Monday, March 17, 2008

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

I don't know one person who hasn't dreamt of a day off like the one shown in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. With the help of his best friends Cameron and Sloan, lead actor, Matthew Broderick, really gets us involved in his antics by breaking the forth wall, teaching us how to fool parents and teachers, and showing us all the things a day off should include. 

I think one of the most important scenes in Ferris Bueller's Day Off was probably the one where Cameron, (the friend whose so uptight that 'if you stuck a coal up his ass, in two weeks you'd have a diamond') expresses his real feelings for the way that his father treats him. After borrowing the limited edition Ferrari of his fathers and finding out that putting it into reverse won't hide it, he goes crazy. He starts kicking, denting, and yelling at the car in rage about the lack of love his father provides in the home. After cooling down for awhile Cameron decides that he will confront his father with the issues and leans forward on the car in exhaustion. This was not a good idea. The car, still being in reverse, swings backwards and out of the glass garage's rear wall. During this scene John Hughes really takes a moment in the film to recognize that the life of a teenager is not always as enjoyable as the rest of the movie makes it look. There are a few close-ups matched with some panning and one great long-shot as the Ferrari shoots out of the house and lands on a forest-y and steep hill.

My favorite part in the movie is definitely the parade scene, and I think a lot of people could agree. At this part, we see Ferris' at his craziest as he climbs aboard a parade float and sings Wayne Newton's Danke Schoen and The Beatles' Twist and Shout. It's a very high energy moment and makes me wish that I was cool enough to do the same. 
This pretty much goes without saying, but I love John Hughes. If I had to choose a time to live in, the 80's is probably it and I can thank John Hughes for that. All of the movies that we watched are classics in my heart and I know that I will be revisiting them many more times in the future.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Sixteen Candles

When I found out that my group would have John Hughes as our director for this project, I knew that Sixteen Candles would be in our lineup. The things that come to mind when I think of John Hughes are all included in Sixteen Candles. Beginning with a young girls plea for attention on her sixteen birthday, we are introduced to yet another 80's flick starring Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall. It was a delight to revisit this movie for the one-hundredth time.

One of the best scenes in the film is of course during the big school dance. Nothing is going right on Sam (Molly Ringwald)'s sixteenth birthday. Everyone has forgotten about it, she has been forced to bring a foreign exchange student as her date, her secret crush found out how she feels, and on top of it all, she is being chased around then entire time by the school's biggest loser- played by Anthony Michael Hall. In this scene, we see John Hughes at his best. It masters all of the characters he strives to create in his films, breaking of the fourth wall, and low lighting. With the mixture of comedy and teen-angst love, he always keeps you watching.