Ferris Bueller's Day Off (9/10): Decades pass by and new generations continue to identify with this classic comedy.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

In only a span of six years, John Hughes managed to direct some of the best comedies from the 80’s which surprisingly hold up very well to this day. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is still regarded as a classic in the genre and despite being a simple mainstream movie, Matthew Broderick delivers such an iconic performance that many teens continue to fall in love with his character as the decades pass. The gags are handled with perfect comedic timing and the soundtrack has become such a recognizable tune in pop culture. I don’t know exactly what it is that has made this such a beloved film amongst American teenagers, but it seems to transcend generations over time because of its accessibility. It’s a light comedy about being young and mischievous that simply seems to delight and captivate audiences who are looking for some form of escape. It’s rare for a film with a simple premise like this to continue captivating audiences over time and even those teens who watched it in the 80’s and are now mature decide to go back and revisit it for nostalgic purposes or to introduce it to their now teenage sons. This is just further proof that no one had the comedic touch that Hughes had in the 80’s with his teenage comedies. I still prefer Planes, Trains, and Automobiles as his go to movie, but Ferris Bueller was a delightful experience. I look forward to catching up with some more of his classic films. I remember having seen classic scenes of this movie, but this was my first time watching it from beginning to end and I was delighted and surprised because I didn’t think I would ever like Broderick as much as I did here. This is by far his best performance.

The film takes place in Chicago where we are introduced to Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick), a senior in High School who has decided to take the day off from school by fooling his parents into thinking he’s sick. Ferris constantly breaks the fourth wall and speaks to the audience letting them know what he’s thinking. His plan is so well thought out that even his friends at school think he’s developed a serious condition and are trying to raise money for his treatment. He’s the sort of guy that everyone in school dreams of being and his life motto is simply to enjoy life to the fullest. He personifies the spirit of youth and that is what makes him such a likable guy despite acting irresponsable at times. The only people who don’t believe him are his sister, Jeanie (Jennifer Grey), who is angry everyone keeps on falling for his lame excuses, and the school principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) who is determined to discover his lie and make him lose the school year for it. Ferris has everything planned out very carefully and is convinced his plan will work. He calls his best friend, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), who has also taken a sick leave, but in his case he’s really feeling bad. Ferris convinces him to come pick him up and together they come up with a plan to help Ferris’s girlfriend, Sloane (Mia Sara), get out of classes. In a hilarious scene the duo call Principal Rooney impersonating Sloane’s father and asking him to give his daughter permission to leave the school because her grandmother has passed away. Ferris then convinces Cameron to take his father’s Ferrari and the adventure begins for the three friends through the streets of Chicago. 

Hughes has always excelled as a screenwriter and he is responsible for some of the funniest comedies from the 80’s and 90’s. He didn’t direct as many films, but he has been involved with many scripts. In Ferris Bueller he seems to have written a simple but perfectly executed script of a young teenager who is trying to live life to the fullest. He could’ve come out as cocky, but there is some heart to his character and it becomes incredibly hard not to root for him, especially when Hughes put so much emphasis during the opening scene portraying the dullness of High School life and then introducing Principal Rooney as such a douchebag. The scenes where he is desperately trying to uncover Ferris’s plan are incredibly cartoonish and over the top, but it is funny nonetheless. There are also a few heart felt scenes between Ferris and Cameron which make his character even more likable despite his bad influence. Broderick delivers the performance of his career and there are very few actors who can break the fourth wall the way he did here without interrupting the flow of the story (the other who comes to mind is John Cusack). There is also a great scene in which Ferris covers one of The Beatle’s song in a parade that simply adds to the already amazing soundtrack. Jones is hilarious as Rooney and it’s not often that these over the top villains are portrayed well. He never comes off annoying, and that’s something difficult to achieve. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a comedy that has transcended time and generations and it may come as a surprise to many considering it’s such a light and simple premise, but Hughes manages to work his magic.   

Amadeus (10/10): The greatest biobic ever made.

“This was no composition by a performing monkey! This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing, it had me trembling. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God.”

As I sat there breathless staring at my screen watching this astounding masterpiece while listening to its amazing soundtrack, I couldn’t help but relate to F. Murray Abraham’s Salieri in his admiration for Mozart and his genius, although my admiration was geared towards Milos Forman’s outstanding direction and not on the actual composer himself. What a unique experience this three hour film was for me. Amadeus was a movie I had been putting off mainly because of its extremely long running time and its subject matter: a biopic about a classical music composer, but what a pleasure it was to finally get to experience it for the first time. My concerns about this film couldn’t have been so far off because this was such a rich treasure to discover. Amadeus is a timeless film, directed in 1984, it could just as well have been directed today and you wouldn’t notice the difference. Everything from the art direction and the set pieces, to the costumes and makeup, to the cinematography could rival any film released this year. I still can’t believe this was made in 1984 because it is better than most biopics made today. Just as the central figure of this movie was such a creative and talented composer, Forman proved once again to be way ahead of his peers and was a prodigy director during the 80’s. I thought there was no way he could top his marvelous work in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but he just did. To say this is one of the biopics ever made is an understatement, because it is one of the best films period. Roger Ebert couldn’t have said it better in his review when he wrote, “the film is constructed in wonderfully well-written and acted scenes -- scenes so carefully constructed, unfolding with such delight, that they play as perfect compositions of words.” Winner of eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, the Oscars oddly awarded the more deserving film that year. 

Amadeus couldn’t have a more suitable and meaningful title, taken from Mozart’s middle name which in latin means “loved by God,” the film explores the tormented relationship he had with Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham), the court composer of Austrian Emperor, Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones). Salieri was so passionate about music that he begged God to make him the best composer the world had known by promising to remain chaste and devoted to Him. We learn this during a confession he is giving to Father Vogler (Richard Frank) after having attempted to commit suicide and confessing to being responsible of Mozart’s death decades ago. The film is told in flashback as Salieri narrates what an impression Mozart had made in Vienna during his youth. He was eager to meet this prodigy who God had blessed with such an immense and unique talent, but when Mozart (Tom Hulce) is finally invited to perform at the Emperor’s court, Salieri is shocked by what he discovers. Mozart is a childish and vulgar fellow with an obscene giggle that only seemed to mock everything he believed about God’s immaculate and pure music. Feeling betrayed and confused as to how God could allow this hideous being to be blessed with such an amazing talent, he makes it his personal vendetta to defy God and bury Mozart’s career. 

The film centers on themes of artistic genius and creativity as well as professional jealousy and uncomprehended talent. The universal theme of man against God is also tackled throughout the three hour runtime. These themes are perfectly explored and balanced with comedic moments scattered throughout, which allow the pacing of the film to move at a pleasant beat.  Very seldom do you find such a perfectly balanced biopic that manages to remain comic and tragic at the same time. Some of the success of Amadeus must be attributed to the gorgeous location in which the movie was filmed. Choosing Prague to depict the mid 1700’s Vienna was a perfect choice and the stages where the Opera scenes where performed were simply mesmerizing. Forman also allowed his actors to retain their American accents which was another intelligent choice. There is no need to give the actors silly English European accents if you are going to have them speak in any other language other than the original. The screenplay adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s Award winning stage play was also a hit because the dialogue in this film is truly inspiring and I can recall several great quotes from it.     

The two lead performances in Amadeus are incredibly powerful. F. Murray Abraham took home the Oscar for best lead actor and he will forever be remembered for his role here as the frustrated and jealous Salieri. The inner conflict he experiences as he easily goes from admiration and bewilderment to hatred and jealousy while listening to each composition is outstanding. Tom Hulce is just as great playing the titular character. Never in a million years would I have cast him in a role like this, but it only added to the underlying theme of looks and talents not always going well together. Hulce’s cheerful and giggly demeanor slowly grows on the audience as he is first presented as an irritating figure, but gradually begins to appear more sympathetic, and our initial alliances with Salieri begin to turn while he grows darker. These are now two of my favorite all-time performances. I could go on writing about this amazing film, but I feel no matter what I have to say about it, it’s simply going to be another mediocre review of an incredibly masterful film. There are no words that can justly describe this film, so by all means if you haven’t seen this masterpiece go check it out.         

“All I wanted was to sing to God. He gave me that longing... and then made me mute. Why? Tell me that. If He didn't want me to praise him with music, why implant the desire? Like a lust in my body! And then deny me the talent?”