I know that I say this far too often but it’s not been a great week so far. Work has been horribly busy and I just haven’t been able to get through anything that I needed to. Thankfully, I’ve used my remaining holiday for the year to take shorter weeks leading up to Christmas. It seemed like a better idea than taking a full week’s holiday and being left with no time off until December 25th. Of course, having Friday off does mean that today is going to drag. No day is quite as long as the one before your day off.

Speaking of day’s off, I decided to revisit the classic 80s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off this week. It’s been a while since I last saw it and I’m always up for an 80s movie. Plus, every time I look for a TBT film on the different streaming platforms, I just find films that I’ve already reviewed. Or at least that’s often how it feels. It also helped that I had been discussing the film Gremlins earlier at work, so I was probably in an 80s frame of mind. And let’s not forget the general Millenial obsession with all things 80s.

Although, rewatching a lot of the 80s teen movies I loved as a teenager is quite upsetting. Not all of them have aged very well. Surely, Ferris Bueller wouldn’t be victim to the same thing. It’s one of the most charming and heart-warming films of the decade, right? I mean, a teenage boy takes the day off school to help his friend gain confidence? What could possibly be wrong with that? Thankfully, nothing.

Yep, that’s right. Turns out that Ferris Bueller is still a pretty solid film. I can’t say that it was ever one of my favourites but it definitely is a fun watch. It’s not necessarily laugh-out-loud funny but there are layers here. It’s not your average teen movie that looks for cheap humour. There is character growth and intelligent storytelling. I’d say that it’s easy to see why this film has the long-lasting reputation that it does. Of course, it also helps that Matthew Broderick is pretty great casting for the title role. He has an effortless charm that makes you like Ferris despite his potentially irritating personality.

As the film goes on it becomes clear that Ferris isn’t just living the life of a slacker but is advocating a more positive approach to life. He is, at least partly, on a mission to help Cameron see the good side of life and stop worrying about the little things. Far from celebrating the people who shirk their responsibilities, this film celebrates the kind of person who embraces life and finds joy in everyday life. It’s probably the kind of film that everyone should rewatch in these Covid times.