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Movies / On DVD / Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off

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Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

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Reviews Counted:46

Fresh:37

Rotten:9

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: Matthew Broderick charms in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a light and irrepressibly fun movie about being young and having fun.

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is a tricky but harmless fast-talker. But he knows how to have fun, which is exactly what he sets out to do when he feigns illness and talks his parents into... Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is a tricky but harmless fast-talker. But he knows how to have fun, which is exactly what he sets out to do when he feigns illness and talks his parents into letting him stay home from school. The perpetually lucky Ferris enlists his hypochondriac best friend, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), into springing his girlfriend, Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara), from class, and the three embark on a raucous downtown Chicago adventure. From Wrigley Field to the Art Institute of Chicago to a Polish pride parade, Ferris and his friends make the most of their day off. But Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron might not get away with playing hooky. Ferris's sister, Jeanie (Jennifer Grey), is determined to prove that Ferris is faking sick and make him pay for it, and the bumbling school dean, Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), is sure that Ferris is pulling a fast one. Another classic from writer-director John Hughes (SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB), this film features a star turn from Broderick as the charismatic Ferris. Watch for Charlie Sheen as the juvenile delinquent in the police station and comedian Louie Anderson in a brief appearance as a flower deliveryman. [More]

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck, Jeffrey Jones

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck, Jeffrey Jones, Edie McClurg, Jennifer Grey, Cindy Pickett, Lyman Ward, Charlie Sheen, Ben Stein, Del Close, Virginia Capers, Richard Edson, Larry "Flash" Jenkins, Louie Anderson, Kristy Swanson, Max Perlich, Polly Noonan

Director: John Hughes

Director: John Hughes
Producer: John Hughes, Tom Jacobson
Screenwriter: John Hughes
Composer: Ira Newborn, John Robie, Arthur Baker

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Ferris Bueller's Day Off

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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N/R

Sporadically hilarious, with roots that run far deeper than expected.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/05/08
Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There are some great comic set pieces with a seize-the-day vibe for teens. Broderick is amiably charismatic and high school dean Jones almost matches him in comic skill.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/05/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ferris is an admittedly entertaining, at times delightful fellow. How unfortunate that no one got to wring the little bastard's neck.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 6 Comments
02/11/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Too much fun.

comment Comment
06/12/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

The quintessential teen comedy, this is a movie that could and should serve as a model for movies of this sort in the future.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
05/07/09
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

One has to marvel at just how perfectly Hughes nails his frustratingly entitled mise-en-scène, which he unquestionably does in the film's mesmerizing detour inside an art museum.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
05/06/09
Eric Henderson
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine

It's an airhead teen film that nevertheless caught the public's fancy and still remains a popular cult favorite.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/11/09
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

...funny, satiric, bright, and inventive, sagging around the two-thirds mark but coming through with an exhilarating finish.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
07/24/08
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Broderick brings some real charm and chutzpah to the part.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/18/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ferris Bueller exhibits John Hughes on an off day. Paucity of invention here lays bare the total absence of plot or involving situations.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 3 Comments
07/18/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The overriding impression is one of utter nihilism, of a world divided into bored, crassly materialistic teenagers and doltish, unfeeling adults.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 6 Comments
07/18/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

Not only captures what being a teenager and a high schooler felt like, but also embodies what life ought to be like.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
02/16/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

...removed from the moment, the high capitalism of the mid-1980s, the movie seems mild and pleasantly whimsical.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/24/06
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A next generation Eddie Haskell, Ferris Bueller redefined "cool" misbehavior for Generation X....Hughes has a knack for memorable set pieces. [new DVD review]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
01/02/06
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

This is John Hughes' best teen film, and it's a call to arms to everyone in the world who doesn't want to follow society's lame-ass rules at the expense of living a cool life.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Brad Laidman
Brad Laidman
Film Threat

No review available.

comment Comment
06/16/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Who among Generation X doesn't like—love—Ferris Bueller?

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
06/09/05
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

Eminently quotable and very, very fun.

comment Comment
04/17/05
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
11/19/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
11/04/04
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Ferris Bueller's Day Off

July 09, 2009: Alan Ruck: From Ferris' Best Friend to Cool Dad Opens in new window
More than 20 years after his "Ferris Bueller" character lashed out at his father, actor Alan Ruck has graduated into playing dad roles of his own. More...

November 24, 2005: A Day to Give Thanks (for Good Thanksgiving Movies!)
The Newsday column gets to take a few days off during the big holidays, but I couldn't let today go by without offering our friends a handful of Turkey-day treats. If you're... More...

July 12, 2005: Paramount is Sending Us Back to "Summer School"
Screenwriters Kyle Pennekamp & Scott Turpel have been enlisted by Paramount to pen a remake of the 1987 comedy "Summer School," says Variety. More...

See All

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