Empire Magazine (2008) Greatest Movies List - #88: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

American high schools were fertile ground for John Hughes as a writer and director. They provided the setting for the classic The Breakfast Club (1985), which featured five typical characters from that world, and the following year Hughes struck gold again with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. That movie featured a character who is in a way the king of a Chicago high school and who is so confident he skilfully skips school with his best friend and girlfriend by his side. Ferris is a bit like James Bond for high school: girls want him and boys want to be him.

For many people this was a movie that defined their generation, especially if they saw it while still in high school. However since it came out the year I was born that was impossible for me. It’s a shame, because the high school movie that was the big hit during my formative years was American Pie (1999). Generation X people got to see Matthew Broderick sing Twist and Shout at a parade, while Millenials got to see Jason Biggs stuffing his crotch into a pie. No offence to Mr. Biggs, but when I saw Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on TV it became pretty clear to me which group had the best high school movies.

Hughes gave his main character a bit of a Shakespearean touch by having Ferris directly address the audience as he explains his plan to ditch school on a beautiful sunny day. Why waste time indoors listening to a boring teacher while he could be outside enjoying what the city has to offer? Ferris’ plans and attitude would be horrifying to any teacher, but in his defence his economics teacher (Ben Stein) is so boring the students who are in the classroom can barely stay awake. The way Stein drones Ferris’ name while calling attendance is so perfectly boring it has become his signature line: “Buller…Buller…Buller.”

You do have to give it to Ferris; he has given this particular day off a lot of thought. His first step is to fake an illness for his adoring parents (Lyman Ward and Cindy Pickett), who do not suspect a thing. Next he fabricates an excuse to get his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) out of school and convinces his best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) to provide transportation for the day by borrowing his father’s prized Ferrari. To cover his bases, Ferris even hacks the school records to reduce his number of absences.

Two people are not fooled by Ferris’ plans and decide to give chase like the Will E. Coyote going after the Road Runner. First there is Dean of Students Edward R. Rooney who has made catching Ferris once and for all his priority. Then there is Ferris’ own sister Jeannie (Jennifer Grey) who is not as easily fooled by her brother’s charm and is sick of him getting away with everything he wants. Unfortunately for the both of them, Ferris is a slippery quarry as he travels from Wrigley Field to a street parade and to the Arts Institute of Chicago. Well, at least Ferris and his friends are broadening their minds.

There is also a lot of introspection for these characters throughout this one-day as they ponder over their future. Ferris and Sloane are happy together, but they have to wonder if they will remain that way after high school. Meanwhile Cameron cannot live in the moment because he is always worrying about his father’s precious car and what will happen to him should it get so much as a scratch, leading to a nervous breakdown. Jeannie gets some life lessons of her own from, of all people, a truant played by Charlie Sheen who tells her she should spend less time worrying about her brother and focus on herself instead.

For a movie about a guy ditching school, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has a surprisingly enduring legacy. It has served as a launching pad many of the actors’ careers, was quoted by former First Lady Barbara Bush, and its post-credit scene was recreated by Ryan Reynolds in last year’s Deadpool. The key to the film’s success, I believe, is that Ferris is not some slacker who simply doesn’t want to work, but a free spirit who wants to live life to the fullest. Or in his own words: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.”

Empire Magazine (2008) Greatest Movies List - #97: Reservoir Dogs

One of the most surprising things about Quentin Tarantino’s debut film Reservoir Dogs (1992) is the fact that it has never been adapted for the stage. They will make a show out of Beauty and the Beast , Monty Python and the Holy Grail , and even Spider-Man , but somehow a movie in which most of the action takes place in a warehouse has never made it to Broadway? In any case, this was the movie that announced the arrival of the insatiable film fan that could regurgitate everything he had learned watching movies at the video store into stories filled with sudden bursts of violence, sharp-dressed characters, awesome soundtracks, and crackling dialogue. Since this violent piece of American cinema came out at a time when I was still learning basic math in elementary school there was no way I would watch this on the big screen. However as the years went by it became a cult classic, and even a classic of the independent movies genre, and was re-released on special edition DVD for its

Empire Magazine (2008) Greatest Movies List - #49: Evil Dead 2

What do you get when you mix buckets of fake blood, creative camera operators, the humour of the Three Stooges, and a man with the most recognizable chin in Hollywood? You get Evil Dead II (1987), the horror classic that somehow manages to remake the original in the first 15 minutes and yet feel entirely original. Even though it is mostly set in a cabin in the woods, that staple location in the horror genre, it feels like a roller coaster ride. This is especially true once the film's hero, the scrappy Ash Williams, embraces the madness by arming himself with a sawed-off shotgun and attaching a chainsaw where his hand used to be. "Groovy" indeed. This gore-soaked franchise has had a long run, starting off with one low-budget movie directed by a young Sam Raimi and then growing into two sequels, a remake, comic books and a TV show with three seasons. My starting point was the third entry, Army of Darkness, which moves the action to the Middle Ages with the same

Empire Magazine (2008) Greatest Movies List - #102: The Hustler

Robert Rossen’s The Hustler (1961) is proof that any sport can be used for good cinematic drama even if that sport is pool. Although this is not a game that involves a massive sport arena and bloody boxing gloves, things can get dramatically interesting if the monetary stakes are high, and visually arresting if the filmmakers shoot from the right angle. It also helps a lot if the man putting his money on the table is played by a young Paul Newman in a career-breaking role. Prior to watching the film I had a vague idea of the meaning of the word “hustling” and a rather passive interest in the game of pool. It’s a fun game to play if you are having a couple of nachos and chicken wings on a Friday evening with friends, but I didn’t see it as a spectator sport. Watching The Hustler in the classics section of Netflix two years ago was a bit of an education since it shows the sport as a way of life for some people, and a huge source of revenue for big time gamblers. Newman star as

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