Everyone has their own favorite John Hughes movie (well, everyone old enough to know who John Hughes is), but Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is mine. Like a lot of people, I’m drawn to the Ferris character even though I know I’m a Cameron.
There are two ways to go with a sequel: Either our heroes learned their lessons from the 1986 classic, and have gone on to lead entirely fun, happy, and productive lives...or not so much. The latter is more interesting, even if it guts Ferris Bueller’s happily-ever-after ending. What would the life of a Ferris in his fifties look like? Has life dulled that youthful spark? And to what extent is it possible to recover that mojo in middle age and beyond? That’s only going to work, though, with genuine commitment to exploring the aged characters. A Judd Apatow-style farce would sell, but I’m imagining something a bit deeper and darker: think a director like Sofia Coppola, or Lulu Wang. Something lighter could be fun, but I’m not sure that would be worth the effort.
Perhaps its Alan Ruck’s Cameron Frye, who learned to loosen up a bit in the original, who serves here as the role model rather than Ferris—his naturally cautious nature might have spared him disillusionment. Mia Sara seems to have largely moved on to other endeavors, but Broderick, Ruck, and Jennifer Gray are all still working actors.
Where to stream the original: Paramount+
