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.

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.

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.

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