Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American comedy film written, produced and directed by John Hughes.

The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick), who skips school and spends the day in downtown Chicago along with his girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and best friend Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck). He creatively avoids his school's dean of students Edward Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), his resentful sister Jeannie (Jennifer Grey), and his parents. During the film, Bueller regularly breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the camera to explain to the audience his thoughts and techniques.

Hughes wrote the screenplay in less than a week and shot the film, on a budget of $5.8 million, over three months in 1985. Featuring many famous Chicago landmarks including the then Sears Tower and the Art Institute of Chicago, the film was Hughes' love letter to the city: "I really wanted to capture as much of Chicago as I could. Not just in the architecture and landscape, but the spirit."

Released by Paramount Pictures on June 11, 1986, Ferris Bueller's Day Off became one of the top-grossing films of the year and was enthusiastically received by critics and audiences alike. In 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as per being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Synopsis

High school senior Ferris Bueller skips school by fooling his parents into thinking he is sick. He then persuades his depressive best friend Cameron Frye to join him. Ferris coaxes Cameron into taking his father's prized 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder out for a spin. Sympathy spreads throughout his school and the community for Ferris' faked illness, inspiring a campaign to "Save Ferris." His absence is called into question by his sister Jeannie and the school's dean of students, Edward Rooney, who believes Ferris is truant, which Rooney believes jeopardizes his own ability to effectively govern the student body.

Actors