Bueller Bueller Bueller Hey it’s everyone’s favorite movie about ditching school.
35 years after its release, it’s still one of the most beloved comedies of all time.
Here is everything you need to know about Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Behind the scenes
On February 25, 1985, John Hughes writes the basic storyline for a new movie. The next day,
he pitches it to Paramount Studios executive Ned Tanen. Tanen digs the idea,
and Hughes wrote the screenplay for the new movie in less than a week. In fact,
there were not really any future drafts of the script. Hughes wanted this movie to be more about
the characters and less about the plot. In other words, film first, worry about the plot later.
The first cut of the movie would end up being two hours and 45 minutes, and so more than an hour of
it would be cut out. So what was the film about? Well, this would be another film featuring high
schoolers. The previous year, Hughes had released a hit film he wrote and directed called Sixteen
Candles. He had also written screenplays for the teen films The Breakfast Club,
Weird Science, and Pretty in Pink, so quickly Hughes was apparently becoming the dude in
Hollywood who wrote and directed films featuring teenagers. 4:45 “Steven Spielberg of teen movies”
This screenplay was about a popular high school senior about to graduate
who skipped school to basically have the best day ever. His name? Yep,
Ferris Bueller. The name of the movie? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Although,
the movie is also just as much about his more introverted and slightly uptight best friend,
Cameron Frye, who Ferris persuades to get out of his comfort zone basically the entire film.
Hughes based Ferris and Cameron on real characters he went to high school with.
Hughes had the actor Matthew Broderick in mind as Ferris Bueller even as he was
writing the screenplay, later saying Broderick, who had already been in some big Hollywood hits,
was the only actor who could pull off the role. The role of Cameron Frye went to actor Alan Ruck,
although Hughes originally considered Jim Carrey, John Cusack, Tom Cruise, and Michael J.
Fox for the character. Have you heard of those actors? Anyway, Hughes also offered the role to
Anthony Michael Hall, who was in his film Sixteen Candles. However, Hall turned it
down and instead ended up working on two of Hughes’ other films, The Breakfast Club and
Weird Science. It worked out because Broderick and Ruck already knew each other beforehand. To play
Ferrris Bueller’s girlfriend, Sloane Peterson, Hughes cast Mia Sara, although apparently Molly
Ringwald wanted that part. Of course, Hughes had also worked with Ringwald on other films. However,
Hughes turned her down for the role, supposedly because he thought Ringwald deserved a bigger
role. Interestingly, Sara was just 18 and had just graduated and Broderick and Ruck were in
their twenties. Oh, and Jennifer Grey, who played Broderick’s jealous younger sister,
Jeanie, was also in her twenties. In fact, she was older than Broderick.
Hughes got Jeffrey Jones for the role of principal Ed Rooney based on his role as the emperor
in Amadeus. To help Jones prepare for the role, Hughes actually took him to meet his
old vice principal, who was apparently just as intense as Ed Rooney was supposed to be.
Ben Stein, who famously played Ferris’s Economics teacher, kind of randomly got the role through a
New York Times columnist named Bill Safire, who introduced him to an executive at Warner Brothers,
who introduced him to a casting director, who introduced him to John Hughes. Hughes later said
about Stein, “He wasn’t a professional actor. He had a flat voice, he looked like a teacher.”
Fun facts. The two actors who played Ferris’s parents, Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward,
later got married in real life, having two children together. Oh, and Ferris
dated his sister. Er, I mean, Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey dated in real life after the
movie as well. Picket and Ward and Broderick and Grey all first met on the set of this movie.
Tom Jacobson joined Hughes to produce. Filming began in Chicago on September 9,
1985. Hughes wanted to show off his home city to the world with this film,
saying “A lot of Ferris is sort of a love letter to the city” and “I really wanted to capture as
much of Chicago as I could. Not just in the architecture and landscape, but the spirit.”
Since the film was supposed to take place in, ya know, one day, the actors all had to make
sure they looked exactly the same every day they showed up for a shoot. They filmed scenes
at several locations in downtown Chicago, as well as in the Chicago suburbs of Winnetka,
Highland Park, and Northbrook, which is where Hughes simultaneously was shooting his film
The Breakfast Club in order to save Paramount Pictures, who was releasing both films, time and
money. And no, that’s not an actual Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder. For most of the car scenes,
they used replica cars that apparently didn’t run that well. The parade scenes were shot
two separate Saturdays. The first Saturday was during a real parade. For the second Saturday,
around 10,000 people showed up to be extras after local radio stations announced the filming.
In late October, the production moved to Los Angeles. By November 22, they were done filming
and ready to edit. As I said earlier, most of the story was formulated during this process.
Paramount released the film on June 11, 1986. It was a huge success. Paramount had given Hughes
$5 million to make it, and it ended up being one of the top-grossing films of the year,
eventually making more than $70 million. Critics also praised it.
Plot While you should definitely
watch it yourself, here is the basic storyline. It’s a beautiful spring day in suburban Chicago.
High school senior Ferris Bueller, who apparently has a habit of ditching school, fakes being sick,
and his parents buy it yet again. His jealous sister, Jeanie, absolutely does not buy it.
Neither does his principal, or I guess Dean of Students, Edward R. Rooney, who would spend the
entire day trying to prove that Ferris is indeed just ditching school to have fun.
However, word gets out at his entire high school, and...well you know how rumours can spread...but
yeah eventually students think that Ferris is not only sick, but SERIOUSLY sick.
In the meantime, Ferris convinces his best friend Cameron Frye, who actually is sick, or at least
THINKS he is sick, to get out of bed and to come over with his car to take him places. Cameron
clearly doesn’t want to come, but at the same he secretly does want to come, and after coming over,
the two work together to get Sloane Peterson, Ferris’s girlfriend also out to school, using
Cameron’s dad’s really expensive Ferrari, and the three take the Ferrari to downtown Chicago,
spending the day doing about every fun thing imaginable you could do there.
While the whole movie is indeed supposed to take place in just one day, the trio
fit about five days of activities in there it seems. Oh, and throughout the
movie Ferris breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the audience. That’s pretty fun.
Analysis
At its core, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a light-hearted comedy, with bits of drama added in,
especially with Cameron. As I mentioned earlier, the film is just as much about him.
Some argue the film is ONLY about Cameron. In other words, it’s CAMERON’S DAY OFF.
There is even one fan theory floating around out there that Ferris Bueller doesn’t really exist,
that he’s just a figment of Cameron’s imagination. Regardless, the two compliment each other very
well. Ferris is everything Cameron secretly wants to be, and it’s clear that Ferris admires Cameron.
In fact, he probably cares deeply for him. Cameron also is the only one in the film who experiences
a transformation. Due to that, you could easily argue HE is the actual main character.
And while the old adage “opposites attract,” applies to Ferris and Cameron,
it also applies to Ferris and Sloane. In fact, Sloane and Cameron seem to be much more similar,
but it’s definitely Ferris Sloan is attracted to. In other words,
the movie makes it crystal clear the three all need each other.
Despite being a light-hearted comedy, every character in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is
relatable. Even today, we all know people in our lives that are similar to characters in the film,
although I will say it does make the adults all seem either ignorant or just really lame.
The film still somehow seems realistic despite often being over the top. In multiple ways,
it’s also about freedom. Sure, literally the freedom of ditching school and doing what you
want for the day, but really freedom to do what you want with your life.
That line (life moves really fast) has become an inspiring motto for so many.
Escape the rat race. Escape your dead-end job that makes you miserable. Escape the baggage
of current or past toxic relationships. Live your life NOW...while you still have a chance.
Legacy
Today Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is considered not only one of the best high school comedies,
but one of the best COMEDIES of all time. It’s still one of those rare films that people will
watch repeatedly, and although it will always have a special place in the hearts and minds of
those who identify as Generation X, it resonates arguably just as much with younger generations.
There is no denying its huge cultural impact. Whether it be catchphrases (Bueller? Bueller?”)
that are still regularly brought up, or parodies of the film, it is easily recognizable. Broderick,
who was nominated for the film for a Golden Globe Award in 1987 in the Best Actor-
Motion Picture Musical or Comedy category, later said the role was his most famous one
in his long and storied career. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off heavily influenced all future teen films.
The bands Save Ferris and Rooney even got their names in reference to the film. Heck,
even Barbara Bush used dialogue from the film at a commencement speech at Wellesley College in 1990.
That same year, Ferris Bueller, a spin off TV series featuring none other than Jennifer Aniston
as Jeannie Bueller, debuted on NBC. Yeah it got cancelled after one season.
In 2014, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film
Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” In 2020,
most of the cast reunited for a big zoom call on Josh Gad’s YouTube channel.
Today, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is referred to as a classic, yet it does remain relevant not really
because it’s still funny, but because it really does have an inspiring and universal message.
A message to reevaluate our lives...to hit the pause button and question why
we are doing what we are doing...to escape the hustle and make sure we
are really staying true to ourselves...to get away to make sure we want to return.
In other words, this film still reminds us that we could all use another day off.
Believe it or not, June 11th is the 35th anniversary of the release of Ferris Bueller’s
Day Off. There I am at Glenbrook North High School, which is where they filmed some of the
scenes for the film. My wife and I are in the areas of the scene filmed when Sloane’s dad,
who was really Ferris, picked her up from school. John Hughes actually graduated from
Glenbrook North High School and also filmed there a bit for The Breakfast Club. That was in 2006,
but it still looks mostly the same today. Oh, if you haven’t seen my video about The Breakfast
Club, check it out now. So what are some of YOUR favorite scenes from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?
Also, what other film would you like to see explained in a similar fashion?
Let me know in those comments below. Thanks for watching this whole thing for real.