Ferrari 250 GTCalifornia Spyder

Film Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jennifer Grey, Jeffrey Jones, Cindy Pickett, Edie McClurg, Lyman Ward, and Charlie Sheen. It tells the story of a charismatic high school slacker, Ferris, who skips school with his best friend Cameron and his girlfriend Sloane for a day in Chicago, regularly breaking the fourth wall to explain his techniques and inner thoughts.

Hughes wrote the screenplay in less than a week. Filming began in September 1985 and finished in November, featuring many Chicago landmarks including the Sears Tower, Wrigley Field, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The film was Hughes's love letter to Chicago: "I really wanted to capture as much of Chicago as I could. Not just in the architecture and landscape, but the spirit."

Released by Paramount Pictures on June 11, 1986, the film became the tenth-highest-grossing film of 1986 in the United States, grossing $70 million over a $5 million budget. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, who praised Broderick's performance, and the film's humor and tone.

In 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film was followed by a television series, starring Charlie Schlatter as the title character. A spin-off film titled Sam & Victor's Day Off, focusing on the two valets who took Cameron's father's Ferrari on a joy ride, is in development for Paramount+.

One spring day in a Chicago suburb, high school senior Ferris Bueller fakes illness to stay home from school, two months before his graduation, regularly breaking the fourth wall. His parents, Katie and Tom, believe he is ill, though his sister, Jeanie, does not. After learning Ferris is absent from school for the ninth time that semester, the school's dean, Edward Rooney, becomes determined to expose Ferris's chronic truancy; Ferris has changed his attendance records by hacking into the school's computer system, making it appear as if he attends school regularly.

Ferris persuades his hypochondriac best friend Cameron Frye to help excuse Ferris's girlfriend Sloane Peterson from school by claiming that her grandmother has died. Cameron calls the school, pretending to be Sloane's father. Knowing Sloane is dating Ferris, Rooney is suspicious. Ferris also calls the school during Cameron's phone call to confirm his absence, thereby fooling Rooney. To complete the ruse that Sloane's father is picking her up from school, Ferris borrows the prized possession of Cameron's father, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder. Fearing his father's wrath, Cameron is dismayed when Ferris takes the car on a day trip into Chicago. Ferris promises they will return the car as it was, including preserving the original odometer mileage.

Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane leave the car with two parking attendants, who promptly take it on a long joyride. The trio eat lunch at an upscale restaurant, visit the Art Institute of Chicago, go to a Chicago Cubs baseball game, and attend the Von Steuben Day Parade, where Ferris jumps on a float and lip syncs to "Danke Schoen" by Wayne Newton and "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles.

Rooney prowls the Bueller home for Ferris, becoming victim to several pratfalls. Jeanie skips class and returns home to confront Ferris, but finds Rooney instead. Shocked by his appearance, she knocks him unconscious and calls the police. Rooney regains consciousness and leaves. The police arrest Jeanie, believing she prank called the police station. While detained, she meets and befriends another delinquent who advises her to worry less about Ferris's exploits and more about her own life.

Upon collecting the Ferrari and heading home, Ferris and Cameron discover that the car's mileage has significantly increased. Cameron becomes semi-catatonic from shock, later almost drowning in a pool before a worried Ferris helps him. At Cameron's house, Ferris jacks up the car and reverses it to rewind the odometer. However, this attempt fails and Cameron destroys the car out of anger toward his domineering father. Ferris offers to take the blame, but Cameron decides to tell the truth and stand up to his father.

After walking Sloane home, Ferris remembers his parents will be returning soon. He runs through the neighborhood, but is nearly hit by Jeanie's car as Jeanie and Katie drive home. Katie fails to notice Ferris, though Jeanie does. Ferris makes it home first, but Rooney confronts him before he can get back inside. Seeing the two through the window, Jeanie has a change of heart and allows Ferris to come inside, claiming that Ferris was at the hospital for his illness. She also shows Rooney his wallet that had fallen from his pocket in the kitchen earlier, tosses it into a nearby puddle, and shuts the back door loud enough to wake up the family's pet Rottweiler. As Rooney flees the house, Ferris rushes back to his bedroom to await his parents. They find him in bed and believe he has been home all day.

In a mid-credit scene, a humiliated, disheveled, and injured Rooney reluctantly accepts a ride on a school bus filled with students who act derisively toward him. In a post-credits scene, Ferris looks into the camera and says, "You're still here? It's over! Go home! Go."