"Ferris Bueller's Day Off": A Classic Quiz

Answer: All I wanted to do was give him [Cameron] a great day.

Although it was a beautiful, 74-degree spring day in Chicago -- and thus he couldn't be blamed for cutting school that day -- Ferris, in an aside to the audience, revealed his goal early, after introducing the audience to his best friend. Ferris told Cameron the same thing via microphone from the parade float.

The actual quote above was delivered after Cameron attacked and then "killed" his dad's car, when Ferris realized he might have taken things a bit too far.

Answer: Chicago White Sox game

The threesome attended a Cubs game where they were briefly caught by the television camera. Unfortunately for him, Mr. Rooney, Dean of Students, just missed seeing the truant trio on TV when he was trying to track Ferris down.
Ferris', Sloane's and Cameron's adventure began at the Sears Tower, then moved to the Chicago Board of Trade. They grabbed lunch ("We ate pancreas!") at the very restrictive Chez Quis (the not-so-well-disguised "Chez Paul"), then took in a Cubs (not Sox!) game, the Chicago Art Institute, and capped the day with the parade downtown.
I recently read that in January, 1986, Director John Hughes was editing a scene involving Ferris finagling his way onto a radio talk show, claiming to be the first teenager selected to ride the space shuttle. Hughes deleted the scene in light of the Challenger tragedy.

Answer: "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat

All of these works were in the film (and were really in the Art Institute), but it was the pointillist painting by Seurat that captivated Cameron Frye. He focused on the little girl whose mouth was formed as if she were wailing bitterly, while her mother -- although holding her hand -- seemed oblivious to the child's distress. Cameron could relate, no doubt.
Brilliant camera work and editing made the scene so memorable.

Answer: Ben Stein

The high school economics teacher, played to boring perfection by Ben Stein, was taking roll, calling students' last names. Bueller, of course, was not present to respond. Notably, most of the students in the classroom were present only in the physical sense.

Ben Stein has an impressive and highly varied resume that even includes creation of the sit-com "Fernwood 2 Night". He told his wife that despite graduating Valedictorian from Columbia U., and with honors from Yale Law, writing a column for several prestigious publications, hosting a game show ("Win Ben Stein's Money"), and authoring over 30 books, he would probably be most remembered for uttering those words.

Lyman Ward played Ferris' father, Tom. Jeffrey Jones was well cast as Ed Rooney, and Alan Ruck was the (then) 28 year old whom director Hughes brilliantly selected to play Ferris' angst-filled best friend, Cameron Frye.

Answer: Put your head between your legs and breathe deeply.

Mr. Bueller called home to check on Ferris' welfare from the office. Ferris was in the process of messing up Ed Rooney's head on another line, so he put his dad on hold. When he came back, he begged off the call claiming to be lightheaded. This engendered some of the most misguided advice possible from Tom Bueller: "Take a hot bath. Wrap a hot towel around your head. Have some soup. Take a nap." (A hot bath and hot towel on his head would have aggravated his lightheadedness, not ameliorated it.) Apparently Hughes wanted us to know that dads aren't always the greatest sources of medical advice...

Answer: The Blue Danube Waltz

La-la-la-la-la. (hack-hack, hack-hack) La-la-la-la-la (hack-hack, hack-hack) ...
Actually, Ferris was much better with the synth than the clarinet.

Ferris got a lot of mileage out of his synthesizer AND that Christmas present that disappointed him so much (his computer). Why he programmed the coughs, sneezes, wheezes, and other disgusting human noises, he didn't say. Perhaps he was anticipating needing them as sound effects for an upcoming skip day; perhaps it was just because he was a teenaged male.

Answer: His kidney

These telephone conversations gave birth to the "Save Ferris!" movement that swept the entire suburban Chicago community, evidenced by, for example, the same phrase written on the local water tower, multitudes of flowers and plants delivered to the Bueller residence -- including one from the English department, a "singing nurse" telegram, and at least one student who collected money to help pay for the transplant.

Matthew Broderick was nominated for a Golden Globe (Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical) for his turn as Ferris Bueller, but he didn't win. Robin Williams took home the statue for his work as Adrian Cronauer in "Good Morning, Vietnam".

Answer: He opened the door Jeanie left unlocked when she came home and walked right in.

Rooney spent at least an hour of the film trying to get into the house, presumably to catch Ferris NOT being sick. But if the Dean had a brain he would have realized that a teen-aged kid -- especially a kid like Ferris Bueller -- who was playing hookie on a beautiful spring day, would not be at home.

After all the trouble he went through with the family Rottweiler, Rooney just waltzed right in the front door Jeanie left open when she flew home to catch and confront Ferris. I noticed at the end of the movie, however, as Mr. Rooney confronted Ferris at the back door -- when Ferris was trying to beat his parents home -- the Dean showed Ferris the house key, which was normally kept under the mat. "Looking for this?" Rooney smirked, implying he found and used it to get into the house. Continuity or editing error? Or just an additional piece of insight into the Dastardly Dean?

Answer: "Danke Schoen" and "Twist and Shout"

What a range that Ferris Bueller had! One minute he was tenor Wayne Newton ("Danke Schoen," which spent eight weeks on "Billboard's Hot 100" in 1963), the next he was baritone Beatle John Lennon, huskily singing lead on "Twist and Shout" (a number 17 hit by the Isley Brothers in 1962 that reached number two by the Beatles in 1964).
And what a memorable movie scene that was!

Answer: All of these are correct.

Cameron's transformation occurred when he reached the point of self-loathing ("I put up with everything. My old man pushes me around. I never say anything.") At the same time the Cameron leopard was changing his spots, Ferris surprised his friend by volunteering to take the blame for the car's demise and thus the considerable grief that Morris Frye was expected to dish out. Maybe Cameron didn't know that inside Ferris' self-centered invincibility beat the heart of a true friend, but I suspect the viewers knew it all along.

They used three different versions of the Ferrari in this film. The one that was destroyed was a plastic or fiberglass kit-car, thank goodness!