FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF

REVIEWED BY SHANNON H.

Our rating: 1 out of 5

Because of: sexual content, language, thematic elements

Rated:

Think back to elementary school and imagine being holed up in class with a boring teacher while outside. It's sunny, breezy, and a great day to go out and have fun. Were you one of those individuals who didn't believe in ditching school to enjoy what could possibly be a nice day off because of your conscience (or for fear that you would get caught) or were you one of those kids who could care less about academics and more about enjoying life's pleasures, even if it means faking sick and risking truancy?

High school senior Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) has nine absences (unknown to his parents) on his school record for the semester and is about to take his tenth day "off" from school. He does so by faking sick so convincingly that his naïve parents allow him to take the day off. To Ferris, life was an adventure and he didn't feel like wasting a beautiful day in the back of an economics class, listening to a dreadfully, boring teacher with a monotone (Ben Stein). Ferris' younger sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey) rolls her eyes in disgust that her parents have bought into her brother's "little white lie." She complains that he's merely faking it, but her father is quick to tell her to be more sensitive to her "sick" sibling. After his sister leaves for school and his parents leave for work, Ferris goes into action, devising how he would spend his ditch day from school. He then calls his best friend, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), who, unlike Ferris, is really sick in bed with a cold. Ferris convinces him to drive him over to his place (Ferris' parents gave him a computer instead of a car). The unwilling Cameron is suckered into using his father's 1960 convertible to "pick up" Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara), Ferris' girlfriend, from school (Cameron had to make a prank call to the principal to allow them to pick her up).

Principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) talks to Ferris' mother on the phone, who is reporting her son's absence. Principal Rooney tells her how skeptical he is of Ferris' illness but his words fall on deaf ears. Principal Rooney then decides to visit the Bueller house to see if Ferris really is sick. Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron worm their way into a fancy restaurant for lunch, but not before dropping off the 1960 convertible off at a detail shop for safekeeping (the mechanics there spend the entire day driving the car, upping the mileage on the odometer). The three kids have the day of their lives: they go to a museum, eat out at a fancy restaurant, attend a parade, go to a Chicago Cubs baseball game, and climb one of the highest skyscrapers in Chicago. 

Ferris' "condition" spreads around the school and soon, the kids really believe that Ferris is truly ill. One student even takes up a collection for a kidney transplant, should Ferris need one. The hype over Ferris' fake illness drives his sister Jeanie nuts (everyone is surprised that she's very apathetic to her "sick" brother). When she comes home from school for the day, she senses an intruder in their home (in reality, it's Principal Rooney, trying to find Ferris, amid a sprinkler, a mud hole, and an angry pet rottweiler) and calls the police but they wouldn't listen to her and are more concerned with her brother than they are with her (by this time, "save Ferris" is the catchphrase of Chicago). Still, Rooney doesn't give up and when Ferris' day is over, he has to beat his parents home before he gets busted for ditching school and try to allude Rooney's clutches.

The film is rated PG-13 primarily for language. It consists of mild profanities, eleven abuses of deity, and one f-word. There are six sexual references/innuendoes (a provocatively dressed nurse shows up at the Bueller household singing a dirty jingle and Jeanie slams the door in  her face). Ferris looks at a digital picture of a nude woman on his computer (certain parts are blurred). Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron are seen swimming in a swimming pool wearing almost nothing (Ferris and Cameron are wearing their boxer shorts, Sloane is wearing a lacy undershirt and her underwear). There's a reference to Cameron's "sexual" naivete when it comes to romance (he's never been in love and never been with a woman). At a police station, a criminal thug (Charlie Sheen) makes a pass at Jeanie and the two make-out. Ferris and Sloane make out on three occasions. There's two shots of non-sexual nudity in the artwork at an art museum. Sloane asks Cameron if he saw her take her clothes off before going swimming while he was in a "catatomic" state over his father's precious convertible. Charlie Sheen's character asks Jeanie if she's at the police station for illicit drug use.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a good teen-age comedy but does have a few moral dilemmas.  erris, Cameron, and Principal Rooney use language they shouldn't be using (Cameron disrespects his father by calling him a couple of profane names). Ferris also unrepentantly disobeys authority by playing hookey from school. Some schools do have an authorized "senior ditch day" where 12th graders are given a day off just for fun, but Ferris takes it to the extreme. Cameron, in the beginning of the film, is hesitant to let Ferris talk him into ditching school but in the end, has no regrets. He doesn't even budge in concern when he accidentally totals his dad's 1960 convertible. Ferris doesn't regret ditching school because he feels that life is too much of an adventure to spend in a classroom, even if it means for him to repeat another year of high school. He doesn't obey authority, but questions it, believing it to be a nuisance. In the Bible, God tells us that we are to obey rightful authority, which means listening to our parents and doing what our teachers tell us to do when we're in school. Also, Cameron has broken one of the commandments; to honor our fathers and mothers. Cameron condones his behavior by saying that his dad kept him in "fear" so that he wouldn't disobey his parents. To paraphrase my pastor, we are to honor our parents, period; the Bible doesn't say to honor our parents "if they're honorable." 

This film was cute. It had some funny parts and some not-so-funny parts. What I found positive was that Ferris and his girlfriend never slept together. Christians would enjoy this film but they should be cautioned not to allow their teenagers to watch it.