Many of us remember the 1980s hit comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off fondly, but if you rewatch it as an adult you notice a lot more than your teenage self did. Following Ferris and his day spent skipping school, you might be left questioning how the characters managed to fit so much into their day. The film helped to launch the career of Matthew Broderick, along with Sci-Fi classic WarGames.
Exploring the city in speedy fashion
Ferris and his gang must have access to a time machine because all of the hilarious high jinks they get up to would probably take the rest of us about a week to achieve. If you follow the timeline, Ferris begins his day chilling at home waiting for Cameron to turn up in his dad’s precious Ferrari and whisk him away. Not to mention the time spent coming up with the hair-brained scheme to remove Ferris’ girlfriend, Sloane, from school. The trio then chooses to go sightseeing in downtown Chicago, join a parade float, watch a Cubs game and have lunch at a fancy restaurant. After all of that, they cruise to the beach and realize they have added lots of miles to the Ferrari’s clock, something they try to fix by running the car in reverse. Ferris takes Sloane home and dashes back to his parent’s house before they return home from work, amazingly all before dinner.
His room full of awesome ’80s stuff
Ferris has a fantastic selection of gadgets in his room, stuff that would be the envy of most of us at the time. Sure he wanted a car, but can he really complain about that with all of the fancy loot he has at his disposal? An IBM computer, Gretsch guitar complete with Fender amp, quality video camera, and the very ’80s synthesizer. Quite honestly we are wondering why Ferris is such a rogue.
Wardrobe changes
We counted just how many times Ferris changed outfits during the movie – nine. Somehow in the space of one morning, the truant changed his clothes more times than Mariah Carey does at a concert. He goes from wearing PJs to a fetching jazz cat outfit to a full suit and then finds time to change again on the drive to Chicago into a white t-shirt and leather jacket.
Stealing the car was too easy
Cameron’s dad is very wealthy, so it comes as a huge surprise he wasn’t able to protect his prized possession better, his Ferrari. He leaves the car in an unlocked garage, on view for all to see with the keys in the ignition. It seems like a rookie error, and one Mr. Frye would probably not have made.
Answering machine message
How did Cameron and Sloane pre-record the outgoing messages on the answering machine when they were unaware of Ferris’ plan to bust Sloane out of school? Did they somehow do it before they knew what was happening? We didn’t see them stop off to leave the messages after picking Sloane up and heading to the city. What would have happened if her grandmother called and was informed that she was dead?
Who received the get well soon gifts?
Following the timeline of the film, Ferris was not at home during the day, and his sister spends very little time in the family house. So where did all flowers come from that fill the hallways of Ferris’ home to wish him a swift return to good health?
Watching the film again as an adult certainly raised a few questions about the practicalities of the day Ferris and his friends had. We would have overlooked many of them as a younger viewer, but now we are older and wiser we have so many questions.
