She Likes to Watch

In honor of director John Hughes, let’s have a “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

Just Michael Jackson, filmmaker John Hughes was the voice of a generation.

Hughes, who died yesterday at age 59, was best known for writing and directing the most popular ensemble comedies of the ’80s.

“Pretty in Pink.” “Sixteen Candles.” “Some Kind of Wonderful.”  “The Breakfast Club.” “Weird Science.” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Each movie chronicled the crushing pain and fleeting joy of adolescent life — the simple thrills of TV, music and video games, the social awkwardness of high school cliques, the terrifying, yet thrilling prospect of puppy love.

Hughes’ heroes, the founding members of the Brat Pack, became our best friends and first crushes.

We pined for freckled redhead Molly Ringwald and dark-eyed brunette Ally Sheedy. We dreamed of tossing the football around with Judd Nelson and Emilio Estevez, of playing hooky with Matthew Broderick or attending a Mathletes match with Anthony Michael Hall.

Whether you were a brain or a beauty, a jock or a freak, you knew those characters — Hughes’ characters — were talking to directly to you.

Hughe’s career as a writer and director took off in the early 1980s with such hits as “National Lampoon’s Vacation” and “Sixteen Candles.” The latter launched his most lasting legacy — as the chronicler and chief confessor of middle-class high schoolers everywhere.

Of course, Hughes didn’t limit himself to teen comedies. He paired Steve Martin and John Candy with hilarious results in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” brought Candy back in “Uncle Buck” and helmed the hugely successful “Home Alone” series — the pinnacle of Macaulay Culkin’s stardom.

Hughes’ latter-day writing credits included the Jennifer Lopez vehicle “Maid in Manhattan” and “Drillbit Taylor,” which stars Owen Wilson as an inept bodyguard hired by two bullied boys.

Despite such flops as “Flubber” and “Curly Sue,” Hughes’ filmmaking legacy remains one of funny, affectionate films that never cease to delight.

That’s why I advocate celebrating Hughes with a holiday dedicated to his most popular film, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

It’d take place around the same time of year that a certain trio of teenagers (Broderick, Alan Ruck and Mia Sara) played hooky in downtown Chicago.

The only question is, exactly when is “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?”

The movie takes place in the springtime toward the end of the school year. Yet filming for “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” began Sept. 9, 1985, and ended Nov. 22, 1985.

The Von Steuben Day parade, featured in the scene in which Ferris lipsyncs to The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout,” typically takes place in Chicago in mid-September.

Maybe it’s best to link a Hughes holiday to the movie’s release date: June 11, 1986.

Either way, I think John Hughes some sort of special recognition — a holiday, a parade, a tribute concert featuring the ska punk band Save Ferris (which takes its name from one of the movie’s most famous running gags).

We, as children of the ’80s, owe him that much.

This week’s films reveal a love of life, both spiritual and physical

Every 12 years, millions of people trek to Allahabad, India, in search of peace, harmony and spiritual unity.

Their goal is the intersection of India’s holiest rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna, Their gathering, a spectacular spiritual festival, is known as the the Kumbh Mela.

It’s the subject of the 2004 documentary “Shortcut to Nirvana,” which screens tonight in San Luis Obispo.

Filmmakers Maurizio Benazzo and Nick Day chronicle the 2001 Kumbh Mela through the eyes of several Westerners and an ebullient young Hindu monk, Swami Krishnanand. Along the way, they encounter some of India’s most respected holy men, as well as His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The result is a colorful, chaotic look at a spiritual journey shared by as many as 70 million people. Compare that to the pilgrims who traveled to Rome to pay final respects to Pope John Paul II — estimated at a mere million.

“Shortcut to Nirvana” plays at 7 p.m. tonight at the San Luis Obispo public library, 995 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.

A $5 donation is suggested.

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“Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

– “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

Young people could pick a far worse role model than Ferris Bueller, the protagonist of the classic ’80s comedy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Sure, the high school senior skips school and spends the entire day seeing the sights in a “borrowed” Ferrari. Sure, he wrecks said priceless automobile and gets his best friend in deep, deep trouble.

But Ferris also teaches us a lesson — about life, freedom and The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.”

In “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Ferris (Matthew Broderick) feigns sickness in order to spend a beautiful spring day with his girlfriend (Mia Sara) and his best friend (Alan Ruck) in downtown Chicago.

The ruse fools almost everyone, including his fellow students, who launch a townwide effort to “Save Ferris.” But his sister (Jennifer Gray) and the school’s Dean of Students, Mr. Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), smell a rat.

Writer-director John Hughes gave us many of the decade’s most beloved movies, including “Sixteen Candles,” “Pretty in Pink” and “The Breakfast Club.” But it’s “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” that stands out as the most unabashedly and unapologetically fun.

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” screens at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.

’80s mania spawns a DVD series

Paramount Pictures loves the 1980s. Paramount also loves making a quick buck.

By now, you may have noticed the covers of your favorite ’80s movies peeking out of grocery store checkout lanes and video kiosks. Was that “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” wedged between People and O magazine? “Some Kind of Wonderful” squeezed between the chewing gum and sunflower seeds?
Here’s why: Paramount is releasing 40 of your favorites from the era, all tarted up in a series titled (what else?) “I Love the ’80s.”

Repackaging the decade’s hits in pastel slip-covers , the studio doesn’t exactly splurge on the extras. In fact, few of these titles offer little more than a theatrical trailer and French subtitles.

Each “’80s Edition” comes with a “Music of the ’80s” CD featuring songs by Echo and the Bunnymen, Erasure and INXS and a-ha.

Most of the movie choices make sense.

What DVD collection, after all, is complete without a copy of “Airplane!”, “Top Gun” or “Pretty in Pink”? The same goes for “Friday the 13th,” “Footloose,” “Ferris Bueller.” All fun. All classics.

Other, more serious titles such as “Reds” and “Witness” also have their place.

“Grease 2,” on the other hand, seems like a peculiar choice. And there are other odd additions: “Rustler’s Rhapsody.” “Summer School.” “Hot Pursuit.” There must be “King David” fans out there, but I’m not sure everyone would enjoy watching the infamous “Richard Gere in a diaper” scene.

Movie buffs should skip this series in favor of superior special special editions. There are far better versions out there, with much better making-of documentaries, directors’ commentaries and other extras. Most of them probably carry the same sticker price, too.

Still, if you can’t resist buying that copy of “Beverly Hills Cop” along with your bread and milk, well, I can hardly blame you.