The Psychopathology of Ferris Bueller
Scott Hardie | June 28, 2011
Should I not have picked on a beloved classic? Sorry for the snobbery. I still think the list is a surprisingly comprehensive match for poor Ferris.
Steve West | June 28, 2011
There's also those of us who neither love or hate this one - I'm completely indifferent to that particular film and almost the entire Matthew Broderick library.
Scott Hardie | June 28, 2011
"Almost" the entire library? Well, sure, there's the indisputable classic Project X. Nobody couldn't love that one.
Steve West | June 28, 2011
I have a thing for Master Harold and the Boys. Go figure.
Steve Dunn | June 29, 2011
Haters gotta hate. War Games was awesome.
I never devoted much thought to Ferris Bueller beyond thinking it was fun, and sort of the gold standard for making the most of a school skip day.
Lori Lancaster | June 29, 2011
[hidden by request]
Scott Hardie | June 29, 2011
WarGames is fun. Election is my favorite.
Steve Dunn | June 29, 2011
Oh yeah, Election was great. I admit this is the first time I've ever thought about the Matthew Broderick filmography. Was he in the film version of The Producers, or just the stage show?
Scott Hardie | June 30, 2011
He was in the movie. That and The Road to Wellville feel like two gaps in my comedy viewing history that should get closed.
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Scott Hardie | June 18, 2011
I was going to highlight which lines describe Ferris Bueller, but he matches all of them, except for the promiscuity and many marriages, and arguably the criminal versatility. He even qualifies for "revocation of conditional release," when the principal catches him at the end and threatens him with another school year for improperly missing a day. It's uncanny how well he suits the list.Reading one critic's jeering of Ferris Bueller's Day Off on the occasion of its 25th anniversary re-release -- I'm glad to know I'm not the only person on Earth who doesn't adore it -- got me thinking about Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test, a recent book that explores the plight of diagnosed psychopaths, who cannot be treated and cannot be released. Ronson's description of psychopaths around us in everyday life sounds like a number of people I know, and fits the traditional model of a successful CEO: Someone who lacks empathy yet dominates and abuses other people through manipulation. Consider how well Ferris Bueller lines up with the general outline of the actual test:
I'm not saying that the character is dangerous to society and should be locked up in a fictional institution. Plenty of people match this profile without being a threat to others' livelihood and limb. But I have always thought Ferris is kind of a dick, and this list quantifies how much that's true. :-) By the impression given by Ronson's book, Ferris is likely to grow up to be the kind of corporate CEO who remains popular and admired despite his lying, manipulating, and rash decision-making.
All of this gets me thinking about how much the movie is a product of its times. The eighties were an era that championed selfishness and shallow likability. In the high school social pecking order, the jocks and the rich kids dominated, and a self-assured kid like Ferris ruled the school. These days, the geeks (of many varied stripes) and the socially awkward have gained a lot more cultural influence, by outnumbering the others if nothing else. To be as successful with young audiences today, the same movie would probably have to make Cameron the hero, turn him into an emo kid, and have him struggle for other's acceptance rather than the courage to live a little. Cameron Frye's Day Off doesn't sound like a movie I'd want to see, but then I guess I've never found the original terribly likable either.