Ferris Buellers Day Off (1986)

Film of 2012 #47

The 1986 John Hughes film considered by some as a classic got dusted off for a revisit and I was impressed how well it holds up. This is one of the first films I am aware of that clearly breaks the 4th wall and it is very much an extreme film that pushes the boundaries of realism and believability, it is a comedy and if you accept it, it really works well. The story follows Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller the ultimate teen, whose view on life is that while in his teens he wants to enjoy himself before he grows up. You have parts in this film for Jennifer Grey as his sister, Charlie Sheen as a cameo in the police Station, Jeffery Jones as the Principal trying to catch Ferris and Sloane and Cameron (insert friends) that go on the adventure with Ferris.

Some of the good things about this film, as with the breaking of the fourth wall you also have little back story to Ferris and his situation. You do have the cartoonish fact that his parents and everybody at school loves him including the fact that a running joke through the film is Save Ferris all over the place. The only people that hate him are his sister and the principal who are constantly trying to catch him out. You get the feeling from the film that they have been at this for a while and it almost plays like a series with this just being an episode. The thing I really like about this is the fact there is no apology for it and I actually wonder that if you approached the studios today with this idea whether they would actually go for an idea that is out there and different.

This film could be remade or a sequel but I think that in today's age they would struggle to capture what the film was. It is almost like an experiment in film making without being so obvious and when you watch it you can just enjoy the teenage rebel who is not evil if he is a little selfish. And really what I think John Hughes was trying to say was enjoy life, the principal and his sister end up in trouble trying to catch out Ferris and yet he is not really doing them any harm. All I can say is SAVE FERRIS and watch this film a solid 3 star recommend.

The Three Musketeers (1993)

Film of 2012 #11
No Spoilers

This family romp through the story from Alexandre Dumas about the betrayal of the French King by Cardinal Richelieu played menacingly by Tim Curry is enjoyable enough fair with what was a very impressive cast. Playing the lead of D'Artagnan was Chris O'Donnell, the musketeers were played by Charlie Sheen, Keifer Sutherland and Oliver Platt with the bad guys rounded out with Rebecca De Morenay as M'lady and Michael Wincott as Rochefort.

As per the recent remake which I reviewed here, I am not sure how close to the original story this sticks but based upon the remake they are very similar with the Cardinal trying to seize power from the young King of France and his young wife who are still discovering each other after an arranged marriage. I think I prefer this version over the remake as it sticks to the time more and also does not include the Duke of Buckingham or the Steam Punk.

Overall this is 3 stars and if you enjoy the story or want to see a decent film representation I would recommend seeing this film rather enjoyable fair.