In 1986, the late John Hughes gave film audiences one of his most beloved teen dramedies — and
teen heroes.
Filled with memorable scenes, zippy one-liners, and a motley cast of characters, Ferris Bueller's
Day Off is a film that not only stands the test of time, but helped define a genre.
But watch this classic again as an adult, and you realize that more than a few parts
of the movie are actually pretty cartoonish, and require a serious suspension of disbelief.
Here are just a few examples.
Unbelievable toys
From his his totally boss stereo to his killer IBM computer and beyond, Ferris has a bedroom
that would make him the envy of any '80s teen.
"Hi Ferris!
How's your bod?"
"Oh my God.
You're dying?"
Then there's that awesome synthesizer he uses to make convincing fart and vomit sound effects
while rallying the troops at school — it's an E-mu Emulator II, the creme de la creme
of synths used by '80s bands like Depeche Mode.
It would have set Ferris' parents back about eight grand — an insane price tag, considering
there's no evidence Ferris even knows how to really play it or any other instrument,
or that his parents are quite that well-off.
"Never had one lesson!"
Wacky wardrobe
Ferris changes his outfit an absurd nine times before Cameron even picks him up in the morning,
pulling looks out of the ether like Bugs Bunny.
All before 10:00 a.m., Ferris' assorted looks range from PJs to pool attire, from luau gear
to hip jazz cat, various states of undress coming to and from the shower, plus his blue
suit that he plans to wear to trick Mr. Rooney into thinking he's Sloane's dad.
Time travel
Early in the movie, Ferris and Cameron make their phony phone call to Ed Rooney from Ferris'
house and disagree about how to handle picking up Sloane at school.
To Ferris' dismay, Cameron (as Sloane's dad) blurts out that Mr. Rooney should have Sloane
outside the school ...
"... in ten minutes by herself!"
This leads to a series of events that would suspiciously take longer than 10 minutes:
Ferris and Cameron argue over the details, Ferris delivers an emotional apology, and
the two are chums again.
They then travel to Cameron's house, where Ferris convinces Cameron to "borrow" Cameron's
dad's vintage Ferrari.
They secure the vehicle and travel all the way to Shermer High, somehow arriving only
a minute or so after Mr. Rooney and Sloane emerge.
Identity crisis
The biggest mystery about Sloane Peterson is how seamlessly she goes from utter terror
that Ferris' dad might spot her in the taxi line at the restaurant to nonchalance about
making kissy faces to Mr. Bueller later from the backseat of another taxi cab.
Sure, she has those Ray-Ban sunglasses on as a brilliant disguise, but even perpetually
oblivious Mr. Bueller must recognize his son's super-serious girlfriend, right?
Considering Ferris proposed to Sloane back at the Stock Exchange, things might get pretty
awkward at the wedding.
Mysterious gifts
Aside from a quick visit from Mrs. Bueller to check on an ailing Ferris, and Ferris'
sister Jeanie's time at home when she kicks Mr. Rooney in the face and huddles in her
bedroom to call the police, the Bueller home is mostly empty for the day while Ferris enjoys
his time off.
Yet when everyone comes home at 6:00 p.m., the hallways are filled to the rafters with
the balloon and flower deliveries sent by the entire town to wish Ferris a speedy recovery.
So who accepted all those deliveries?
It couldn't have been Jeanie — in fact, we see her slam the door in the singing telegram
nurse's face.
And it likely wasn't Mr. Rooney, because the one vase of flowers we saw him pick up ended
up on the head of the family's Rottweiler.
Does Ferris have a robot butler among his many fabulous toys?
The late bus
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is loaded with brilliant moments and immensely quotable lines, but
the fun doesn't stop when the credits roll.
You've gotta love seeing the disheveled and broken Mr. Rooney accepting a warm gummy bear
from his bespectacled bus seatmate, set to the unforgettably catchy strains of Yello's
"Oh Yeah."
"I bet you've never smelled a real school bus before."
But when you watch it again as an adult, you realize there's something peculiar about that
school bus filled with teens pulling up to Mr. Rooney and asking him if he needs a ride.
We know it's now long past 6:00 p.m., and those kids should have been home hours ago.
Who are these kids?
Is the driver lost?
Considering everything else he managed to pull off, sticking Rooney on this bizarre
bus just might be Ferris' handiwork.
"It's good for him.
It teaches him to deal with his fear."
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