Pulled forward from Unanswerable Questions: from a roughly 9:45 pickup to home before six, they visit the Sears Tower, stock market, art museum, Chez Quis as Abe Froman, a Cubs game, a parade and the garage; could it happen in eight hours?
No; parade traffic alone would jam every street. — Chris Ryan
The impossible timeline suggests the movie may be a fantasy or dream, a manifestation of "Alan Ruck's" anxiety (as spoken). — Sean Fennessey
A 2009 challenge to reenact the day in eight hours is renewed for after the pandemic, and rideshare might make the movie obsolete.
Why Cameron's dad hated him: Cameron seemed decent, so the dad is just an asshole, and the car was asking for it.
Could Ferris hack on a 1985 dial-up line? A sequel where he becomes a software billionaire by 2001 is floated.
Why would a nice Midwest family have such a mean dog?
Cameron in 2016 would have written first-person essays about his trauma and his dad, and might be on the dirtbag left.
The Ferris-as-figment theory is loved as a way of reading the movie, though not its point.
College futures: Ferris and Sloan probably do not marry; Cameron maybe goes to Michigan, and Ferris somewhere with less emphasis on grades.
The day seems to be in April, so a senior should already know his college; maybe he was waitlisted or goes to the University of Illinois to visit Sloan.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 00:28:31Read transcript

Ebert gave the movie three out of four stars, calling it one of the most innocent movies in a long time and a sweet, warm-hearted comedy.
Siskel did not like the movie and kept doubling down on its Chicago faults; the disagreement is called one of their best arguments.
Roeper, who took over for Siskel, is said to call it his favorite movie of all time; Siskel was likely too hardcore Chicago to get past the faults.
Hating Ferris Bueller is called a great zag; one host usually sided with Siskel, who loved Saturday Night Fever enough to buy the jumpsuit, and is now unsure.

Most Rewatchable Scene

The Ferrari joyride with the Star Wars music

In the discussion (17)

Approx. transcript time · 00:30:41Read transcript

The category breaks tradition after 110 episodes: all nominees are listed first, and the others may add more.
"They bought it" after the parents leave opens a rare fourth-wall monologue that works, with the barf-up-a-lung and lick-your-palms advice and "Life moves pretty fast", the theme of the movie.
The Ben Stein class scene with Swanson's rumor chain and "Anyone? Bueller?" is a great run; Stein impressions were everywhere in high school and college afterward.
Cameron in the car debating whether to go ("He'll keep calling me") is unbelievable Ruck, ending with him punching the car.
The Cameron-in-the-car scene is relatable for anyone coiled and pushed by a friend who promises fun and trouble; Ruck being older makes the pair feel like equals. — Sean Fennessey
Picking up Sloan in the Ferrari is audacious, though Rooney 20 feet away not recognizing Ferris is an annoyance.
At Chez Quis, "You're Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago," "I weep for the future," and the aside about not getting busted by a guy like that are highlights.
Outwitting annoying people with voices and phones peaked in the 80s; cell phones and Google likely killed the device, and much of the movie hinges on voice work.
The Ferrari joyride is the pick: the attendants' euphoric faces flying through the air to Star Wars music made the host laugh top-four hardest ever in a movie.
The art museum scene should have failed; the hosts say the test-screening music was a Robert Smith song replaced by a Smiths instrumental, and Cameron looking at the screaming little girl, closer and closer, really works.
Cameron destroying the car is nominated for love of the car, a top-five all-time car that turned out to be a replica.
Young, the car destruction made sense as the one real fight with a dad; in one's 40s, Cameron seems doomed when his father gets home. — Chris Ryan
Two hosts side with the father and call Cameron unhinged; another calls him an angsty teenager who will work it out.
If Cameron survives the beating, he probably marries the first girl he has sex with, as Ferris predicts. — Chris Ryan
Ferris sprinting home is a fun 80s scene: stopping for the sunbathers, the dad's deadpan "I think we should shoot her," the sister helping, and the ball throw that sets everything in place.
The parade is added: corny, lip-synced and impossible, but it still gives goosebumps; a second host agrees and asks if Twist and Shout is the most exultant moment in movies.
One host finds the parade two and a half minutes too long and would drop Danke Schoen; the reply is that it gives Cameron and Sloan time for their conversation.

Cameron's "I'm dying" introduction; Alan Ruck; Cameron's George Peterson impression; the Ben Stein classroom scene; the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California; Charlie Sheen's 1986; Mia Sara as Sloan; the use of pop music

In the discussion (13)

Approx. transcript time · 00:47:30Read transcript

The first introduction to Cameron, "I'm dying," answered "you just can't think of anything good to do," feels identifiable in quarantine.
Alan Ruck has aged well now that he is reinvented as a favorite Succession character.
Cameron as George Peterson ("Pardon my French, but you're an asshole") is a fully committed impression.
The anyone-anyone, voodoo economics class with students in a coma, a glaring girl and a drooling guy captures how much high school sucked.
Beat City, World Party's When You Come Back to Me and the Beautiful Girls theme are lamented as missing from streaming.
The hosts debate whether the movie invented or only popularized the "hey batter batter" chant.
The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California has aged the best; the hosts say one sold at auction in 2018 for $18 million.
Cameron's dad's glass-and-wood house is beautiful and surprising for Illinois; the hosts cite $1.8 million in 2020.
Ferris's double take at the Ferrari's 301 miles is a favorite beat.
Charlie Sheen's 1986 aged best: from Lucas and a bit part in Ferris to Platoon and then Wall Street.
Mia Sara as Sloan: high expectations never fully happened, but she is inducted into a mid-80s Mount Rushmore; another host mocks the crush talk.
It may not be the best soundtrack, but it may be the best use of pop music in a movie: the I Dream of Jeannie and Star Wars themes are integrated, and other movies with better soundtracks do not use music this way.
The Art Institute cover, the closing English Beat run and the opening song are essential, and the movie seems cut to the songs; the closing chase is great filmmaking synced to a great record.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Jeffrey Jones's real-life scandal; the Bryan Ferry Slave to Love poster

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 00:55:49Read transcript

Jeffrey Jones gives a good performance, but the hosts say he later became involved in a child pornography scandal and went to jail.
Ferris's room mostly works as 80s decor, including a Simple Minds Don't You Forget About Me poster a year after The Breakfast Club, which extends Hughes's own universe.
The giant Bryan Ferry Slave to Love poster over Ferris's bed is baffling.

Casting What-Ifs

Emilio Estevez as Cameron; Molly Ringwald as Sloan; John Cusack as Ferris; Bill Paxton as the garage attendant; Paul Gleason as Ed Rooney

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 00:57:10Read transcript

Estevez turned down Cameron; he could have done it, since his Breakfast Club jock has dad problems, but the result with Ruck is preferred.
Estevez, fresh off Repo Man, would have played a punk-rock version rather than Ruck's Cameron. — Chris Ryan
Ruck had auditioned for Bender, which would not have worked.
Molly Ringwald wanted to play Sloan; per the hosts, Hughes wanted Mia Sara for her elegance and maturity, and telling Ringwald the part was too small is what you say when you do not want to cast someone.
Hughes had only Broderick in mind; the backup is said to be John Cusack, who got his iconic high schooler as Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything.
Anthony Michael Hall told Vanity Fair his relationship with Hughes ended after Weird Science and believes roles including Ferris were written for him; one host doubts this, another believes it and calls Hughes vindictive.
Bill Paxton was offered the garage attendant, turned it down as too small, regretted it, and was never offered another Hughes role.
Paul Gleason was considered for Ed Rooney; as Dick Vernon he would presumably be on administrative leave after the Breakfast Club detention.
Gleason would have been distracting; Jeffrey Jones's sitcom, Laurel-and-Hardy energy was the right choice over Gleason's A1-asshole energy. — Sean Fennessey

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Richard Edson and Larry "Flash" Jenkins as the parking attendants; Max Perlich; Scott Coffey

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:02:49Read transcript

Both parking attendants: Richard Edson looks like Scottie Pippen's twin, and Larry "Flash" Jenkins was in Fletch and season three of The White Shadow.
Unless you want to go with the maitre d' from the restaurant, because he is one of those guys too.
Max Perlich and Scott Coffey from the classroom scene show up in many 80s movies, with Perlich in Beautiful Girls.
Edson is a legend of important 80s movies, including Stranger Than Paradise, Desperately Seeking Susan, Platoon, Good Morning Vietnam, Eight Men Out and Do the Right Thing, yet he is known mostly as that guy from Do the Right Thing.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Jeffrey Jones

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:04:54Read transcript

Jeffrey Jones dials it up a couple of times, as with "smooch my big old white butt" and "pucker up, buttercup."
Ruck in the car-destruction scene was expected to be the answer, but he is actually good there and does not overdo it.
The maitre d' is offered with a "maybe."

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Charlie Sheen

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 01:05:57Read transcript

Sheen in the police station is the easy pick, with the "Drugs?" exchange and "put your thumb up your butt" lines.
Edie McClurg as Rooney's secretary is also nominated for her few funny scenes.
Mrs. Bueller is added as an 80s mom Mount Rushmore member who believes in her kids to the end, prompting a question about how a realtor and ad man afford the house and three cars.
Jeannie is raised: the secondary villain, loved on rewatch for smashing the phone while calling the cops and karate-kicking Rooney.
Jennifer Grey is a great comic actress and the platonic older sister, arguably a better villain than Rooney, and the Sheen police station is one of the best non-Ferris scenes. — Sean Fennessey
The group settles on Charlie Sheen, with one explicit vote.
The hosts relay research that Sheen stayed up over two days for the character's look, and joke about it.

Recasting Couch

Alan Rickman as Ed Rooney; Ronny Cox as Ed Rooney

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:09:17Read transcript

The recast is to replace Jeffrey Jones, against another host's preference for keeping him.
Alan Rickman is proposed after a Richmond/Rickman name mix-up; Hans Gruber as the principal is overqualified, which is why it could work.
A second host would also have voted for Rickman.
Ronny Cox is proposed; he could do the funny stuff, and his 1983-1990 run playing men in charge is legendary.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Chez Quis filming location; deleted savings-bond scene; Challenger cut; on-set romances; production anecdotes; the TV spinoff; Ferrari replicas

In the discussion (11)

Approx. transcript time · 01:11:15Read transcript

The Chez Quis restaurant is the same one used in The Blues Brothers and St. Elmo's Fire.
A deleted scene had Ferris cash a savings bond to pay for the day; it was cut for making him seem a thief, though he has a knot of cash at Chez Quis.
A line about riding the space shuttle was removed after the Challenger exploded.
Broderick and Jennifer Grey got engaged before release, and Ferris's screen parents, Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward, met on set, married, had two children and divorced.
Ruck's George Peterson voice was an impression of their Biloxi Blues director meant to crack Broderick up.
Broderick's knee injury limited the Twist and Shout choreography, which was by Kenny Ortega of Dirty Dancing and High School Musical.
Ben Stein's lecture was improvised off camera, and the extras laughed so hard that voodoo economics stayed in.
Broderick resisted a sequel, and Hughes's death made it moot.
The 1990 NBC Ferris Bueller show starred Charlie Schlatter with Jennifer Aniston as Jeannie; Parker Lewis Can't Lose is preferred.
The end-credits bus scene was cut from the movie and restored by Hughes, explaining a school bus coming home at 6 o'clock.
Hughes first planned a Mercedes; Modena Design built the Ferrari replicas and, per the hosts, went bankrupt after Ferrari sued, prompting a joke about more blood on Cameron's hands.

Apex Mountain

The Ferrari; Shermer High School; Chez Quis

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 01:16:45Read transcript

A "Mia Sara" answer is shut down as a joke.
Ferrari really flexed in the mid-80s.
Shermer High School is a yes, and Chez Quis absolutely.
Broderick is a tough call: he had the most options after this movie, but it is unclear he had an Apex Mountain; The Producers on Broadway, called the Hamilton of its time, is floated as maybe his peak.
Jennifer Grey's Apex Mountain was Dirty Dancing.
Whether this is Apex Mountain for Chicago in movies is called very possible, since it uses the city best.
For the all-in-one-day movie, nominees include Dazed and Confused, Dog Day Afternoon, the Before movies, Do the Right Thing and Snake Eyes; Ferris is in the running, listeners are asked for the king, and Inside Man is a favorite.

Picking Nits

Cameron's Red Wings jersey; unrecognized Ferris, mannequin and Sloan; the outfit changes; the unattended parking garage; the real Abe Froman

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 01:19:19Read transcript

Cameron wearing a Red Wings jersey rather than a Blackhawks one has bothered one host for 30 years; an anxious Cameron would not have zagged from the local team.
The jersey is a Gordie Howe homage, but a hockey jersey is hot in 80-degree weather and could have started a fight at Wrigley.
Rooney fails to recognize Ferris from 20 feet, the mom misses the mannequin's arm, and the dad does not recognize Sloan; sunglasses make everyone invisible.
Ferris goes through nearly 10 outfits in the opening minutes, from pajamas to the suit to the sweater vest and leather jacket, which strains the timeline. — Chris Ryan
The suit loses one host, while another likes the look.
Nobody is on duty at the parking garage while the attendants drive the Ferrari 100 miles.
What happened when the real Abe Froman showed up at the restaurant is unanswered.
Ferris jumping on a parade float and singing two songs unrehearsed is raised, and the answer is that it seems natural.
A larger nitpick: the cut day is not fun, with no beer or joint, just a museum, a restaurant and a parade; the others call that insane, and the most innocent cut day possible is part of the point.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

"Pardon my French, but you're an asshole."; "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."; "Isms in my opinion are not good."; "They think he's a righteous dude."

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:26:48Read transcript

The whole George Peterson bit is among the most-quoted material of one host's life, and Ruck's performance is perfect; the exchange is recited.
The opening and closing "Life moves pretty fast" line is called iconic.
Rooney's school policy on dead relatives ("I'll dig up your daughter") is a favorite.
The first 25 minutes are yearbook quotes, including the isms speech, and every line is indelible.
The best non-Ferris, non-Rooney line is Grace's list of cliques who adore him and think he is a righteous dude.
A related quote returns later: "Let my Cameron go."

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

No affirmative selection

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:30:33Read transcript

A series would not be a day off; maybe each episode could be a different cut day, but the hope is that it does not happen.
Jokes suggest a series at the parking lot following the attendants, or Cameron's dad's adventures at the car shop.

Who Won the Movie?

John Hughes

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:35:08Read transcript

"Who won the movie" is first answered "Broderick" by a speaker who is not resolved; that answer is not counted as a ballot.
One voter wants to say Cameron but picks Hughes, who owns the 80s more than any other writer-director.
Another voter ranks Hughes first, Broderick second and Cameron third, calls it close, and joins the Hughes pick.
Hughes's death in 2009 prompted an outpouring; he was involved in five of the 15 biggest 80s movies, and more people have a serious relationship with his movies than with any director since 1980.
A third view stresses Broderick and Hughes finding each other at the right time: Broderick is never this magnetic again, and the first 30 minutes are among the most charming ever.
Hughes had no rival, and everyone who tried to make a John Hughes movie bombed.

Podcast choices

Speaker not identified: John Hughes
Speaker not identified: John Hughes

More from the conversation

State Farm ad and a World Central Kitchen donation appeal precede a trailer cold open.

Approx. transcript time · 00:00:00Read transcript

The movie is called overdue for the show and in the running for best 1980s comedy, most rewatchable and most timeless.

Approx. transcript time · 00:01:48Read transcript

Cameron movie or Ferris movie: an online theory makes it Cameron's Fight Club, but the timelessness is credited to Ferris, likened to asking whether the MJ documentary is a Scottie Pippen movie.

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It is definitely a Ferris movie, but everyone wants to be Ferris while most people relate to Cameron, who observes the perfect hero.

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Ferris and Cameron need each other; Cameron culminates five years of Hughes teen movies, extending the Anthony Michael Hall Breakfast Club character, with the Red Wings jersey reflecting Hughes's Detroit fandom.

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Ferris is to high schoolers what Indiana Jones is to archaeologists; imitations in later teen movies and a TV series went badly.

Approx. transcript time · 00:05:31Read transcript

The hosts say a car accident in Ireland with Jennifer Grey about a year and a half later set Broderick back; a Broderick quote says the role eclipsed everything and now he gets cast as weak, insecure men.

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Within 10 years Broderick is basically playing Cameron in The Cable Guy, yet he made Glory, The Freshman and Election, not the Paul Newman career expected.

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Tom Hanks had the ideal version of Broderick's adult career; Broderick seemed content with Neil Simon plays and a low-key New York life.

Approx. transcript time · 00:08:27Read transcript

Outside casting what-ifs: Broderick was first choice for Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties, dropped out of The Flamingo Kid, and turned down Point Break, where he would have been too slight.

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The hosts say Broderick hurt his knee filming the final run before Twist and Shout, since the movie was shot out of sequence.

Approx. transcript time · 00:10:42Read transcript

Hughes was probably a cross between the Anthony Michael Hall character and Cameron, an observer who blends sweetness, sarcasm and a dagger.

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The George Peterson call, where Ferris kicks Cameron and then asks a favor, is a realistic friendship moment that projects backstory.

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Alan Ruck became Cameron; seeing him in Spin City and Speed was disorienting until Connor on Succession.

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The 1986 Best Supporting Actor field is read, with Michael Caine winning for Hannah and Her Sisters; a Ruck nomination would have been cool.

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It is perhaps the last pure 80s movie, perfecting the form before thrillers and action took over summer and Hughes moved on.

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Of the high school movies covered, this has aged the best; the first 40 minutes are like a perfect game, and the last 40 are less funny.

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The movie is a closed system of perfection whose magic is hard to explain, so a TV series or sequel was a fool's errand.

Approx. transcript time · 00:18:13Read transcript

The second half dips as Rooney at the house plays like a dry run for Home Alone; Broderick is cited via a book about Hughes as saying Hughes saw Ferris as an attitude and a way of life.

Approx. transcript time · 00:19:46Read transcript

In quarantine, the movie's outdoor happiness and Chicago setting are a joy, like the first warm spring weekend.

Approx. transcript time · 00:21:05Read transcript

It is also a suburban paradise movie, and critics from libertarian and rebellious camps try to claim Ferris, who can be everything to viewers.

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The hosts cite a $6 million budget and $70 million gross.

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Sonos ad.

Approx. transcript time · 00:29:41Read transcript

Ferris feels more new wave than The Breakfast Club, with more synths and distinctive style.

Approx. transcript time · 01:02:31Read transcript

Ringer promos for The Wire: Way Down in the Hole and Flying Coach.

Approx. transcript time · 01:10:29Read transcript

A joking suggestion of a new category called The Silent Judge.

Approx. transcript time · 01:26:48Read transcript

Close: the movie is on Netflix; sign-off and sponsor thanks.

Approx. transcript time · 01:37:53Read transcript