Ferris Bueller returns on February 5th (Updated with full commercial)
Posted Friday, January 27, 2012 at 12:59 AM Central
Last updated Monday, January 30, 2012 at 10:53 AM Central
by John Couture
If there is one character from John Hughes' universe that I would want to most check in on in adulthood, it is Ferris Bueller. He was an iconic, if not flawed, high schooler and you can only imagine what trouble he would get into in the business world.
Sadly, John Hughes is no longer with us and we will never know what his vision would entail of his classic character, but Matthew Broderick is alive and it would seem that he's ready to step back into Ferris' cardigan sweater. Or is he?
Today, a cryptic video popped up on YouTube and immediately went viral. The video was teasingly titled "Coming Soon" and features Broderick uttering a (slightly) altered catch phrase from his most famous role and a musical cue that anyone who has seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off will recognize.
So, what does the 10 seconds of video mean? It's hard to tell, but it does post a date (2/5/12) which just happens to be the date of the Super Bowl. So, the immediate thought is that Matthew Broderick will reprise Ferris Bueller for a commercial and hawk a product or service that, let's face it, would be completely against the core character values that Ferris Bueller embodies.
If this is indeed a teaser to a Super Bowl commercial, which we've seen more of recently, then I think it's safe to say that high school Ferris would kick gray-haired Ferris' ass for selling out. But what else could it be? Could Hollywood really keep a secret as big as a sequel to Ferris Bueller's Day Off a secret for so long in an Internet world? I don't think so.
So, if we accept that Ferris is indeed shilling for a company, what is he selling? A couple of sites are speculating that the fact that he's in a hotel means that it will be for travel site or hotel site.
Not only do I buy that, but I'll take it one step further. According to Hollywood Reporter, Priceline will be killing off their "Priceline Negotiator" spokesman (played by William Shatner) during the Super Bowl and be introducing a new spokesman during the big game.
I'm not sure if anyone is able to follow up the Shatner in this gig, but if it were possible, I think Ferris would be on the shortlist. Of course, if this were the case, then it would mean that Matthew Broderick's career has officially bottomed out. I know that Tower Heist didn't live up to expectations, but it wasn't a complete failure either.
What do you think? Watch the clip below and let us know what you think. Also, what is up with classic movie characters showing up in places that aren't movies? First, it was Wooderson from Dazed and Confused showing up in a music video and now it seems that Ferris will show up in a commercial. Is there any other classic characters that you hope will show up in a video or commercial?
So long Ferrari, hello Honda?
Well, it seems that Ferris, er Matthew Broderick, has traded in his love of Ferrari for the more family-friendly confines of the Honda CRV. Like every good thing that is too good to be true, the secret of Ferris' return couldn't be contained until Super Bowl Sunday.
In the full-length commercial that you can view below (thanks to Cinema Blend), it seems that Matthew Broderick is playing himself and living a day out of Ferris' playbook. There are literally too many direct and indirect references to Ferris Bueller's Day Off in the short clip to name them all, but I particularly enjoyed the introspective piece about "I could be the Walrus."
So, it seems that they won't be making a sequel to Ferris Bueller's Day Off after all and I'm quite ok with that. In a way, this little nostalgic (twist and) shout out to the iconic movie and character is all that I need. I don't know if it's enough to make me want to buy a Honda CRV, but it will certainly make a memorable statement come Sunday.