TV1 Blog

In the era of sequels, prequels, remakes and reboots it's amazing that we haven't seen more of Ferris Bueller over the years.  The 1986 hit film was a cultural phenomenon and it is still considered by many as their favourite film of all-time.  Sure, there was a half-baked prequel TV series in 1990 starring a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston and a pre-Diagnosis: Murder Charlie Schlatter but that lasted all of 13 episodes (it couldn't compete with Parker Lewis Can't Lose, possibly proving that Parker Lewis indeed could not lose).

So it was great to finally see Matthew Broderick pop up again as Ferris this week in, of all things, a Superbowl commercial.  Well, to be accurate, Broderick is playing himself but behaving in a very Bueller-like manner.  If you haven't seen it yet, check it out.  This is the extended version.

You could tell this was made with real love by real fans.  But, hey, no Alan Ruck??  Ignoring that small oversight, they've managed to make this spot pretty spot-on.  How good is it?  This video from AkooTV comparing the ad to the original film side-by-side shows you just how good it is:

And then there are the easter eggs littered throughout such as Ferris's vest, the "So choice" vanity licence plate and the red phone.  EW has the full list.

But doesn't this all beg the question: where's our REAL Ferris sequel?  Who's with me here?  I can see it now.  Ferris is 25 years older.  He's hit middle age.  He's stuck in a boring 9-to-5 job with the threat of layoff hanging over his head (it's a Great Recession comedy).  Life has gotten the better of him (as it does with most of us) and he dreams of ditching the job to pursue his dreams when out-of-the-blue he gets a call from his ol' buddy Cameron who convinces him to have the day off against Ferris' now more-mature judgment.  Hijinks ensue!  It writes itself!

I'm not the only one who's had a go at this.  I love this effort from last year:

Even Alan Ruck suggested a set-up himself:

"I used to think why don't they wait until Matthew and I are in our seventies and do Ferris Bueller Returns and have Cameron be in a nursing home. He doesn't really need to be there, but he just decided his life is over, so he committed himself to a nursing home."

It's a real pity that Ferris's original creator, John Hughes, passed away in 2009 before writing a Buell-quel.  I sure hope he left a script locked away only to be released at a pre-designated date.  But then again maybe we should just be grateful for the movie we do have.  As Matthew Broderick once said: