“He’s a righteous dude.”
Save Ferris. A high school student decides to take the day off by faking sick. The film certainly wouldn’t make Matthew Broderick’s career sick, as it would propel him to the status of teen icon. Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
It’s a fine spring day in Chicago and Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is going to make the most of it and won’t let something like school stand in his way. He fakes an illness to his parents (Lyman Ward and Cindy Pickett) and much to the annoyance of his resentful sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey).
Once he’s home alone he gets to work on convincing his best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck), who is really sick that day, to come and pick him up since Ferris is without a car. He and Cameron then get to work on getting Ferris’ girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) out of school.
To do this they have to run afoul of Ferris’ nemesis Mr. Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), the dean of students. They succeed in freeing Sloane, but Ferris’ absence, his ninth this year, only fuels Rooney in his quest to catch Ferris and make sure he’s brought down to size.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off spawned at least one international superstar and that would be Ben Stein. What? You thought I was going to say Matthew Broderick? Actually, Broderick was already on his way there, but it was Stein’s laconic delivery that defined the film.
Stein even knew that his star had risen when he tried to have a quiet dinner at a Chinese restaurant and was recognized by almost everyone.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off would certainly define a generation and would become a classic of the 80s. We may not all be righteous dudes, but we can all sympathize with Ferris as everyone has wanted to take a day off from school by faking sick (licking the palms is the key).
Ferris breaks the fourth wall to offer us advice or tips as to the best way to ditch school as well. Our trio of actors is quite memorable as the audience really does think Broderick is a righteous dude and Ruck and Sara only add to the team.
Ferris is also given an ample villain in Ed Rooney and Edie McClurg also shines as his bumbling secretary. It’s a delightful comedic flashback to the 1980s.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.35:1). All the special features are presented in standard definition. First up is the 27 minute “Getting the Class Together” from 2005. It has interviews with Broderick, Ruck, Lyman Ward, Cindy Pickett, Jones, McClurg, Stein, and vintage contributions from writer/director John Hughes and Mia Sara.
The 15-minute “The Making of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is next. The 9 minute “Who is Ferris Bueller” has the interviewees reflecting on the character. The 11-minute “World According to Ben Stein” has the irresistible Stein waxing philosophic. The 10 minute “Vintage Ferris: The Lost Tapes” is some 1986 interview footage. There’s also a photo gallery.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a classic film from the 1980s and finally makes its high definition debut. Ferris has never looked better. It’s certainly flashback time for me as it was a popular film in the day.
A nice look back with the majority of the cast adds to the value, but I wish they would’ve included some newer stuff as all of this came from the 2005 special edition DVD. It’s still a fun trip nonetheless.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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