FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF (1986)
40TH ANNIVERSARY PRESENTATION
Forty years ago, writer-director John Hughes captured the hearts of movie-goers with a simple philosophy: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” His teen comedies broke the mold by treating their teenaged protagonists as complex humans with real problems. The buffoons were the adult authority figures getting in their way. But that didn’t mean the younger characters weren’t funny. High-schooler Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick, in one of his most beloved roles) wants to go out and have fun, so he fakes an illness to play hooky in Chicago with buddy Cameron (Alan Ruck) and girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara). His carefree attitude and observations on life, addressed directly to the camera, are one source of humor. The other is his high school’s bumbling dean (Jeffrey Jones) trying to prove that Ferris is skipping class. Jennifer Gray, Charlie Sheen, and Ben Stein co-star.
d. John Hughes, 103m, DCP
DCP courtesy of Paramount Pictures.