Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) * * *

Directed by:  John Hughes

Starring:  Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Edie McClurg, Jennifer Grey, Alan Ruck

"What's wrong with kids like Ferris Bueller is that he gives good kids bad ideas.    He undermines my ability to effectively govern this student body.- Ed Rooney

"He makes you look like an ass he what he does, Ed" - Grace

It's not necessarily Ferris Bueller's intention to make his principal, Ed Rooney (Jones) look like an ass.   He would rather be able to ditch school and fly under the radar, but since he has played hooky 9 times already, he realizes he would attract attention.    "I'd better make this one count.   Or next time I may have to barf up a lung," says Ferris (Broderick), a smart kid who might be useful one day if he put his energies into something else as much as he does cutting class.      Matthew Broderick's most-famous role in a four-decade long film and stage career is indeed Ferris Bueller.    He even parodied the character in a recent Superbowl commercial.     I wouldn't be surprised if someone accidentally called him Ferris a few times in his life.

Ferris does very well what many students would like to do more often:  Cut class and get away with it.    I once faked sick in high school and I was interrogated by my vice-principal over it.    Ferris has the faking sick part down to an art form.    He even breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience how to do this successfully.    "Lick your palms to achieve the clammy hands effect."    After faking illness well enough to fool his gullible parents, he proceeds to get his best friend out of bed and take him out for a day of fun in Chicago.     "One of the worst performances of my career and they never doubted it for a second." 

His best friend is Cameron (Ruck) who lives in a house in the forest that appears to be a glass tree house.     He fakes illness for a different reason:  Because he hates his father who worships a classic Ferrari he renovated and keeps in the house under lock and key.    "His house is like a museum," Ferris observes.   "It's very tidy and neat and you can't touch anything."    He recognizes that he will only have a few months of quality time left with Cameron and wants to show him a good time.     Cameron and Ferris also spring Ferris' girlfriend Sloane (Sara) from Rooney's clutches via a rather sophisticated prank phone call.

Rooney, meanwhile, makes it his life's mission to catch Ferris in the act, which leads to some some funny moments and a lot of wear and tear on Rooney.     Jeffrey Jones makes for a satisfactory villain whose day grows continually worse the more he tries to nab Ferris.     Also in the mix is Ferris' bitchy sister Jeannie (Grey), who resents that her brother can ditch school and get away with it.     Maybe she's upset because she's not particularly good at anything, while Ferris is a master at getting people to believe he is terribly ill.    The school even takes up a collection for him.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a fun, sweet comedy with likable people.   Even Ed Rooney gets kudos for being so doggone determined.     The gadgets Ferris uses at home to avoid detection while he's elsewhere are those that could only be available in a Hollywood movie.    They work, however, because people just have a knack for believing him.      The film has enduring popularity because it taps into every person's desire to say "The hell with it, I'm not going to school (or work) today."     Some people don't do it because they feel guilty or afraid they will get caught somehow.     They could use a few lessons from Ferris Bueller.