#8 - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

High school senior Ferris Bueller knows he's pushing it by his 9th "sick day" absence from school, so he's determined to make this one last.  With his best friend Cameron and his girlfriend Sloane he takes a whirlwind tour of the best things about Chicago, meanwhile trying to escape the clutches of his suspicious principal and vengeful older sister Jeanie.  

I was poised to hate Ferris Bueller.  At the beginning I saw things from Jeanie's perspective.  Why should somebody get to break the rules without consequences?  And moreover, why should this be the film's protagonist?  Do we want to get inside this person's head?  Well, yes.  The real message behind this film is laid out heavily and directly, as Ferris breaks the fourth wall to tell us not to let life pass us by.  This isn't really about the benefits of skipping school and breaking rules.  It's about the dangers of not letting yourself be happy and enjoy the great things about the world.  Everyone who goes along with Ferris has the best day of their life, and director John Hughes lets us join in the fun.

The acting in this movie is something you could take or leave, except for Jeffrey Jones's fantastic performance as the neurotic principal Ed Rooney.  The sets and costumes are nothing special but if I weren't already in love with this city I certainly would be now.  The best things are the script and Hughes's knack for little moments of absurdity amongst what is mostly straightforward comedy.  Scenes to look out for: the series of phone calls that gets Sloane out of school - Cameron discovers Seurat at the Art Institute - Jeanie in the police department.