Today we are looking at the 1986 John Hughes (check his National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – he was a writer and producer for this one) classic that is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This is one of the best movies from the John Hughes collection and it is a real favorite of mine. I grew up loving this movie and wishing that I could be Ferris Bueller which is something I am sure many people who grew up in the 80s and 90s did.
How to Download Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was released on June 11, 1986. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
The thing with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is that while it is still regarded as a classic. There have been many articles written about how Ferris is actually the villain and in all honesty, a real asshole! I find this whole thing so much fun and while I can watch this and still have a lot of fun with it. I do also get a kick out of looking at it with a set of adult eyes and seeing that Ferris is not the good dude I used to just think he was.
The premise is quite simple, Ferris Bueller is a high school student, who pretends to be sick so he can have an epic day off school. Right from the start you can see how he has his parents wrapped around his little finger, but his sister is having none of it as a kid, I would watch this through the eyes of Ferris, and I can now see why his sister had such a dislike of him. This though, does not make me like the movie any less!
Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane’s Wild Day Off
Ferris does not want to just lay around the house all day eating junk food, watching TV, and playing video games. He manages to rope his neurotic friend Cameron and his girlfriend Sloane into his wacky day off too. The stuff with Ferris and Cameron in particular is very interesting. They are two good buddies, but there are many who say that Ferris takes advantage of Cameron and in some cases, kind of bullies and abuses him to get what he wants!
To be honest, I do think that is going a bit far, but it does appear to be a rather one-sided friendship. Yet, at the same time, we do see a few moments where Cameron is having a fun time, the ball game for example. The trio goes on a wild adventure through Chicago (it is a John Hughes movie after all) but there is something that could spoil the day.
The Persistent Ed Rooney
Ed Rooney is the head of the school and he knows that Ferris is lying and is determined to catch him out. Ed Rooney is played by 80s mainstay, Jeffery Jones, and this, Beetlejuice and Stay Tuned are the trifecta of Jefferey Jones roles in my humble opinion, he is going to be really missed in Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice that is for sure. The whole aim is for Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane to have a wild day off and get home before they are all caught!
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a super fun movie and I find all the discussion about the kind of person Ferris is to make it even more fun to talk about. I also have to say the way that Matthew Broderick breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience was so unique at the time. As a kid, I do not think I saw many, if any other movies where the main character did this.
If you want some 80s fun, you can never go wrong with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off! I probably watch this movie at least once a year, it is always the kind of movie that is perfect if you want something fun to cheer you up. If I were to rank the John Hughes movies, this would certainly be pretty high on the list.
