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I can't think of a single person who doesn't like this film. There's something about its chaotically seductive energy that seems to transcend time. It's like that one person you may know that, wherever they are, they just know how to light up the place. You get easily swept up in it too. Everyone's having a good time as long as your commander is at the vanguard, blazing that trail for you all. And that's what this movie is like. It just fearlessly, and seemingly without effort, shows us all how to pull back the darkness of life and enjoy it. To accept and embrace the chaos. To adapt and just roll with it.
Yeah, life is messy. Sometimes it's not fair. Sometimes it's stupid and arbitrary and even incredibly harmful. John Hughes didn't try to dodge any of this when he made this movie, even though it's definitely a comedy through and through. In fact, this movie has the aggravations of life on constant and often humorous display. But if you restrict your view to only that, for whatever reason, then you're going to miss the good in life too. And more than that, life just has a way of making you constantly look stupid as well if that's all you're going to focus on.
This movie has generated some debate though about Ferris. Let's get into that for a second. Is he an extremely lucky mischievous youth with a heart of gold, or is he actually just a selfish rich prick? I say he's definitely a good kid. Sure, he's not a saint. He'll happily piss off an adult if he thinks such an adult is taking themselves too seriously. but generally, he's just a kid who knows how to take advantage of opportunities and wanted to show his friend a good time before they all shortly graduate and go their separate ways.
We see that Ferris isn't lying either. Our very first look at Cameron shows us someone who is just absolutely wrecked. A total victim of his fears and, most importantly of all, his father. Ferris didn't have to take Cameron out. He didn't even have to call him. He could have just took his girlfriend Sloane out for a day in the city and that would have been that. But it goes further than this. When Cameron breaks down and trashes his own father's car towards the end, let's not forget that it was Ferris who initially tried to step up and offer to take all the blame for this. If Ferris really was just a dick, he would never have offered to do that for Cameron or anyone. No, Ferris is definitely a decent guy.
And on the complete other end of the spectrum, we have Edward Rooney. In the Ferris-is-an-asshole argument, it's often brought up how a (supposedly) innocent dean of students is beaten down and made a mockery of for just doing his job. Yes, Edward Rooney is just doing his job... All the way up until he leaves the office to try to hunt Ferris down. He even attempts a fucking home invasion. I'm sorry, man, but I'm pretty sure the job description for a dean of students doesn't include breaking into your student's houses. Once again, we have an utterly uptight cynical adult who takes himself too seriously. As the nameless leather-jacket-clad person in the police station so wisely points out. Past a certain point, the problem isn't with Ferris. The problem is definitely with you, Edward.
Oh, and as for those movie theories about how Cameron is just imagining up Ferris, yeah, I guess that would make some realistic sense... It's also needlessly depressing and goes completely against the spirit of the movie, so no, I don't approve. Not every movie has to be 100% realistic or needs some realistic explanation. Ferris is simply an unnaturally lucky kid who wants to show his friend a good time around 1980s Chicago. That's it. There's no need to complicate things. Let the movie stand for what it wants to stand for. Nothing more and nothing less. And that is that...
Watch this movie, relax, and enjoy your life, because no one else is gonna do it for you.
You're still here... ? It's over! Go home...
Go.
Yeah, life is messy. Sometimes it's not fair. Sometimes it's stupid and arbitrary and even incredibly harmful. John Hughes didn't try to dodge any of this when he made this movie, even though it's definitely a comedy through and through. In fact, this movie has the aggravations of life on constant and often humorous display. But if you restrict your view to only that, for whatever reason, then you're going to miss the good in life too. And more than that, life just has a way of making you constantly look stupid as well if that's all you're going to focus on.
This movie has generated some debate though about Ferris. Let's get into that for a second. Is he an extremely lucky mischievous youth with a heart of gold, or is he actually just a selfish rich prick? I say he's definitely a good kid. Sure, he's not a saint. He'll happily piss off an adult if he thinks such an adult is taking themselves too seriously. but generally, he's just a kid who knows how to take advantage of opportunities and wanted to show his friend a good time before they all shortly graduate and go their separate ways.
We see that Ferris isn't lying either. Our very first look at Cameron shows us someone who is just absolutely wrecked. A total victim of his fears and, most importantly of all, his father. Ferris didn't have to take Cameron out. He didn't even have to call him. He could have just took his girlfriend Sloane out for a day in the city and that would have been that. But it goes further than this. When Cameron breaks down and trashes his own father's car towards the end, let's not forget that it was Ferris who initially tried to step up and offer to take all the blame for this. If Ferris really was just a dick, he would never have offered to do that for Cameron or anyone. No, Ferris is definitely a decent guy.
And on the complete other end of the spectrum, we have Edward Rooney. In the Ferris-is-an-asshole argument, it's often brought up how a (supposedly) innocent dean of students is beaten down and made a mockery of for just doing his job. Yes, Edward Rooney is just doing his job... All the way up until he leaves the office to try to hunt Ferris down. He even attempts a fucking home invasion. I'm sorry, man, but I'm pretty sure the job description for a dean of students doesn't include breaking into your student's houses. Once again, we have an utterly uptight cynical adult who takes himself too seriously. As the nameless leather-jacket-clad person in the police station so wisely points out. Past a certain point, the problem isn't with Ferris. The problem is definitely with you, Edward.
Oh, and as for those movie theories about how Cameron is just imagining up Ferris, yeah, I guess that would make some realistic sense... It's also needlessly depressing and goes completely against the spirit of the movie, so no, I don't approve. Not every movie has to be 100% realistic or needs some realistic explanation. Ferris is simply an unnaturally lucky kid who wants to show his friend a good time around 1980s Chicago. That's it. There's no need to complicate things. Let the movie stand for what it wants to stand for. Nothing more and nothing less. And that is that...
Ferris Bueller said:
Watch this movie, relax, and enjoy your life, because no one else is gonna do it for you.
Go.
