I was thinking the other day, "What would be a good movie to write about while on vacation?" For some reason, this movie was the only one that came to mind. To me, this is the movie of director John Hughes' that seems closest to his heart. Many would counter with Sixteen Candles" or "The Breakfast Club". I would even counter with "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." But when I think about it, this movie seems to combine all of the things that we think about when we think of Hughes, and it combines them better than any other of his movies, to me.
In another direction, the shared experience of the movie becomes a part of the movie. Much like "The Princess Bride", the quotable lines in this movie have taken on a life of their own. ("So that's how it is in that family.") And, as with "The Princess Bride" or "Spinal Tap", there starts to be an unofficial club whose only dues to be paid are the simple recognition of the dialogue. This movie came out when I was 11 years old, and the first time I saw it was in Junior High at school (I don't think my parents know this). We sat in class at some sort of class party, watching the older kids in the movie galavant around Chicago, doing things about which we could only dream. The only access we had to Ferris' coolness was quoting the lines of the movie and sympathizing with all the poor saps who have to sit through Ben Stein's economics class.
The movie follows the adventures of 3 high schoolers. Ferris Bueller, who, as the high school principal's secretary points out, all the students think is "a righteous dude" is trying to cash in on a beautiful Chicago spring day by ditching school. He forcefully brings along his best friend Cameron, and jail breaks his girlfriend Simone. Ferris has elaborate ways of faking being sick, complete with technological tools usually only found at the Pentagon. He presides over his world with omniscience and utter cool, while poor Cameron is left to worry about the consequences of missing school and what Ferris will do to his father's beloved Ferrari. Ferris steals the Ferrari, and the 3 of them embark on a fantastic tour of Chicago, complete with a ball game, the Art Institute, the Sears Tower, a gourmet lunch, and a memorable trip to a German Day Parade. But, there is more to this movie than the viewer initially thinks, and that is why, to me, this is the quintessential John Hughes movie.
At the heart of much of Hughes' work is the insecurity and pain of being a teenager. Hughes looks at a group of young people who grow up in enormous privilege, but still feel alienated. This is portrayed so well in the character of Cameron. He has a father who, as he says, makes a car his love. As the 3 young people make their way through their day, we have a blast watching their hijinks, but we know there is more to the picture. That is why this movie transcends its time. It would have been entertaining enough to simply follow Ferris and the gang through their romp. But somehow, Hughes was able to see inside the minds of high schoolers and transmit those feelings to the screen. This only became clear to me as I grew older and became a senior in high school. As I entered that time in my life when I had, as an uncle once told me, "all of the privileges but none of the responsibilities", the fleeting nature of this time became more real to me. Ferris isn't simply being rebellious, he knows that high school will be over soon, and the time he has had with his best friend and girl friend is about to change.
All the while, the comedy is the yin to the serious yang of the movie. Principal Rooney's bravado and incompetence; Ferris and company faking their way into a 4 star restaurant ("'You're Abe Froman? The sausage king of Chicago?' 'That's right'"); and again, Ben Stein's endless droning about voodoo economics. It all comes together to form a moment in cinematic time. It's a great diversion, but it also makes the viewer think. As I start my second day of vacation, I couldn't help but think of it...
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it..."
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