So, when I read about a joyriding FBI agent wiping out a Ferrari and then not standing up to the consequences, my very first thought was of the end of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Cameron telling Ferris that he'd take the heat from his father for trashing the Ferrari. Who knew that hypochondriac Cameron would turn out to be made of sterner stuff than a 21st Century special agent?
And I knew that by including a simple snippet of dialogue for a post title, almost everybody who read it would get the reference.
And when I wrote it, I had no idea that some whiny SWPL hipster had just angsted out a column about how we were all wrong and that Ferris Bueller's Day Off really wasn't that good of a movie, because it was all classist and racist and suchlike. As I commented at Robb's: "If the movie is so unimportant and sucky, how come he has to write a big whiny rebuttal about it a quarter century later?"
Which in turn reminds me of a snippet of dialog from another iconic movie of my adolescence...
Because the Revisionist History Tzar wants to keep the Next Generation of Kids from becoming Smart, Independent and Questioning the Authority of those Anointed above them?
ReplyDeleteOr he's a CRITIC, and we all should remember what Heinlein wrote about Critics: "A '"critic" is a man who creates nothing and thereby feels qualified to judge the work of creative men. There is logic in this, he is unbiased-he hates all creative people equally".
Or he's Living Proof that the Lamestream Media has no touch with the Real World and what Real People like?
Or he had too much Beer while sitting on the curb last Saturday?
It's no "Red Dawn" but I enjoyed the hell out of Ferris Bueller.
ReplyDeleteI was offended when the smart Latinos took advantage of the dumb Caucasians.
Eh, my folks always cited "it costs too much" to have any cable movie channels, I rarely had any spare cash that would go to seeing a movie, so if I caught the movie via rental, I don't remember much of it. Actually most 80s movies are like that for me except for "Better Off Dead." The only reason I remember that movie was seeing it for the first time in college in 1999 on the campus channel.
ReplyDeleteWhere were you at midnight on Saturday night when you were 17? Were you locked in your room or were you hanging out with guys drinking beer down at the Gas N Sip? I am trying to imagine either one and I am just not getting a clear picture.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet and good movie.
ReplyDeleteAnd holy God, is the trailer perfect.
The Clue Train missed that Siegel guy by so much that he couldn't even hear the whistle. It's called "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", not "Ferris Bueller's Day of Realistic Consequences".
ReplyDeleteBut he was probably too busy noticing the skin color of the actors to pay attention to the movie.
Ohhhhhhhh Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Where was I at midnight on Saturdays when I was 17? Coming home from work, that's about it.
ReplyDeleteI never liked FBDO, myself. Not because of any -ism, though.
ReplyDelete(For the iconic movie snippet rejoinder to the rant, however, I prefer:
"This situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part!")
Talking about Say Anything, not Ferris. Which was excellent.
ReplyDeleteI do have to agree with one thing whiner said- I didn't like Ferris much either, he was a liar and not just about trivial things.
But he does step up with Cameron at the end.
staghounds,
ReplyDeleteThis, for me, is the iconic YouTube vid for Say Anything. I can watch it over and over again...
His masters dissertation revolved around conspicuous consumption in Weird Science. He also discussed the effects of the military-industrial complex (Chet) on the Other (the biker gang).
ReplyDeleteCritics are like eunuchs in a harem: they know how it's done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves. - Brendan Behan
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have been terribly interested in learning what some joyless vnebrachniy thinks about escapism - he probably drinks cabbage juice and gets his toilet paper extra scratchy.
But the "journey of discovery" learning the meaning of "SWPL" was entertaining, engaging and spot-on. I found the originator of the term, and while he ain't me, I found his ability to laugh at himself refreshing.
I rather suspect the originator of SWPL is much better company than the critic.
gvi
WV: belickle (v) - to impart an inappropriate tongue-lashing.
a)I enjoy the movie,
ReplyDeleteb)I think Ferris is an entitled little asshole. I don't think Hughes really intended him to be a hero.
The whole scene with Jeanie at the end, IMO, is the MST3K Mantra delivered in Charlie Sheen format. Why should Ferris get away with everything? Because it was fun and the whole purpose of the thing WAS fun.
While I agree with you I have to disagree with your logic. It been out seventy years and I still have to tell people how over rated Citizen Kane is.
ReplyDeleteLabRat,
ReplyDelete"b)I think Ferris is an entitled little asshole. I don't think Hughes really intended him to be a hero."
The commenter at the linked article who said "He's Reynard the Fox, he's Brer Rabbit, he's a lucky trickster who will never get his comeuppance" put words to what I wanted to say.
He's an eternal mythical character in a modern setting.
He's no hero, and certainly not a role model, but who hasn't longed to be Loki, at least once?
Oh, I agree with you completely- he's a trickster figure, not a heroic figure. I imagine Coyote came off as quite the dickwad around the kiva, too, as entertaining as he was.
ReplyDeleteYour critic, though, seems to be writing from the premise that we're meant to take him as heroic...
I want to see how this one ends... :-)
ReplyDeleteNever saw FBDO. I have a limited tolerance for Matthew Broderick.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of movie teenagers who ruin Daddy's really fancy car, what sort of car was it that Tom Cruise let slide into the lake in Risky Business? Porsche, IIRC, but I'm not sure. I do remember the repair shop manager's line when he comes out to speak to Cruise: "where's the sub commander?"
And speaking of Risky Business, Cruise never told his parents, but he did see to it that the repair bill got paid.
ReplyDeleteI always thought that Cameron was the protagonist of the movie anyway. He was the one who had the life-changing experience.
ReplyDeleteAs spoiled punk rich kids go, Ferris Beuller is likeable and entertaining. This sets him apart from the mass of spoiled punk rich kids who infest the political landscape.
ReplyDeleteKishnevi - it's a Porsche 928, and the manager's line was brilliant: "Who's the u-boat commander?"
ReplyDeleteAlmost followed the link but saw it was The Atlantic and didn't bother. I don't waste time with the Smart People who insist on lecturing me on what I am supposed to see and read, and think and feel.
ReplyDeleteBesides, it's only a movie. And in the DVD commentary Hughes mentions a few times that Ferris is probably not a very nice person, regarding the way he treats people, and especially Cameron.
LabRat,
ReplyDelete"Oh, I agree with you completely- he's a trickster figure, not a heroic figure."
Also, I find it interesting that his appeal is, to an extent, age-dependent, in the same way that the romantic value of Romeo and Juliet: When I was an oppressed teen, being kept down by parents and school, Ferris was a hero and Romeo and Juliet were tragically romantic.
Now that I'm a member of the oppressor class, Ferris is a conniving punk who exposes himself and his friends to drastic consequences with little to no forethought and Romeo & Juliet were melodramatic little kids who had terrible impulse control problems...
Why is it some people cannot view a movie as pure entertainment? Sometimes a movie has no meaning.
ReplyDeleteSometimes an author writes a book because he needs the cash.
FBDO is not supposed to be real.
Sometimes a movie is just fun, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. People need to get over it.
Joe,
ReplyDeleteEven pure entertainment has Tropes. ;)
Well Joe, for a movie or book to be any good at all, we have to be able to identify or empathize with, or at least understand the characters. And our responses to the characters is legitimate topic of discussion.
ReplyDeleteUnless your an angst ridden scold writing for the coastal elite media.
My favorite piece of movie dialog that I want to use at least once a day,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIP6EwqMEoE&NR=1
My comment was directed to the linked "critic" who found fault in so much of the movie, for its treatment of minorities, etc. Of course we should talk about movies we like. But not all movies need to have a deeper meaning. For me entertaining is often enough.
ReplyDelete