Funny Monologues From Ferris Buellers Day Off
Script To Screen: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
A scene from the wonderful 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller's Day Off, written and directed by John Hughes.
IMDb plot summary: A high school wise guy is determined to have a day off from school, despite what the principal thinks of that.
In this scene, Ferris revels in the fact he just conned his parents into letting him stay home from school, breaking the forth wall and letting us into his private thoughts.
10 INT. BEDROOM 10
Ferris yanks open the drapes. The pall of the sickroom
disappears in the brilliant glow of morning sunlight. FERRIS
Incredible! One of the worst performances
of my career and they never doubted it
for a second.
(looks out the window)
What a beautiful day!
He turns from the window.
FERRIS
Parents always fall for the clammy hands.
It's physical evidence of illness. It's
a good, non-specific symptom. Parents are
generally pretty hip to the fever scams.
And to make them work you have to go a hundred
and one, hundred and two. You get a nervous
mother and you end up in a doctor's office
and that's worse than school.
He flips on his stereo and fills the room with the MTV
broadcast. A NEW SONG begins.
FERRIS
Fake a stomach cramp and when you're
doubled over, moaning and wailing, just
lick your palms. It's a little stupid
and childish but then so if high school.
Right?
He equalizes the sound a little.
FERRIS
This is my ninth sick day with semester.
If I go for ten, I'm probably going to
have to barf up a lung. So, I absolutely
must make this one count.
He exits into the hallway.
11 INT. BATHROOM 11
Ferris walks into the bathroom. It's littered with Jean's
debris. He turns on the shower water.
FERRIS
I don't care if you're fifty five
or seven, everybody needs a day off
now and then. It's a beautiful day.
How can I be expected to handle
high school?
He bends down OUT OF FRAME as he loses his briefs. He pops
up.
FERRIS
I do actually have a test. That wasn't
bullshit.
He steps into the shower. Through the pebbled glass of the
shower door we see Ferris' outline.
FERRIS
That I care about it was.
12 INT. BATHROOM. SHOWER STALL. 12
Inside the shower. Ferris' hair is standing straight up.
It's moulded into a fin with shampoo.
FERRIS
It's on European socialism. I mean,
really. What's the point? I'm not
European. I don't plan to be European.
So, who gives a shit if they're socialists?
They could be fascist anarchists and it
still wouldn't change the fact that I
don't own a car.
He turns the shower head around and uses it like a
microphone.
FERRIS
(sings)
WELL SHAKE IT UP, BABY,
TWIST AND SHOUT...
13 INT. HALLWAY. LATER 13
Ferris comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around
his waist. He's drying his hair with another of a different
color.
FERRIS
Not that I condone fascism. Or
and "isms". "Isms", in my opinion
are not good. A person should not
believe in an "ism". He should
believe in himself. John Lennon
said it on his first solo album.
"I don't believe in Beatles, I
just believe in me." A good point
there. Afterall, he was the Walrus.
He opens a linen closet and tosses the towel in it.
FERRIS
I could be the Walrus and I'd still
have to bum rides off people.
Here is the movie version of the scene:
Such terrific stuff, the dialogue followed almost to a tee from script to screen. One notable exception: The song Ferris sings in the shower is not The Beatles' "Twist and Shout" but "Danke Schoen". If you're not familiar with Wayne Newton's interpretation of the song, check it out:
Perhaps the change was made because Hughes already had in mind this scene:
Here are the lyrics of "Danke Schoen". Any deeper meaning to Ferris singing this song — twice?
Danke schoen, darling, danke schoen
Thank you for all the joy and pain
Picture show, second balcony, was the place we'd meet
Second seat, go dutch treat, you were sweetDanke schoen, darling, danke schoen
Save those lies, darling don't explain
I recall Central Park in fall
How you tore your dress, what a mess, I confess
That's not allDanke schoen, darling, danke schoen
Thank you for walks down Lover's Lane
I can see, hearts carved on a tree
Letters intertwined, for all time
Yours and mine, that was fineDanke schoen, darling, danke schoen
Thank you for seeing me again
Though we go on our separate ways
Still the memory stays, for always
My heart says, "Danke schoen"Danke schoen, oh darling, danke schoen
I said, thank you for seeing me again
Though we go on our separate ways
Still the memory stays, for always
My heart says, "Danke schoen"Danke schoen
Auf wiedersehen
Danke schoen
Perhaps he's acknowledging that the three friends will inevitably go their separate ways and he's saying "thanks and goodbye". Could add heft to the live-in-the-moment spirit of "Twist and Shout". Or maybe it speaks to Ferris being an incurable romantic. In any event, the dialogue in the shower scene is great, dabbling with the intellectual, then veering back to a more pressing adolescent concern: Transportation.
What are your thoughts about this scene from the movie? Or generally about the movie itself? I invite you to comments to share your observations.
One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it's that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.
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Source: https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/script-to-screen-ferris-buellers-day-off-e0baca2cf597
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