by JG Hanks
Staff
Reprinted from the August 14, 2011 edition of The Meridian Star’s Meridian 360 Edition
As the new school year begins and many kids begin their last remnants of high school, it’s only fitting to take a look back at one of the greatest films about the high school experience that there ever was. John Hughes reached a career milestone 25 years ago with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a simple tale of a kid who just wanted to take it easy and skip a day of school. Or was it? While many parents could look down at the thought of their children skipping school to hang out with their girlfriend and best friend, it’s important to look at the places Ferris and crew visit on their day of freedom, and more importantly, the reason behind it all.
There aren’t many kids that would stop over at the Chicago Stock Exchange, let alone The Art Institute of Chicago or the Sears (now Willis) Tower Skydeck, with a whole day of freedom to use, yet Ferris, Cameron and Sloane did all three and had fun doing so. Lunch at the fictional Che Quis, a trip to Wrigley Field, and a song and dance during the Von Steuben Parade completed their day. Ferris wanted Sloane to come with him but he dragged Cameron along for this ride because he knew it was something Cameron desperately needed; a day to not worry, to have fun and to just let things come as they may. Although the film and its title may have concentrated its focus on the charming, well off but easily likable Ferris, the real story is about the everyman Cameron. It may be true that we all know, or have known, someone like Ferris in high school, but we are Cameron: the insecurities, the doubt, the uncertainty in life that is the teenage experience for so many. We needed Ferris to cheer us up and lead us on a day of escapism, but Cameron needed Ferris to save his life and show him that the world could, and would, someday be better.
Noted critic Richard Roeper said, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is something of a suicide prevention film, or at the very least a story about a young man trying to help his friend gain some measure of self worth.” Alan Ruck, who played Cameron, stated the importance of the film as a bigger message. “Teen comedies tend to dwell on the ridiculous, as a rule. It’s always the preoccupation with sex and the self-involvement, and we kind of hold the kids up for ridicule in a way. Hughes added this element of dignity. He was an advocate for teenagers as complete human beings, and he honored their hopes and their dreams. That’s what you see in his movies.”
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is as much an anti-suicide message as it is a declaration of teen independence. In the grand scheme of things, isn’t a missed day of school, or at least a movie about one, worth that lesson?
