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Ferris Bueller's Day Off


Gaston de Foix

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This movie is a classic, but in truth both the characters Ferris and Cameron, but especially Ferris, would have been very likely to receive a pretty severe beating at the schools I attended.

Spoiler

 

Not because they were rich, lazy and idle, but for being $hits to other kids who made intentional efforts to work in school, participate in sports or other activities, etc.

The movie doesn't cover this aspect of their characters, as the movie is a love letter to Chicago, but in real life, those exact "types" roamed the campus and halls of some of my schools, generally lording it over the other students and doing nothing useful for themselves or anyone else.  Since I remember and knew and still know them, and the sort of trust-fund Trumpkins that they turned out to be, this movie is not nearly so fun to watch today.

It is funny to see Ferris and his friends and their antics, but the wasted opportunities and potential that their real-life counterparts had and did nothing with is an uncomfortable thought today.

Even on my first viewing, I have never thought that the fund-raising or cheering for Ferris among the other students was a realistic activity.  Most of his peers would have been sick of his bull$hit, so hearing that he was sick would have resulted in the response, "Good riddance."

 

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This is a fun movie, I hope you enjoy it Gaston.

It's a weird movie for me, however, because I was in Chicago and in high school at the time this movie came out.  A kid in my high school has a speaking role in the movie.  But we were all living in downtown Chicago going to high school in downtown Chicago.  So it was a bit strange for us with this supposed suburban kid coming into Chicago and having the Chicago experience for a day that was our reality every day.  We had limited exposure to suburban teens but the trio in the movie did somewhat remind me of some suburban teens I knew from the north shore suburbs so that did ring true to me.

Some of the locations ring true but others are totally off.  The 'fancy' restaurant they go to eat at is a private house in a residential neighborhood.  Why they picked that building for the outside, has always baffled me.

Seeing Charlie Sheen in this movie just makes me sad now.  I remember seeing this movie and thinking omg !!!! who is that when he appeared on screen.  Now, not so much.

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Sausage King of Chicago!

I haven't seen it in a long time, but I suspect of all the John Hughes films of my teens this is one of the least/not problematic and still holds up well. Well, this and James Spader as Steff McKee.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/pretty-in-pink-anniversary-james-spader/amp

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Funny you chose this one next. 

Spoiler

I just watched it a few weeks ago for the first time since..I don't know at least 20 years ago.  I've always like how mature Ferris' relationship with Sloane was.  That's basically what happened with my gf at the time when I graduated, but you rarely see it just dealt with in a simple way like that.  Probably just cuz Hughes had to devote all his resources to the parade scene, but still.

 

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3 hours ago, lady narcissa said:

Seeing Charlie Sheen in this movie just makes me sad now.  I remember seeing this movie and thinking omg !!!! who is that when he appeared on screen.  Now, not so much.

Yeah there is some unfortunate casting in retrospect. A decent chunk of the movie is dedicated to Jeffrey Jones chasing after a teenaged boy.

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I loved this movie as a kid in the early '90s, even though I didn't get half the jokes and I didn't relate to any of the characters. There was just an infectious energy about it, and I watched it way too many times. Then I didn't see it for 25+ years until I finally watched it again last year. And I still enjoyed it a lot, and in a different way since I actually understood more of what was going on. I think I like War Games more, as far as young Matthew Broderick movies go, but FBDO is great too.

2 hours ago, kairparavel said:

I haven't seen it in a long time, but I suspect of all the John Hughes films of my teens this is one of the least/not problematic and still holds up well. Well, this and James Spader as Steff McKee.

All I can really think of is the awkwardness of seeing Jeffrey Jones (and its particularly unfortunate that his role is a job with children). But that's not something anybody knew of at the time, and I don't hold it against John Hughes.

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5 hours ago, lady narcissa said:

This is a fun movie, I hope you enjoy it Gaston.

It's a weird movie for me, however, because I was in Chicago and in high school at the time this movie came out.  A kid in my high school has a speaking role in the movie.  But we were all living in downtown Chicago going to high school in downtown Chicago.  So it was a bit strange for us with this supposed suburban kid coming into Chicago and having the Chicago experience for a day that was our reality every day.  We had limited exposure to suburban teens but the trio in the movie did somewhat remind me of some suburban teens I knew from the north shore suburbs so that did ring true to me.

 

Interesting.  I was a Chicago suburban kid on the cusp of high school.  Granted not North Shore suburbs, but then who really lives there except Hughes characters...?  But anyway, the idea of the suburban kid going into the city and having the whole Chicago experience like that...?  That rang true with me then, and it still holds up for me now 30+ years later.  I didn't know about the restaurant/house, but I was always struck, particularly later on when I knew more about geography, about the absurdity of their day, bouncing all over like they did...Wrigley Field, the Art Institute, the Merc, the Sears Tower, etc. All that loving back and forth seemed strange and not cohesive...

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1 hour ago, Rhom said:

I liked the knock off Parker Lewis Can’t Lose.

Oh I know, everybody loves old Parker Lewis. He just can’t lose, after all. But if I get my choice of who to synchronize swatches with, I’ll take Bueller over Lewis every time.

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13 minutes ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

I didn't know about the restaurant/house, but I was always struck, particularly later on when I knew more about geography, about the absurdity of their day, bouncing all over like they did...Wrigley Field, the Art Institute, the Merc, the Sears Tower, etc. All that loving back and forth seemed strange and not cohesive...

That didn't/doesn't bother me because I know people that come to Chicago and have ridiculous not cohesive trips around the city like that.  Also, so many movies in Chicago present the city in a non linear fashion - one minute they are going south on Lake Shore Drive and the next they are coming inbound on the Eisenhower and then they find parking right in front of Wrigley Field.

I will just say, I've never been able to park in that parking garage even though its always been a self park and never had an attendant to go joy riding in your car.

The one thing that bothers me now is the nonsensical parade.  You'd never have a parade here unless it is a holiday and if its a holiday, school would not be in session.  Plus I recently realized its supposed to be a Von Steuben Day parade which takes place in the middle of September, not at the end of the school year, so that doesn't work either.  Don't get me wrong, I love the parade scene because I could never not love a scene in which Danke Schoen is sung.

Anyone interested in the locations used in the movie can find them mapped here:

https://chicago.curbed.com/maps/ferris-buellers-day-off-filming-locations-chicago

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7 minutes ago, lady narcissa said:

The one thing that bothers me now is the nonsensical parade.  You'd never have a parade here unless it is a holiday and if its a holiday, school would not be in session.  Plus I recently realized its supposed to be a Von Steuben Day parade which takes place in the middle of September, not at the end of the school year, so that doesn't work either.  Don't get me wrong, I love the parade scene because I could never not love a scene in which Danke Schoen is sung.

 

The irony being that was actually filmed during the actual Von Steuben Day parade in September...that little factoid amuses me...

 

 

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