There’s nothing quite like nostalgia, is there? The past few years have been defined with reboots of classic shows, comebacks from once-popular bands, and films that bear resemblance to the classics of yesteryear. Yet, very little can be better than the original product, and I’d much rather revisit something in its peak than watch as it struggles to captivate audiences in the same way as it did before. Case in point: the teen film, a genre perfected in the 1980s by the great John Hughes, and subsequently replicated in some form ever since. One of the films I often feel the most nostalgic for is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a film I first watched many years ago, and have watched several times since. It is one of the few films that I watch multiple times, mainly because it is a warm film that is the cinematic equivalent of comfort food – familiar but welcoming. This past weekend, Ferris Bueller once again undertook his elaborate plan to have a day off, and one thing was clear: this film is just as wonderful today as it was decades ago.

What is the appeal of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? What is the precise quality about it that makes it arguably the most enduring of the 1980s teen comedies, standing alongside Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club as formative moments in the coming-of-age high school comedy? It is something that I’ve grappled with in every viewing – and the most logical conclusion is that we can somehow identify with the titular character in some way – a charismatic schemer who slacks at school yet is almost universally beloved, a dastardly teenage rogue who executes these enormously elaborate plans without ever facing the repercussions or getting into any form of conceivable trouble. More than anything else, Ferris Bueller is a character we can relate to – if we were not someone like him in high school, we wanted to be someone like him. He is the embodiment of teenage angst and youthful rebellion in a form that isn’t melodramatic or unnecessarily tense (looking at you, James Dean), and we find ourselves reflected in his gleefully mischievous demeanour and the fact that he can cause such mayhem without encounter any consequences – its almost a cathartic experience, and while the majority of us wouldn’t risk doing what Ferris Bueller does throughout the course of this film, we have all fantasized about the idea of running amuck for a day, leaving responsibilities behind as we let go of our inner inhibitions and express our concealed youthfully reckless abandon and disregard for the rules. All of this packaged into a delightfully hilarious 1980s odyssey of metaphysical gleefulness. This is the appeal of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – it contains a main protagonist who does the things we are too afraid to do.

Ferris Bueller is certainly one of the 1980s most compelling characters, and it took a very special actor to portray him – of all the names rumoured to be in contention for the role (Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey, John Cusack, amongst others), I cannot imagine anyone other than Matthew Broderick in the role. There seems to be some disparity between Broderick’s performance and his career – by the time Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was made, he was already an established actor, appearing in several successful films, as well as being an iconoclast of the stage, winning the first of his two Tony Awards for his acclaimed turns on Broadway. You would not think an actor capable of such authentic mischief would be preceded by an enviable career. Regardless, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was Broderick’s breakthrough role, and perhaps the definitive performance of his career. There is a reason this is so – his portrayal of the titular troublemaker is one of the most entertaining performances of its kind, a fully-realized character developed into something special by a writer/director who profoundly understands the teenage mind, and an actor who throws himself deeply into the role, embodying Ferris Bueller with undeniable charm, never allowing him to grow into a smarmy or unlikable character, which Broderick traverses with deft precision, understanding the fine line between mischief and excess. Of course, the fact that Broderick would, just over a decade later, give another of his most acclaimed performances as a by-the-rules high school teacher in Election not only lends Ferris Bueller’s Day Off a great sense of irony, but proves Broderick to be a wonderfully talented actor, who was in the midst of a great career with his definitive performance in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a performance that still endures as an iconic portrayal to this very day.

Perhaps the cynicism of age has gotten to me, but I was struck by something else with this revisiting of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off recently, something I had never realized before: this film is not simply about Ferris Bueller going on an adventure – it is also about his best friend Cameron Frye and his own journey to self-realization. Undeniably an important character, I had never actually noticed precisely how pivotal Cameron is the film. I’d even argue that this film is his story and that Ferris Bueller’s mischief is only the catalyst for the introspective adventure of a young man who is the polar opposite of his best friend. I have seen many theories floated that Ferris doesn’t actually exist, but is rather a figment of Cameron’s imagination, and while these are undeniably entertaining, they don’t hold much relevance when you consider the logic of the film. Hughes was a filmmaker who could take a story and imbue it with both heartful hilarity and meaningful soul, and he had never been reluctant to look at more serious issues, even if they are not particularly difficult. Ferris embodies the larger-than-life troublemaker that many of us looked up to, while Cameron is the more relatable – the insecure young man with crippling anxiety – about school, about his future and most notably, about himself. Somehow, while I adore Broderick’s performance, I found Alan Ruck to be equally as excellent, and his portrayal of Cameron is truly one that I can relate to, and his fearful worry resonates much stronger than the exuberant (but still wildly entertaining) performance given by Broderick.

The problem with writing reviews of massively popular works is that they have been discussed so much throughout the years, adding something new is entirely impossible. It seems insufficient to just summarize the major plot and its multitude of themes, and considering we are not dealing with the most complex of works here, dissecting it for hidden meaning doesn’t seem like the most fruitful endeavour. Rather, we can look at what John Hughes was trying to say with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which can be summarized in the oft-repeated quote that appears more than once in the film: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it” – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off takes place in the awkward transitionary phase between adolescence and adulthood, where we feel both indestructible invincible, and fearfully uncertain – where is the future going to take us, and what will the journey there be like? The concept of growing up is the focal point of the film, and we see three characters struggle with their identities as they realize they cannot remain young forever – so they do their best to stay as young as they can for as long as they can. This comes to the fore in the poignant museum scene, a quiet moment in an otherwise frantic film – we see the yearning of these characters, and it is almost heartbreaking to see the uncertainty reflected in them. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is far better at the theme of “seize the day” than Dead Poet’s Society, and once we realize that Ferris’ adventure was not for the sake of banal mischief to counteract the mundane nature of his daily ritual, but as a final attempt to hold onto his youth, and to inspire his friends to do the same, this film earns an entirely new depth that extends far beyond the juvenile overtones of the film.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a great film and its one of those enduring classics that truly deserves its status. I always have a very odd reaction to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – very few films make me laugh harder as well as reflect on my life and the future as much as this one. Many people suggest the aforementioned The Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink as John Hughes’ finest work, and while they’re very likely right (they’re terrific films), I’ll always cherish Ferris Bueller’s Day Off the most, because it is an upbeat and endlessly joyful celebration of life, but one that shows the importance of living in the moment and making the best of it. This is a very special film, and one inundated with an abundance of intricate details that makes every viewing the opportunity to find something new. I absolutely adore this film and hold it in high esteem as the greatest teen comedy ever made, and one that has influenced the majority of subsequent high school comedies. Hilarious, heartfelt and meaningful, not much else can be said about Ferris Bueller’s Day Off other than it is a brilliant film that still rings as profoundly relevant to this very day, and the soulful compassion of its creator is poignantly evident, and results in a film that is far more than just a mindlessly fun teen comedy, but is something much deeper, a film that inspires joy, provokes thought and remains in the mind of the viewer for a wonderfully long time.