Review of Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) by Trevor R — 02 Apr 2013

The central message of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is clearly stated: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." That's really as much thematic depth as you're gonna get, and you either roll with it or you don't.

Matthew Broderick is really great as the fourth-wall breaking Ferris, and his sly charm is infectious. He's one of the most likeable characters there is, and Broderick really makes you believe that Ferris is the kind of guy that everyone, regardless of cliques or social class, would be buddies with. Cameron gets the actual character arc here; simple, but well executed, with a delightfully droll turn by Alan Ruck. Other characters work great (Charlie Sheen as a hilarious one scene wonder), while some are just distracting (Jeffrey Jones buffoonish Principal Rooney). This movie is a silly, episodic, off-the-wall, fantasy and even when the jokes fall flat, or it becomes confused and cavalier in its moral posturing about the right to blow off school, it's difficult to deny the sheer amount of fun that's here.