Ferris Bueller's Day Off: A day in the life of a mischievous teenager

The saying ‘Boys will be boys’ usually goes to say that adolescent boys are always up to mischief and will continue to do so because it is in their nature. It is a justification for young men to talk and behave the way they do while the rest of society chooses to accept them as they are, provided they do not cross the bounds of the societal norms. The same phrase would be most apt to describe the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, if it were to be explained in a single sentence.

Ferris Bueller is a mischievous school kid who is loved by everyone. His classmates and the rest of the school think he is a sweetheart and his gullible parents think that an angel like him could do no wrong. But unknown to them, Ferris always as some tricks up his sleeve and decides to skip school one day. He fakes an illness in front of his parents and claims to stay in bed the whole day. Instead he rings up his best friend Cameron and convinces him to take out his father’s Ferrari in order to rescue his girlfriend Sloane from the clutches of the school and have a day out on the town. They visit all the places they can think of and even manage to involve themselves in a parade. All the while, Ferris’ sister is aware of his sly ideas and vows to expose him before the day is done as does the dean at his school, Ed Rooney.

Written and directed by John Hughes and released in 1986, the film has gone down over the years as a cult classic. It is one among many films based on teenagers and specifically focuses on their school life. In its true essence, the film is all about a young man trying to fulfil his wishes to have a good time and wanting to stay away from responsibilities which are imposed on him. Thus the film reiterates the belief about young men being slack and that ‘boys will be boys’.

The most interesting technique adopted in this film is definitely the breaking of the fourth wall. Time and again the protagonist Ferris Buller, portrayed by Matthew Broderick, will step away from the normal proceedings of the story to speak to the audience and occasionally explain why he does what he does. In a way the film has an infomercial style to it with the protagonist giving the audience a list of do’s and don’ts, the text of which flashes on the screen as he recites it. On other occasions, he simply starts speaking to the audience about what he thinks and feels so as to make it easier for them to understand.

As mentioned before, the film is a cult classic. It follows a mildly dramatic plot and is infused with comedy at appropriate intervals. It is a good one-time watch.