Recap Ferris Bueller’s Day Off at Wrigley Field

The inspiration for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off began as an unbelievably basic thought in writer John Hughes’ mind: “Ferris is doing what everybody at some one point wants to do,” Hughes explains, sporting a mullet and dark sunglasses in an early interview. “Which is just say, ‘How could I be expected to go to school on a day like this? I have things to do, and I’m going to take it easy.’” 

Ferris might have seen Saturday night’s Groupon event as inevitable and simple: There was a field and no one was using it. A takeover of Wrigley Field for a screening on three jumbo-trons seemed a decidedly Ferris-approved way to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary. Chicagoans carrying blankets and popcorn got decked out in leopard vests, fringed jackets, and hockey jerseys like the film’s famous trio of truants. Outside the stadium, girls not much older than Ferris posed suggestively with his cut out image; scalpers aggressively exchanged tickets for the sold-out event. There was, of course, more than one “Save Ferris” T-shirt.

Inside, anything that smacked of schooling or organization riled the beer-buzzed crowd. The sing-a-long to “Danke Schoen” broke the Guinness World record for most people singing in a round with 900 singers, but it lacked the random outrageousness that makes Ferris’ rendition so memorable. It felt more like a schoolteacher leading a class. When in a most un-Ferris like move, the event’s sponsors tried to hock a new Groupon iPhone app, screened an advertisement, and delayed the film almost 15 minutes past its 7:30 p.m. start time, people in the bleachers began chanting. The hosts of Ebert Presents At The Movies had to all but nix their introduction to please the crowd. However, a screening of the original Siskel and Ebert review of the film scored some points: Siskel pans it, to which Ebert replies, “I don’t think it matters whether they get the best seats at Wrigley Field or not. This is a sweet, inoffensive, heartwarming little movie.” Cue applause.

The audience cheered as the opening lines of the film played from Ferris’ radio: “It is a beautiful day in Chicago today!” a weatherman announces, sparking the day’s events. Unlike in the film, the weather wasn’t perfect: People had bundled up in blankets and Groupon fleece headbands to brave the first October chill. 

Watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for at least the fifth time, I couldn’t help but agree with Ebert: It’s a completely likable film that doesn’t get old. I’ve heard of teenagers who watch it every night before a big test for good luck. But now that I’m older than Ferris, I finally see its irony: A teenager from the suburbs looks straight at the camera, telling us what to do or think through most of the movie. He’d never tolerate the same treatment. But how is it that Ferris gets away with it? Everyone in the film asks that same question.

Perhaps Ferris is untouchable because his rules are, simply, to have fun. Though the effort at “Danke Schoen” fell a little flat, the famous float karaoke performance of “Twist And Shout” made for the real highlight of the night, inspiring infectious, embarrassing dancing among the crowd.

The same event might not have worked in New York or Los Angeles, where people equally adore Ferris but probably wouldn’t dance or even brave anything below 60 degrees for him. Each time the Chicago skyline whizzed by, the Art Institute came on screen, or Wrigley Field itself was pictured, people clapped and screamed like they would for their favorite team. It’s easy to forget the film’s action ends at 6 p.m., but it’s unforgettable how easily its title character made half a day in Chicago seem cinematic.