by Phillip Bryant
Slacking never looked so dang cool.
In all honesty, I've cared for few cultural things form the eighties. One thing that can be said for the period is the emergence and career or writer/director John Hughes. Now that he has unfortunately passed in recent years, his films have been receiving new light from old fans and new generations. All his films are deserving of this, none more so than his masterpiece of teen comedic dramas, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
My mother was graduating high school in the mid-eighties, so she lived through the Michael Jackson radio and bad hair era. As I was growing up, she still watched the films she remembered, none more so than this tale of a day (off) in the life of the quintessential teen student. Maybe that, in a not so dysfunctional Freudian kind of way, is why I love this film so much. I remember the days watching this film, laughing at the parade celebration and the clever antics of skipping school, not fully understanding the film, but loving it all the same. Then, once I landed in high school, something Ferris once called “a little childish and stupid”, I realized all the finer intricacies in the film’s portrayal of the high school youth. Yes, it is true that the Ferris doesn’t want to go to school like all of was and that popularity seems to dominate the halls, but there is something else lying underneath all the standard high school clichés.
"Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people."
Ferris is, at the same time, like so many of us and like none of us. He is a student, longing for his first car to have that first sign of freedom. He lives in the suburbs, has two parents who work 9 to 6 and an older sibling who he feuds with. Obviously, this is not all of us or probably many of us, as our standards, lives, and families are all different, but you get the idea, he is the average student. At the same time, however, he is suave, able to get anything he wants die to his cunning charm, already has the girl, and gets to live, and I mean really live. It has become overused today, but like he says, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Then we have the supporting characters. They each serve their own kind of purpose, yet ultimately they all end up serving the plot of Ferris, or do they? Sloan Peterson, his cheerleader girlfriend, is just that: the cheerleader. The stigma associated with this in movies is devastating. They are slutty, hot, and the object of ultimate untouchable desire. Sloan is different though. Ferris isn’t the quarterback, he isn’t buff, and he isn’t the bad boy. He is the supreme cool, yes, but due to his intellect and his charm, not something superficial. Sloan is laid back, reserved, and if we didn’t hear offhand she was a cheerleader, we might not even assume it. Then we have his parents, the model parents of film: heartwarming, dopey, and their only to serve as projections of a false sense of parental guidance. Yet, they are not just funny but hilarious at times, and seem to offer us not just false projections, but a view of a real parent. They have their own thoughts not just to serve the encouragement of our childish hero. Though they are not the best parents ever on film, as they are a bit dumb to be honest, they are loving and funny. The Dean of Students, Mr. Ed Rooney, is as classic a character as they come. Everyone knows some line from him, and if not, they know his face. The comedy found in Jeffrey Jones’ performance is priceless. Every musing and mannerism is fine-tuned by him and the director to constant laughter. Maybe the highlight of the film’s comedy is the partnership between Rooney and his secretary, Grace. Also featured is a pre-Dirty Dancing Jennifer Gray as Jeanie Bueller and a cameo by the now infamous Charlie Sheen, playing a drug addict. Strange.
Now we come to the most important character of the film. Yes, Ferris probably is essential to the film more so, but just as the film couldn’t exist without Ferris, I feel it would be average without his best friend Cameron Frye. If Ferris is what we all want to be, Cameron is who we all are. He is afraid of his father, afraid of his future, and afraid of going outside. Contrasting Ferris’ perfect parents, Cameron’s are demeaning, materialistic absentees. He is afraid his life will pass him by without ever stopping to look. If this film was just Ferris’, it would be a funny high school comedy. If it was just Cameron’s, it would be a sad, dark coming of age tale. Yet in no way do I believe this combination was by accident.
The screenplay of this film is truly tremendous; maybe even the finest for a comedy in the era. The
fourth wall narration is brilliant. Never once does it seem hokey or out of place by either Ferris or his sister, who also narrates at times. The scene where he plays the puke altered keyboard while gazing at the audience is pure hilarity. It gives us a window into the mind of the character that we otherwise might not get. This window can sometimes be useless, but when it is not (think Goodfellas or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) it is essential to the story. The set pieces here are legendary in their own right, almost more so than the characters. We all remember Twist and Shout playing over the parade party, not to mention standing over the tallest building in the world where “anything is peaceful from three thousand, three hundred and fifty three feet” and driving a “1961 Ferrari 250GT California.” The dialogue is impeccable, both in itself and its delivery. Although Hughes is most to thank for this, something should be said of Matthew Broderick as well. It is clear that there could have been only one Ferris Bueller. Had it been Emilio Estevez or Anthony Michael Hall, the performance would have been dramatically different. Maybe not bad mind you, but not the right fit.
Overall, this film has stuck with me my entire life, and has so for many individuals. It is one of the finest high school films of all time, as well as a fantastic coming of age tale. This film has it all, the drama, comedy, and talent to move you. If you haven't seen it in a while, go do so and relive all those memories. If you have never seen it, do so . . . now, please.
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