Ferris Bueller's Day Off

We have all been there. Speaking from experience, I knew as soon as the alarm went off and I got up and looked through the curtains and saw a glorious day outside thoughts of how I could make the most of it filtered through my overimaginative mind. The last place I wanted to be on a hot summer's day was school, but getting the time off and convincing my parents that the best place for me that day was at home was no easy task. Now if only I would have had a copy of Ferris Bueller's Day Off to pop into my DVD at the time, Ferris Bueller - the answer to any skiving kids prayers, the sicknote saviour - would have got me off school for the day.

Self-proclaiming the day a public holiday, we follow Ferris, his girlfriend Sloane and pal Cameron on a whistle stop tour of the city - the only destination they aren't going to visit is school.

Ferris is either loved or hated by his peers, most love him and would love to be a part of this eventful day as Ferris and co cruise around the city in style in Cameron's dad's Ferrari. But Ferris does have his haters, including Principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) who cannot stand being underminded by a pupil who is more popular and wiser than him on any given day of the week.

Surprisingly, the other person not jumping on the 'We love Ferris' Parade is his sister Jeanie (Jennifer Gray) who is a hot-headed fireball waiting to explode, (translated: she just needs a man in her life). She can't stand how her brother manages to constantly scam everyone including their parents - who adore him and see her as the black sheep in the family. All try to bring the great man down - but will they succeed? Never, this is a John Hughes film.

The creative mind behind cult classics The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink crafts yet another great slacker movie. Featuring snappy dialogue, catchy pop tunes and memorable cinematic set-pieces that stand the test of time, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a thought-provoking look at adolescence.

Baby-faced Broderick plays Ferris with loveable charm and restraint - just as well, since he frequently 'talks to the viewer', which could have resulted in his coming over as smug and too cool for school. Alan Ruck has a goofy prescence as Cameron and plays off Broderick nicely, while the hot Mia Sara plays Sloane. All three are engaging, funny and make a wonderful onscreen trio.

Jones' work as the pretentious principal is laugh out loud hilarious, its hard to contain myself everytime I catch a glimpse of that 'tache. Classic. Jennifer 'Nobody Puts Baby in The Corner' Grey is a great actress and you really believe she has had it hard when trying to go toe-to-toe with her legendary brother.

Upon watching the movie and then the extras I was made to wonder two things about Jennifer Grey - where has she been for so long and why on earth did she have a nose job, she looks unrecognisable now? The script is layered with monologues and musical set pieces, I loved the float dance sequence during the parade accompanied by the Beatles classic Twist and Shout, and also the will they won't they get caught interwoven segments where Ferris and his parents almost cross paths as they go about their day.

At the time of release there wasn't a kid on the planet who didn't want to be Ferris, a character that spoke to a certain age and the fact that it still stands up as a classic is through good casting and even better writing and directing. John Hughes always has a message in his films, sometimes you have to eat through the layers of the piece to find it but here it is life moves so quickly so don't let it pass you by.

A classic already loved by many and with this release by even more.