Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is a tricky but harmless fast-talker. But he knows how to have fun, which is exactly what he sets out to do when he feigns illness and talks his parents into letting him stay home from school. The perpetually lucky Ferris enlists his hypochondriac best friend, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), into springing his girlfriend, Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara), from class, and the three embark on a raucous downtown Chicago adventure. From Wrigley Field to the Art Institute of Chicago to a Polish pride parade, Ferris and his friends make the most of their day off. But Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron might not get away with playing hooky. Ferris's sister, Jeanie (Jennifer Grey), is determined to prove that Ferris is faking sick and make him pay for it, and the bumbling school dean, Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), is sure that Ferris is pulling a fast one. Another classic from writer-director John Hughes (SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB), this film features a star turn from Broderick as the charismatic Ferris. Watch for Charlie Sheen as the juvenile delinquent in the police station and comedian Louie Anderson in a brief appearance as a flower deliveryman.
Conniving Shermer, Illinois, high school student Bueller spends his ninth school absence in the company of his kvetchy best friend, Cameron, and girlfriend Sloane, tearing through downtown Chicago on a mad quest for fun. The ruse seems perfect, right down to Cameron's dad's "borrowed" Ferrari, but Ferris's nemesis, high school principal Ed Rooney, is determined to bring the truants to justice.
Theatrical release: June 11, 1986.
Filmed in and around Chicago, Illinois, including at Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook, IL, which is writer-director John Hughes's alma mater.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen - 1.78
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - English
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - French
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Additional Release Material:
Featurette:
1. GETTING THE CLASS TOGETHER
2. THE MAKING OF FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF
3. WHO IS FERRIS BUELLER?
4. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BEN STEIN
5. Vintage Ferris Bueller
Text/Photo Galleries:
Class Album
Choreographer
Kenny Ortega: Choreographer/Director
Costume Designer
Marilyn Vance: Costume Designer, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (1982)
Director of Photography
Tak Fujimoto:
Production Designer
John W. Corso:
Post-Production Supervisor
Bill Brown: Post-Production Supervisor (mostly for O.Stone, J.Hughes)
Review 1:
"...Jones is pricelessly funny...[He gives an] absolutely delicious comic performance..."
Source: Variety
06/04/1986
Review 2:
"...Beautifully written and acted, this is John Hughes' finest film..."
Source: Total Film
p.129 08/01/2003
Review 3:
"[W]ish fulfillment for the pre-Nirvana generation. Crisp fun..."
Source: Uncut
p.160 11/01/2004
Review 4:
5 stars out of 5 -- "[F]rom picture-postcard Chicago cityscapes to achingly funny situations, from stand-up-and-cheer set-pieces to that eye-popping Ferrari, this is a film that leaves you aching to phone in sick."
Source: Total Film
p.128 06/01/2006
Review 5:
"...Hughes' flattering portrait of a prankish high school Uberteen..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.37 01/11/2002
Review 6:
"...The film's hook is a tantalizing fantasy for adults as well as kids..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.C3 06/20/1986
Review 7:
"John Hughes' mid-'80s paean to free-spirited defiance and karmic coolness appealed to just about everyone." -- Grade: A-
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.58 01/13/2006