Rent Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Mince. Spoiler alert! - Ferris Bueller's Day Off review by CM

Couldn’t care less about the characters, spoilt, SHALLOW, self obsessed, privileged, sense of entitlement off the scale, set piece dumb parents, set piece frigid uptight sister who just needed to snog a bit of rough to turn into a nice person. In the right hands I might have ended up caring about them in spite of all, that but no. . Reminds me why I was glad when the 80s was over. A friend told me it was wonderful so my reaction may be in the minority

Iconic 80s Comedy - Ferris Bueller's Day Off review by GI

An iconic 80s film and one of the best life affirming comedies. It holds up pretty well today mainly because its key message is still relevant....if not more so. Basically it's that life is what happens to you while you're doing other things so enjoy every moment and everyday. And as a teen comedy it's really hilariously funny. Ferris (Matthew Broderick), a very confident high school student, goes to elaborate lengths to bunk the day off from school luring his best friend Cameron (Alan Tuck) and girlfriend, Sloane (Mia Sara) to join him and take off into Chicago in Cameron's Dad's prize classic Ferrari. Only the school principal doesn't believe Ferris' sick story and is determined to catch him out. With a great musical number set piece and score along with various scrapes and close encounters with his adoring parents and very jealous sister (Jennifer Grey) this rattles along at such a neat pace, constantly enjoyable and fun all the while ridiculing mind numbing education systems and accepted norms of society. Broderick has the charm and cheeky glint of the eye making him perfect casting as Ferris, a role that is probably his most famous and Jeffrey Jones as the hapless principal is hilarious throughout. A bit of a cult favourite this is of its time but still worth checking out if you've never seen it.

Moderately amusing - Ferris Bueller's Day Off review by BN

I missed all the 80s popular teen movies, like this, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, St Elmo's Fire (should have been St Elmo's Dire!) etc. so thought I'd see what all the fuss was about. After StE'sF which I found very dull, this actually had some amusing moments, mostly of creativity, such as Ferris' excuses, his fake recordings, the figure mimicking him ill in bed, etc.

The parents seemed incredibly dimwitted especially the father, and the huge parade in Chicago made me question why it was held on a school day, given plenty of all ages in the crowd? The school headmaster played by Jeffrey Jones was a hoot who quite rightly doesn't believe he's ill and sets out to prove it, with rather painful and funny consequences. Ferris' friend Cameron was a guy named Alan Ruck, who seemed to me a pretty close double to Nicholas Lyndhurst (of Only Fools and Horses & Goodnight, Sweetheart fame) with a long lugubrious face. I've never seen him before or since yet he seems to have been in nearly 75 films,

at least on CP's list. Jennifer Grey just before Dirty Dancing fame plays his jealous and scheming younger sister, but in the end she seems to slightly admire how Ferris so blatantly gets away with everything and starts to cover for him.

For a feelgood movie without any mention of drugs, little alcohol nor appalling teen bad behaviour this one was reasonably amusing and clean. They may be portrayed as somewhat entitled, spoilt teens, but then most American movies do that unless they're portraying far more real grit types. Not really so bad, methinks, given its an American film.