# RESOLVED: Ferris Bueller's Day Off is the greatest movie ever made **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196 "2013-09-06T19:03:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/21 "2013-09-06T21:48:45Z")
A great movie for a lazy weekend afternoon. Watching it recently I got a kick out of his room decor, notably the pictures of Pete Townshend and Elvis pinned up next to each other. (strangely presaging Pete’s using the riff from “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” in a song 20 years later) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/22 "2013-09-06T22:18:30Z")
Sloane was terrible. She was not a good actress and the character was poorly written. Probably should have been left out of the movie. It is about Ferris and Cameron. Really it’s about Cameron. Ferris doesn’t change or grow at all. Cameron does. How great is the “Ferris Effect” on Cameron? Well his great-great-great grandson goes on to be the captain of the USS Enterprise B effectively replacing James T. Kirk. So you know, there’s that. Still, not as good a movie as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. (but then nothing is) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/23 "2013-09-06T22:27:00Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Sloane was terrible. She was not a good actress and the character was poorly written. Probably should have been left out of the movie. It is about Ferris and Cameron. > > Really it’s about Cameron. Ferris doesn’t change or grow at all. Cameron does. Ferris doesn’t need to change. Cameron does. ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/24 "2013-09-06T22:36:41Z")
Speaking of change, his sister Jeanie certainly transformed, both in her discontent with her brother, and her hardened shell when it comes to socializing. And Charlie Sheen! Boy did he give a special preview to what was to come of him! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/25 "2013-09-06T22:39:29Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > That might be pertinent if people watched movies to find friends. Or even to find an unflawed main character. Oh, I don’t object to movies with flawed, unlikeable characters. Hell, I’m an enormous fan of almost everything the Coen Brothers have ever made, except that shitty remake of _The Ladykillers_. But the viewer is clearly supposed to sympathize with Ferris in his efforts to win the forces of conformity trying to oppress him and force him to attend school, go to college. But except for the idiot prinicpal, nobody is holding Ferris back or forcing him to conform. And it isn’t as if he is especially clever. Oh, gee, he makes his forehead warm and his palms sweaty to trick his parents into thinking he is sick. Nobody in the history of adolescence has every done this. What kind of absolutely clueless parents have ever fallen for these wacky hijinks? Not a very interesting movie, not even by the standards of 'Eightes teen movies. I give _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ three big yawns and a polite cough. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/26 "2013-09-07T00:21:55Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Oh, I don’t object to movies with flawed, unlikeable characters. Hell, I’m an enormous fan of almost everything the Coen Brothers have ever made, except that shitty remake of _The Ladykillers_. But the viewer is clearly supposed to sympathize with Ferris in his efforts to win the forces of conformity trying to oppress him and force him to attend school, go to college. But except for the idiot prinicpal, nobody is holding Ferris back or forcing him to conform. And it isn’t as if he is especially clever. Oh, gee, he makes his forehead warm and his palms sweaty to trick his parents into thinking he is sick. Nobody in the history of adolescence has every done this. What kind of absolutely clueless parents have ever fallen for these wacky hijinks? > > Not a very interesting movie, not even by the standards of 'Eightes teen movies. I give _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ three big yawns and a polite cough. > > Stranger No real argument. What’s your 1-paragraph review of Risky Business? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/27 "2013-09-07T00:26:55Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > No real argument. What’s your 1-paragraph review of Risky Business? I don’t think I’ve seen that movie since 1986. All I remember is that he has sex with Rebecca De Mornay on a train to the tune of “In The Air Tonight”, and his mother is pissed that there is a crack in her big glass egg. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/28 "2013-09-07T00:30:10Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I don’t think I’ve seen that movie since 1986. All I remember is that he has sex with Rebecca De Mornay on a train to the tune of “In The Air Tonight”, and his mother is pissed that there is a crack in her big glass egg. > > Stranger So you loved it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/29 "2013-09-07T00:32:53Z")
Ferris Bueller is an ok movie. That’s all, ok. I’d much rather watch Dead Alive. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/O_GMXI7Pp6c/maxresdefault.jpg "Dead Alive (1/9) Movie CLIP - You've Got the Bite (1992) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_GMXI7Pp6c) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/30 "2013-09-07T00:37:11Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > So you loved it? 😉 As I recall, De Mornay was not wearing a bra under her sweater, so my fourteen year old self probably thought it was the best thing since I discovered a stack of Playboy magazines at the top of a closet. I can’t say that I’ve thought about it in years. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/31 "2013-09-07T02:51:07Z")
Abe Froman, The Sausage King of Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/32 "2013-09-08T13:52:51Z")
The best ever? I’d say it rises slightly above _Weird Science_ but not even my top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/33 "2013-09-08T14:15:15Z")
It couldn’t possibly be the greatest. Think about this: what would happen if Ferris Bueller got into a contest with Parker Lewis? That is the nightmare scenario that Ferris Bueller fans are afraid to face. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/34 "2013-09-08T15:43:17Z")
Actually, I would content that one of Matthew Broderick’s best performances, if not the best, is in the Alexander Payne film _Election_, playing the anti-Ferris Bueller, “Mr. McAllister” and driving a Ford Festiva instead of a Ferrari GT California. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/35 "2013-09-08T16:14:47Z")
You (OP) are exactly right… except slightly behind Animal House, and Blazing Saddles, and Caddie Shack, and Young Frankenstein, and Holy Grail. But otherwise, #1. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/36 "2013-09-08T16:54:37Z")
Another reason why Ferris is a truly great movie. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/37 "2013-09-08T21:40:45Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > [Day Bow-bow](http://youtu.be/hg4BBUKJdok?t=18s) Dear Happy- I feel like I can call you Happy because you and me are so much alike… If you didn’t post that link, I would have had to. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/38 "2013-09-08T21:43:45Z")
Garbage movie about unlikable people. Wouldn’t even crack my Top 500. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/39 "2013-09-08T22:01:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Garbage movie about unlikable people. Wouldn’t even crack my Top 500. Challenge accepted. Name your 500. Granted, it is no Titanic or even Casablanca but I think it could make my Top 50. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196/40 "2013-09-08T22:19:50Z")
I’m not going to list them all, but 1. I own over 700 movies on DVD. 2. It ain’t one of them. And I own DVDs of some really shitty movies ([Water](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_(1985_film)), anyone?). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-ferris-buellers-day-off-is-the-greatest-movie-ever-made/668196.md?page=3)