Fun Summer Movies: FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1986)

Release date: 11 June 1986. Stars Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones,

Jennifer Grey, Cindy Pickett, Kristy Swanson, Ben Stein and Charlie Sheen. Written and directed by  John Hughes.


Thanks to Jackie, one of my facebook friends for mentioning this movie on her wall this morning. Bringing back great memories of this classic film, I decided to make it my next fun summer movies post.

One of my favorite John Hughes movies is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Matthew Broderick is perfect as Ferris, the most popular and well loved teen-ager in Chicago. Well he decides to take a day off from the mundane world of high school and enlists his buddy Cameron (played by Alan Ruck) who is actually sick with a cold to join him. Of course Ferris has to fake out his loving parents, which he does with a marvelous performance of being sick. But Ferris would later say “my worst performance ever and they bought it”. This does not make his sister Jeanie, none too happy, (played with relish by Jennifer Grey). The whole time, Ferris is outwitting adults and such he is constantly giving us the audience a running commentary, which is both hilarious and insightful. The only thorn in his side is Principal Ed Rooney (played by Jeffrey Jones). They have been enemies since Ferris arrived at his school as a freshman and things have escalated ever since. Skinner is so sure that Ferris is faking an illness so he can skip school that he goes to great lengths to prove it. Also Ferris springs his girlfriend Sloane (fresh faced Mia Sara) from school by posing as her dad and claiming a family emergency.

Jennifer Grey as Jeanie, pissed off as usual

So the trio takes off in Cameron’s dad prized Ferrari to do a little sightseeing around Chicago. They hit a fancy restaurant where Ferris has to pretend to be Abe Froman, sausage king of Chicago, which is funny as hell. They take in an art museum, a baseball game and to top it all off, attend a rocking Octoberfest parade in which Ferris rocks it with a cover of Danke Schoen and The Beatles Twist and Shout. In the meantime Rooney tries to break into Ferris’s home to catch the savvy teen not at home, but runs into complications like the pet dog and Jeanie, who has had an interesting day of her own. She ends up a police station where she meets Charlie Sheen (in a terrific cameo as a juvenile delinquent). Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a great comedy and one of my all time favorites. If I had to guess, I probably have seen it at least 50 times. And it’s been hilarious every single time I’ve watched it.

Jeffrey Jones as Ed RooneyOh and let’s not forget Ben Stein’s memorable performance as a teacher who has that voice which drones on and on…Bueller? Bueller?

Holy crap it's Charlie Sheen...Notes:


Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was one of John Hughes biggest hit films, earning over $70 million during the summer of 1986.

 Kristy Swanson also appears in a hilarious bit as the girl who says her cousin saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors.

 Alan Ruck was 29 years old when cast as teen-ager Cameron Frye.

Anthony Michael Hall turned down the role of Ferris, fearing he would be typecast.

The bus scene at the end of the movie where the Principal is picked up was shot in Long Beach, California at Los Cerritos Park.


During the parade several of the people seen dancing (including the construction worker and the window washer) originally had nothing to do with the film. They were simply dancing to the music being played by John Hughes, found it so humorous that he told the camera operators to record it.


Ranked at #10 on Entertainment Weekly's 50 Best High School Movies (2006) It ranks as #2 in my book, behind Sixteen Candles.

The song "Danke Schoen" is heard four times in the movie; When Ferris sings it in the shower, when Ed Rooney sings it after ringing the Buellers' doorbell, when Ferris lip syncs the Wayne Newton version during the parade, and when Jeanie sings it while walking down the stairs at the police station.


The baseball game that was depicted in the film at Wrigley Field was filmed at an actual Cubs game and took place on June 5, 1985 between the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs ended up losing the game 4-2 in 11 innings.

 This entire movie takes place in one day with no flashbacks and most of the characters wear the same clothes throughout the whole movie