Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Bueller…Bueller…Blu-ray Edition
Directed by John Hughes
Starring Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck
Release date: April 3, 2009

Back in the 1980’s, John Hughes was the king of teen comedies. Anything the writer/director created was basically a license to print money and mostly stood the test of time. One such movie is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which is released now for the first time on Blu-Ray.

Ferris Bueller follows an atypical day in the life high school senior and “righteous dude” Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick). Deciding early on that the day is too gorgeous to be trapped in school, he fakes a sickness and decides to play hooky. With his best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) and his girlfriend Sloan (Mia Sara) by his side, he embarks on the single most exciting cut day ever. He’d better be quick on his toes though, as his sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey ) and the Dean of Students are on to him and would like nothing but to catch him red-handed.

Now 23-years-old, Ferris Bueller is still the gold-standard when it comes to movies on Senior cut day. I have not seen any made since this movie and there is a reason why. The writing by Hughes is pretty great and while not timeless, is entertaining and realistic to that time period. The movie is quite tame compared to the teen movies that are out in the market now, but I think that is part of its charm. Hughes never insert anything shocking into the script for a laugh but rather write scenes that are funny with dialogue that is funny, a novel concept now in teen movies. The movie also has such a likable lead in Broderick.

With the way Bueller acts during the whole film with his antics, the role would be hard to pull off by any actor without looking like a complete brat but Broderick does it with such ease. He makes Bueller look like a guy you would have liked to be when you were in high school or at least want to hang out with him. Bueller’s likability also has to do with the company he keeps. His best friend Cameron, played by Ruck, is a bit of a hypochondriac but is a sweet kid and complements Bueller nicely. Broderick and Ruck were friends before they auditioned for the role and their chemistry together as best friends is not hard to believe. Mia Sara’s Sloane is a great partner in crime for Bueller. It is a shame Sara’s career did not take off like Broderick’s. She really did have some nice acting chops and is definitely not hard on the eyes at all. Everyone is pretty good in the film, period.

The Blu-Ray awesomeness strikes again with this edition. The film looks great in this form and has never looked clearer. If you are a fan of the movie and do not have copy of it and own a Blu-Ray player, you need to pick up this version. The film looks like it came out just yesterday; it looks so brand new. Extras on the DVD include a behind the scenes look on the film as well as a retrospective on it, where the original stars reflect on the movie. Pretty standard stuff you would find on any DVD release. It even comes with a picture gallery of the cast on the set of the film.

Bueller had it right from the beginning. Life does move fast and if you don’t take time to look around you will miss it. This goes double for the Blu-ray, which is sure to move off the shelves. Don’t miss out on this classic movie.