“Life moves pretty fast, you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.”
-Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick)

Have you ever wanted to take your closest friends and just for one day escape from the mundane and tedious routine of life? Not necessarily a vacation, but more so as an opportunity to break away from the stressful expectations of society and encompass yourself with the wonders this world has to offer. That is exactly what aspiring filmmaker/screenwriter, John Hughes intended to show with his blockbuster hit, Ferris Bueller’s Day off.

Ferris Bueller, played by the young and very talented Matthew Broderick is a high school senior who decides to invigorate both his best friend, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck) and his girlfriend, Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) by ditching school to explore the windy city of Chicago in this teen comedy.

The director, John Hughes proved to the world that he is not only talented behind the pen, but behind the camera as well with his critically acclaimed The Breakfast Club (1985). Fast forward to September of 1985, where Hughes is once again directing an original work of his, Ferris Bueller’s Day off. It is with this film, however, that Hughes proves he is not a one hit wonder director/screenwriter.

Hughes worked around the clock and was very dedicated throughout the entire film making process. He managed to finish the entire script in just under a week! Hughes had to work quickly because the studio that liked his pitch, Paramount Studios was in fear of upcoming protests from representatives of The Writers Guild of America. Even the production of this film was finished relatively quickly; the filming started in September of 1985 and finished in November of that same year!

In early June of 1986, Ferris Bueller’s Day off creamed the box office! The movie placed number 2 on its opening weekend (Just behind Cobra starring Sylvester Stallone) and it was the 10th highest grossing movie in all of 1986! In addition, Ferris Bueller’s Day off is considered to be the highlight of Matthew Broderick’s career and certainly the film that made him a house hold name.

Although very impressive and hilarious, Matthew Broderick does not steal the show in this one. Virtually everyone in the film has their moment to shine on the big screen and captivate the audience. I especially enjoyed the cartoonish antics of the movie’s antagonist, Ed Roony, (Jeffrey Jones) as he tries to catch Bueller in the act of skipping school.

My only complaint with the film would be the unrealistic coincidences that occur in this movie; however, there is a scene (I’m not going to spoil) that reminds me of Humphrey Bogart’s famous line in Casablanca, “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” The other reason why the coincidences don’t bother me a whole lot is because John Hughes admitted that, “It’s not the events that are important, it’s the characters going through the event.” Hughes did an amazing job developing his characters.

Matthew Broderick does what every high schooler dreams of doing in Ferris Bueller’s Day off. I give this teen comedy a 4 out of 5.

P.S. Watch the end credits to its entirety, because there is an awesome surprise waiting for you at the end.

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