Netflix Removing The Best Comedy Of The ’80s, See It Before It’s Gone
Very few movies have defined an entire generation, but Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is definitely one of them. This tale of a slacker high school student skipping school with his closest friends to perfect the titular day off has inspired us long after we left the hallowed halls of high school behind. While Ferris managed to keep himself from getting expelled, he hasn’t been able to keep his movie available on Netflix, so all ‘80s kids (and ‘80s kids at heart) should stream it before it goes away on November 1.
What is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off about? This is one of those films where the title tells you almost everything you need to know. When our titular protagonist decides to take the mother of all mental health days off from high school by faking illness, he ends up on a series of epic misadventures with his friends while trying to stay two steps ahead of a vicious principal who is hoping to catch the truant student red-handed.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is leaving Netflix on November 1.
Part of why we love Ferris Bueller so much is that the cast is iconic. Matthew Broderick perfectly embodies our title character, and he would go on to headline major roles in films ranging from Election to Godzilla. Alan Ruck (best known outside of this movie for his roles in Spin City and Succession) plays Bueller’s longsuffering friend Cameron Frye, and Mia Sara (best known outside of this movie for her role in Timecop) plays Sloan Peterson, Ferris’s girlfriend and frequent partner in crime.
While most of the movie focuses on that trio and the trouble they get into, it’s worth noting that Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has plenty of other amazing actors to round out the cast. Dirty Dancing’s Jennifer Grey plays Ferris’s vengeful sibling who is trying to bust her brother when she’s not running into completely random guest star Charlie Sheen at the police station. Jeffrey Jones plays the dogged Principal Rooney, and his cinematic antagonist is so believable in both his malice and his follies that he is likely to trigger a few high school administrator flashbacks for audiences.
In fact, the quality of the film is that much more impressive when you consider that Hughes wrote the script for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in less than a week and more or less ended up filming his very first draft.
It’s impossible to discuss the many virtues of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off without noting that the film was written and directed by John Hughes, the veteran director behind other iconic ‘80s films such as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. Hughes has a well-deserved reputation for populating his films with relatable characters that always seem grounded despite the humorous absurdity of their circumstances, and that’s on full display in this film. And while this might sound like blasphemy to fans of frequent Hughes actor Molly Ringwald, we think Ferris Bueller’s Day Off might be better than Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, or the rest of Hughes’ impressive filmography.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was a smash hit, earning $70 million against a budget of only $5 million and remaining a re-watchable classic for nearly 40 years.
In fact, the quality of the film is that much more impressive when you consider that Hughes wrote the script for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in less than a week and more or less ended up filming his very first draft. And he ended up writing a bit too much, with the first cut of the film clocking in at two hours and 45 minutes long. To get the movie down to the final cut’s comparatively svelte one hour and 43-minute runtime, Hughes had to heavily edit what was a very character-centric film.
Between the great cast (Matthew Broderick was hand-picked by Hughes for the title role), great writing, and dynamic filming spread across iconic Chicago locations, the movie ended up being a major financial success for Paramount Pictures. Against a budget of only five million dollars, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ended up grossing $70.7 million. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has 82 percent from critics and 92 percent from audiences, which helps to showcase the movie’s broad appeal to everyone looking for a fun, feel-good movie.
We offer our highest recommendation to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: watching this film will instantly put a smile on your face, and you’ll certainly be quoting it for the next month (or, in our case, an entire lifetime). However, it would be best if you made time to watch it soon because it will leave Netflix on November 1. Fortunately, if you have to call out of work to make time for this fantastic film (trust us: Ferris would approve), you’ll have the perfect activity to fuel your fun-filled day off.
