Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)


Another film I missed/refused the first time around and finally relented to seeing (last night) is the oft-referenced, culturally iconic Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).

For those who haven't seen the film, a high school senior (Ferris) fakes sick and, in place of a school day, convinces his two pals -- Cameron and Sloane -- to join him on a romp through their home town of Chicago.

At times the trio's interactions remind me of Truffaut's Jules and Jim (1962), or at least I want them to. At other times -- most of the time -- it is TV's Seinfeld (1989-1998), with Ferris as Jerry, Sloane as Elaine and Cameron a cross between George and Kramer.

The picture above is from my favourite part of the movie, when the three visit the Art Institute of Chicago. Rather than art bashing (common to goofball comedies), they say nothing of what they are looking at (Hopper, Picasso, Giacometti, Pollack, Motherwell, etc.). The highlight for me is Cameron's somewhat religious response to Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884-1886), of which the picture above is the last of a series of ZOOM-INs.

Director John Hughes has said that this scene was "an indulgence" for him, as the AIC was "a refuge" when he was Ferris's age. I am glad the studio allowed Hughes to keep it in the picture. 

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