I did my share of school skipping back in High School, but I didn't nearly have the guts and know-how to pull off nine in one semester. Ferris Bueller did, and that's why I love the guy so much!

Back in the mid-80s, John Hughes was a king for movie going teenagers, and after such era-efficient flicks like 'Sixteen Candles' and 'Breakfast Club', he offered us the king of Teenagers, the very smooth and confident Ferris Bueller. Played by the smile-tattooed Matthew Broderick (still can't believe the guy is married to Sarah Jessica Parker), Ferris is a senior who's jut too respectful of a beautiful day to soil it with school. He'll let us in on his little secrets to avoid another boring day of lectures, and treat his friends to a tourist's time around Chicago. He only needs to outrun his over-zealous principal (Jeffrey Jones) and bitchy big sister (Jennifer Grey), not to mention avoid running into his all-too unsuspecting parents. Faking serious health problems to fulfill his plan, Ferris will be the focus of the whole city's sympathy, with a huge 'Save Ferris' campaign raging throughout the day.

The movie is nothing more than a teen comedy, but a surprisingly funny one that, even more surprisingly, appealed to everyone, boys and girls alike. There are so many funny moments that you just can't help smiling like an idiot. Even though many are clichéd and stereotyped.

A young Bond and his nemesis
Like many actors who impressed at a very young age, Broderick just embodied Ferris too well to ever shale it off. He's not a rebel, a spiked up jock, a prinche charming to populate every young girl's dream, or a rich little snotty brat. He's a young James Bond, or at least how I imagine a young Bond would be like. He's full of imaginative gadgets to simulate whatever sick sound or stealth absence, can talk his way out of any tight spot, and even cons his way to a very fancy dinner. He's got the confidence every loser wants to have, and the girlfriend every jerk THINKS they can have. But overall, his comedy timing is spot on, especially in the face of the mother of all jerks, the very sleazy Jeffrey Jones.

Jones himself is probably the focus of much of the movie's clichés, but has such a hateful stance as Principal Rooney, he elevates the character to the sleaze hall of fame. All of his misadventures are met with those inhuman googly eyes, and that dumbfounded look that couldn't funnier if he actually intended it. He's a very brilliant actor who did a truly great job at renewing a character that's been played thousands of times. Thank god Tim Burton was around to give him more of those juicy roles.

The merry band
A good Teenage movie wouldn't be complete without the geeky best friend and gorgeous girl. Cameron, played by the where-is-he-now Alan Ruck, is the quintessential insecure teen, who has to compete with a Ferrari for his father attention. Although the movie's solution to his anxiety problems isn't quite recommended, he does embody a stage of life that most kids go through. I won't say Hughes is a tennage therapist, but he does know how to appeal to that age's sense of disillusionment and desperation. And say what you will about Ruck, I never even suspected that he was 30 back then!

As for the girl, god! I just had the biggest crush on Mia Sara. The hair, the eyes, the smile, the voice, she had it all. Every guy I knew back then had a crush on her. No one I know today has a clue who she is. I'm not saying she was a terrifyingly great actress, but it's a damn shame she couldn't break out farther than this.

Ferris' family is just archetypical Hughes family.There's a bitchy sibling who just can't take his success, and dimwitted parents who, while nice, are just too inept to actually be parents. But here again, Hughes found someone to break out of the mold and make it a little bit meatier. The very funny Jennifer Grey, just before her 'Dirty Dancing' descent into my personal hell, got the hateful sister part down to a 'T', culminating in a slapping encounter with a druggie she falls for, played by the too-close-to-reality Charlie Sheen.

The test of time
If you haven't seen it and plan to, bear in mind that it's an 80s teen comedy. But one far less time-stuck than its cousins, like 'Pretty In Pink' or even the aforementioned 'Breakfast Club'. The characters are quite universal, and the fashion department toned down (although Mia's white leather jacket was a little much). The dialogues are not smothered in those 'Like, whatever' teenage terms that I revile so much, and make the whole experience just light, sweet and guilty fun. Its one anchor to the decade might also be on of its charms, the almost-mythical 'Oh Yeah' song from electro band Yello. Say what you will, it just fits right in there.

Now, if only some studio suit could read this and give it the Special Edition DVD treatment it so richly deserves.

Did you know…
There was a sequel planned shortly after theatrical release, but director Hughes and star Broderick felt that the character worked only in a stand-alone movie. Paramount, undeterred in their thirst for profit, turned the concept into a TV sitcom in 1990, starring unknown Charlie Schlatter as Ferris and Jennifer Aniston as his sister. The show lasted half a season, before being put out of its misery.