Ferris Bueller's Day Off is one of the few movies that really sums up the 1980s. High school students all over the United States dreamed of being like the main character, who was able to manipulate the adults in his life. Ferris Bueller's Day Off was written and directed by John Hughes, who also made The Breakfast Club (1985) and many other 1980s cult classics. It was a big step in Matthew Broderick's acting career. In fact, Broderick's performance was so good that he was nominated for a Golden Globe. It's a nomination that deserves to be talked about, because Ferris Bueller is the main reason why this movie was such a big hit.
In Ferris Bueller's Day Off, we see a day in the life of Ferris Bueller, a high school senior. As he gets close to graduation, he wants to live his life to the fullest (although preferably outside the confines of school). So Ferris takes a planned vacation day with his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara), and his best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) joins them after a little convincing. In spite of Cameron's better judgement, the three of them drive his father's prized Ferrari to the windy city of Chicago for a day of fine dining, baseball, museums, and random fun. Ferris may have been able to trick his parents into thinking he's dying, but Ferris's sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey) and high school principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) are not so easy to fool. Each of them is hot on his trail, eager to show that he is a liar once and for all and ruin his image as a "golden boy."
With funny scenes like Cameron's failed attempt to change the mileage on his father's Ferrari, the movie deserves its reputation as an 80s classic on par with Back to the Future (1985), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Weird Science (1985). (1985). There are some strange things in the movie, like when Ferris takes over a parade and starts singing while thousands of people dance in time to him. This kind of scene wouldn't be in a movie made today, and like similar scenes from The Blues Brothers, it makes the movie look old. But the best thing about Ferris Bueller's Day Off is not how funny it is or how long it will stay funny, but how much people like Ferris Bueller. Ferris is a nice person. He never says bad things about anyone and only sees the best in them. More importantly, he tricks his parents into thinking he is the epitome of innocence while he skips school and goes joyriding. Every kid who was a kid in the 1980s wanted to be Ferris Bueller. His philosophy on life is also timeless, which is why the movie still does well with each new generation.
The movie's soundtrack is one of the most interesting and varied of its time, which makes it even more of a landmark from that decade. Where else can you find The Beatles, Wayne Newton, the Star Wars theme, and Yello's 80s hit "Oh Yeah" all in one movie that flows from scene to scene so well? Ferris Bueller's Day Off became a cult classic when Kristy Swanson, Ben Stein, and Charlie Sheen, all future Hollywood stars, joined the cast. Sheen stayed awake for more than two days so he could give his character a drugged-out look. Even though it came out 20 years ago, this movie is still a lot of fun to watch.
