A seminal decade for teen dramas and comedy was the 1980s. Filmmaker John Hughes set the stage for the future of quirky films about teens, most famously with The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, and of course, Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Ferris Bueller is a charming yet conniving main character, but he's not really the hero of the story— that would be his best friend, Cameron Frye. Cameron is always firmly against Ferris's many schemes to make trouble, but he ends up going along with them anyway. To join these boys on their adventurous day away from school is Ferris's girlfriend, Sloane. The trio deceives their enraged school principal— and Ferris's naive parents— while wreaking havoc across the city in a sequence of hilarious events.
"How Could I Possibly Be Expected To Handle School On A Day Like This?"
The opening montage sees Ferris organize a trail of misleading clues for his parents in case they come home to check on him. Meanwhile, he tells the audience his plans for the day and how to get Cameron to join him.
He buys viewers' sympathy by being honest with them and asking them how he could possibly deal with school on such a day. The camera cuts to shots of stray clouds in an otherwise clear, blue sky.
"Pardon My French, But Cameron Is So Uptight, If You Stuck A Lump Of Coal Up His A**, In Two Weeks, You’d Have A Diamond."
Ferris's best friend is Cameron Frye, who is pretty much the exact opposite of Ferris himself. He's reserved, serious, and a stickler for rules.
When Ferris calls him up to join him on a day of adventures, he repeatedly says no and continues to say no to— and be afraid of— every proposal Ferris makes throughout the day.
"Anyone? Anyone?"
Ben Stein portrays a dull economics teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The movie often intercuts between shots of his boring, droning speech and Ferris's adventures.
After the tedious roll call, the teacher is explaining something about tariffs. The true meaning gets lost between his frequent pauses to ask "anyone" if they can fill in the blanks. The students, frozen or asleep, can only stare blankly as he repeatedly asks for participation from his bored class.
"I Don't Trust This Kid Any Further Than I Can Throw Him."
Principal Ed Rooney is a bit of a creep. Besides his unhealthy obsession with Ferris, he speaks to students in a very unprofessional manner, accidentally hits on an unsuspecting young woman, and breaks into the Bueller household. Early in the film, Ed is telling his secretary how he doesn't trust Ferris any more than he can "throw him".
Grace responds that with his bad knee, he shouldn't be throwing anybody. Ed goes on to describe the "1500 Ferris Bueller disciples" he fears will jeopardize his ability to govern the school. Grace responds that he makes him "look like an a**". The conversation turns towards the hilariously labeled high school cliques.
"So That's How It Is In Their Family."
Ferris and Cameron arrive to pick up Sloane, who is on the front steps of the school with Ed. He's trying to console her about her grandmother when the Ferrari appears from behind a bus while the final notes of Yello's "Oh Yeah" play.
Sloane goes down to meet the ominously dressed Ferris—who Ed believes is Mr. Peterson— and asks her if she has "a kiss for daddy". The two start making out while the suspicious Ed watches from a distance, uncomfortable.
"Not That I Condone Fascism. Or Any Ism, For That Matter. Isms, In My Opinion, Are Not Good. A Person Should Not Believe In An Ism. He Should Believe In Himself."
In the opening sequence, Ferris lets viewers know who he is and what he stands for. One thing he definitely does not stand for is fascism.
Ferris is explaining that he has a test on European socialism, but he doesn't care because "[he's] not European and [he] doesn't plan on being European." They could be fascists for all he cares, he says, then elaborates so that viewers don't think he's totally without a conscience.
"Adams? Adamley? Adamowski? Adamson? Adler? Anderson?"
The aforementioned teacher puts as much excitement into reading the roll as he does giving lectures. Here, we see him going through his class list, robotically reading off the last names of the students with as little enthusiasm as a human being can muster.
When he gets to the names of the absent students— Bueller, Frye— he mindlessly repeats them as he awaits their response, not even bothering to put forth the effort of noticing that they aren't actually there.
"My Best Friend’s Sister’s Boyfriend’s Brother’s Girlfriend Heard From This Guy Who Knows This Kid Who’s Going With A Girl Who Saw Ferris Pass Out At 31 Flavors Last Night."
When the teacher gets to Bueller, he repeats the name four times, almost as if he's a robot. He'd probably continue if Simone Adamley didn't interrupt him.
Overly joyful, she explains that Ferris is sick through what is apparently eighth-hand information. The teacher sighs and thanks her for the more-than-adequate explanation. She cheerfully responds, "No problem whatsoever!"
"Frye? Frye? Frye? Frye?"
The next name on the list is Frye. This time, nobody interrupts the teacher's monotonous repetitions of Cameron's last name. Unlike Ferris, Cameron is actually sick in bed, as viewers see when the shot cuts from the teacher to the Frye house.
The sound of the teacher repeating his last name continues as the audience gets a look at the sleek house, then at Cameron's bedroom, and finally at him in his bed.
"I'll Go, I'll Go, I'll Go, I'll Go, I'll Go."
Perhaps the funniest scene in the movie is when Cameron is debating with himself as to whether or not he should go and join Ferris, knowing that he will keep calling him if he doesn't.
He's sitting alone in his car, telling himself this situation is stupid. He tries to motivate himself by repeating the words "I'll go" until leaving the car in frustration and stamping his feet on the ground. Finally, he relents and gets back in the car, already regretting the decision.