as Cameron and Sloane as well and you buy in easily that these three are close friends. Jeffrey Jones makes the perfect smary foil for Ferris as Rooney, with his dingbat, White-Out sniffing secretary Grace (played perfectly by Edie McClurg) as the perfect sidekick.
I've always loved this movie ever since I first saw it as a young kid. While I was never as daring as Ferris was driving off to the city for a day of adventure, I did cut class a time or two. Whether or not my parents really fell for it is another question since they had seen the film too, that's another question. But in the end, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, is probably Hughes' best film. It's certainly one of his funniest, warmest and most consistently entertaining ones.
No comments:
Post a Comment