Comedy Pick: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
John Hughes’ filmmaking career was in full swing by the time Ferris Bueller’s Day Off went into production. In 1986, with The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles under his belt, his name became synonymous with celebrating the foibles of high school; popularity, love and occasionally, grades. It was his next smash-hit blending of the above that tossed in a sprinkling of heart and even more laughs, and Hughes was left with his finest creation yet – Ferris Bueller. A smooth-talking teen who’ll do pretty much anything to get out of attending school with a twinkly spark of mischief, he begins his day as he means to go on: faking it. Feigning illness, his beloved parents urge him to take the day off and rest. So he does.
Roping in his girlfriend and best mate for a life-changing eight hours romping around Chicago, Ferris sets out on his day off. As they say, there’s no rest for the wicked. While Ferris isn’t exactly wicked, he is the world’s most charming slacker who sleazes his way out of every responsibility by urging others to realize his way is the better option. It’s a skillful nod to Hughes, who could’ve easily turned Ferris into an anti-hero that the audience winds up despising for all of his shirking tactics. Instead, he turned out to be one of cinema’s best loved teens.
The sign of a classic chucklefest, Ferris ties together the humorous antics of not only the titular teen, but also his sister Jeanie – constantly frustrated at her brother’s continual bunking and Principal Rooney – determined to catch Bueller out. In fact, it’s the supporting cast that lands the biggest jokes, Ferris a little too “cool” to be a bouncing ball of wit. Jeanie’s scathing annoyance practically drives the middle section into its funniest sequence, joined by the friend of her enemy, Ed Rooney. Even his secretary, Grace, bats back at him with little digs proving even his own lackey thinks he’s a glutton for punishment.
What’s certain with Ferris Bueller is: regardless of your preferred type of humor, it’ll make you laugh. And, like all of the best Hughes’ features, it’ll probably make you think. What are you doing with your life? Are you forgetting to soak up the beauty of the everyday? In the words of Ferris: life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around once in a while, you might miss it.