The
late, great director John Hughes' film,
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is an iconic movie. There aren't many people under 40 who don't love it or can't quote it. Not only did it cement Matthew Broderick as the coolest kid ever (
he did marry Carrie Bradshaw), it helped establish the genre of angsty, suburban, sarcastic, self-aware, smart teenagers, and it made parades cool again. It can be said that all of
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is memorable, but here are
the scenes.(Please feel free to throw a shout out to any scenes I missed in the comment section.)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off opens with Ferris' opening monologue and it's awesome. First, he speaks directly to the camera, which is often a bad choice, but not this time. Partly because of his unabashed confidence - few men can walk so casually down a hall with their head wrapped in a towel like Ferris does. He adorably fakes being sick ("ringy-dingy"), expertly explains how to fake being sick ("lick your palms"), and even makes taking a shower seem fun.
"Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?"
Introducing Ben Stein, a reoccurring scene stealer. You had to love/hate the man for his ridiculously monotone voice. This scene is also classic for its difficult to quote, yet often remembered moment of showing how quickly information is passed through high school. It's also the best thing Kristi Swanson has ever done on screen. Anyone remember, "Um, he's sick. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with this girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious."
Charlie Sheen at the police station
Forget Wall Street and Platoon, Charlie Sheen's best performance ever was the 10 minutes he was onscreen in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He's stoned, he's bored, he's cool, he gives Jennifer Grey great advice, plus he's super studly. Without question, this is the most badass thing he's ever done. If those Heidi Fleiss girls had seen this scene, he'd have gotten those hookers for free.
Ferris' chase against Jeannie through the suburbs
It's the end of the movie, and it appears all's well that ends well, until Ferris runs into his sister in the car and has a mad dash through the neighborhood to beat his parents home. The music, the suburbs, Jeannie driving like a maniac - it's classic. After running through households, backyards, and trampolines to make it home in time, I love that he he stops to talk to the hot girls laying out in bikinis. Nice to know Broderick had pimp moves at such a young age.
Twist and Shout at the parade
There are few scenes in movies that evoke such admiration and love. Everyone loves the parade scene in Ferris. With a lead in of "Danke Schoen," Ferris quickly busts out the Beatles' "Twist and Shout," and the best part is how much everyone at the parade is enjoying it. It cuts from random people, to the dancers on the stairs, to Ferris' dad dancing, to the parade leaders getting into it, to little kids, to window cleaners, you name it. It feels like the entire city of Chicago is dancing! Many movies have tried to replicate this energy, but there is only one Ferris Bueller and only one parade scene.
Ed Rooney and the Bueller's Dog
Ed Rooney's attempts to bust Ferris and break into his house was obviously the inspiration for John Hughes' Home Alone, but the vase of flowers he uses to knock out the Bueller family dog was the absolute best – enhanced, of course, with the line "Here poochy, poochy, poochy. Look what Uncle Ed has for you, you little f**ker."
This adventure would not have been the same without 1961 Ferrari 250GT California set to the 1980's song "Oh yeah." It's also the reason for almost all of Cameron's freak outs. You know Ferris is going to take the car, you know this won't go well, but who wouldn't want to ditch school in the coolest car ever?
Jeannie on the phone with the cops
It's hard to decide what's better - Jeannie kicking Ed Rooney in the face 3 times, or her call to the police. As she's freaking out, she says "I'm very cute, I'm very alone, and I'm very protective of my body. I do not want it violated or killed... Speak any English!...Dick. Head." More women should probably adopt this saying.
Cameron Debating in the Car
For anyone who's had that moment alone in their car debating an issue, this scene's for you. Cameron's repetition of "he'll keep calling me, he'll keep calling me.... I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go" is priceless. Then quickly followed by a mini breakdown. Everyone has been Cameron at some point - just you and your car as you slowly lose all semblance of sanity.
Ferris, Cameron and Sloan meet their greatest adversary of the day, the "snooty" host at the Chez Quiz, who refuses to believe that Ferris is Abe Froman "the Sausage King of Chicago" and seat them. Ferris, of course, overcomes this obstacle, but one wonders how successful Ferris would be today with cell phones everywhere. Best line from the host? "I weep for the future."
Cameron is calling in as the fake Mr. Peterson, but Ed Rooney doesn't buy it – he thinks Ferris is behind the gag. He explains: «Uh, yeah, sure, no I'd be happy to, yeah you, uh, you you just produce a corpse, and uh, I'll release Sloane. I wanna see this dead grandmother first hand.' And of course, that's when his assitant Grace rushes into the room and annoucnes that Ferris is actually waiting for Rooney on the other phone line. Classic.
Grace describes Ferris to Ed Rooney
The amazing Edie McClurg is up there with Ben Stein as a major scene stealer in this movie. She has awesome one-liners throughout the movie as Ed Rooney's secretary, Grace. But it's her description of the types of students that are friends with Ferris that is hilarious. "The sportos, the motorheads, the geeks... sluts, bloods, wasteoids.... dweebies, dickheads... they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude."
The Art Institute of Chicago
The art, the kids holding hands trailed by Ferris, Sloan and Cameron, The Smiths playing in the background, Cameron staring at Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." All together, it's one of those scenes you'll never forget – not to mention it probably boosted tourism to the Art Institute of Chicago than any painting ever did.
More Ben Stein should be a film studio mantra when producing new movies. He's the perfect teacher, asking his student's questions, but not really caring about his lack of answer. After witnessing someone drool on his desk: "anyone, something -doo economics, voodoo economics."
Just when you think Cameron will be able to get his dad's car back in place without any major disaster, the worse thing imaginable happens – the car barrels through the glass garage and crashes below into a complete mess. However, this movie would not be what it was if this scene also didn't enable Cameron to come to grips with being a man and face his father. You gotta love those moments of growth in angsty teen flicks.