If you watched a lot of teen movies during the 1980s and 1990s, chances are that you saw at least one directed by the late John Hughes. The Breakfast Club to Sixteen Candles, many of the movies he made are quite memorable and still watched today. In addition, many of Hughes’ films are admired for having some of the most quotable dialogue in Hollywood history.
One movie known for having such memorable dialogue is the 1986 classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. We are going to break down some of the best quotes, as well as explain the scene to give some context to the quotes. These are our picks for the
Best Quotes from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
“Ferris Bueller, you’re my hero!” – Cameron Frye
This line is spoken near the end of the film after Ferris saves his friend Cameron – who had been pretending to drown. The quote has gone on to be a rather memorable one as there is no doubt all of us had, at one time or another throughout high school, wished we could be the type of guy Ferris was. He taught us to seize every moment. He taught us to go for gold. In short, he was our hero, helping us all to aspire toward greatness as only he could!
“Oh, you know him?” – Garth Volbeck
It’s weird for a memorable question to come from someone whose name isn’t even mentioned in the movie, but such is the case with Charlie Sheen’s Garth Volbeck. While Principal Rooney was out committing felonies trying to prove Ferris was skipping school, Jeannie was unhappy that it looked like Ferris was going to get away with his plan.
When the police didn’t believe Jeannie, she got arrested for a prank phone call. At the police station, Jeannie ends up being pressed by Sheen’s character to explain her story. When he says this line, Jeannie makes a fist and is clearly ready to punch the guy for even going so far as to utter Ferris’ name.
“It’s a little childish and stupid, but then so is high school” – Ferris Bueller
After Ferris tricked his parents into believing he was sick, Ferris gives some tips on what are the best ways to make your parents believe you are sick…without ending up taking a trip to the doctor’s office. Ferris then delivers his line, criticizing what he is doing, but admitting that the whole thing still is not as bad as attending High School.
“If I’m gonna get busted, it is not gonna be by a guy like that! – Ferris Bueller
One of the most memorable scenes in the film sees Ferris taking Sloane and Cameron to a high-end restaurant. It is here that the character tells the host that he is Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago.
While his friends have been pretty easygoing up until this point in their Windy City adventure, they begin to worry that his dialogue with the snooty host has taken things a little too far. Surely they will get caught! However, it is here where the always confident Ferris Bueller declares that he will not be taken down by such an individual with one of the film’s most memorable quotes.
“I weep for the future.” – Chez Quis Maître D’
Don’t we all.
Same scene here. The kids are trying to get in for a meal at Chez Quis when they are intercepted by a “Snotty” Maître D’.
Director John Hughes was great at making timeless stories. His ability to take what would be a throw-away line and make you think about it is one of the things that made him special.
“We’ll drive home backwards!” – Ferris Bueller
Cameron quite literally freaked out when he realized all the additional mileage that was added to his father’s Ferrari. That is when Ferris gets the idea to remove what they add to the mileage count by driving the car home backward.
Regardless of what you may have seen in commercials for CarFax, things don’t work that way. However, we are talking about someone who cut High School to have an adventure with his friends.
And, while Ferris’ plan doesn’t work out, it still stands as one of the most memorable quotes in the film from a character who always seems to have a plan!
“Ism’s, in my opinion, are not good.” – Ferris Buller
An ism is a vague term but it is often associated with a doctrine or a cause. A belief or group of beliefs held by and taught by organizations such as Churches, political parties, or other groups. I can not say I disagree with this one.
“This is the part where Cameron goes berserk!” – Ferris Bueller
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is famous for its multiple attempts at breaking the fourth wall. In this particular scene, Ferris informs the audience that his friend is about to lose it upon realizing just how many miles they have driven in his dad’s beloved Ferrari.
Given Cameron’s high degree of anxiety throughout the course of the movie though, this really shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise!
“It is his fault he didn’t lock the garage!” – Ferris Bueller
So, you are cutting High School and you want to make sure you don’t waste the day. You have to get around and public transportation at the very least will eat up a lot of time. What do you do in this situation?
If you are Ferris Bueller, you select a rather rad set of wheels. In this case, a classic Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder cherry-picked from Cameron’s father’s garage of fully restored automobiles. Shortly after selecting the Ferrari, Ferris says it’s the fault of Cameron’s father that both he and Cameron could get access to the cars.
“You can never go too far!” – Ferris Bueller
This line occurred in the same scene where Ferris Bueller and his friends are trying to talk their way into a fancy restaurant. When the waiter refused to believe Ferris was whom he claimed and threatened to call the police, Ferris threatened to do the same.
When Ferris refused to give up the phone when another call came in, the waiter went to use another phone. Ferris’s girlfriend tells Ferris that they are going too far and can be arrested. That is when Ferris looks at the screen and says: “You Can Never Go Too Far.”
“You’re not dying, you just can’t think of anything good to do.” – Ferris Bueller
When Ferris first got the idea to cut school, his best friend Cameron didn’t want to participate at first. Following a failed attempt to convince him over the phone, a rather ill-looking Cameron remarks that he is dying. Not two seconds later, Ferris calls back and delivers this popular line to his pal.
“How can I be expected to handle school on a day like this?” – Ferris Bueller
How many times have you woken up, seen it was a beautiful day and thought “I have to go to work?” or “I have to go to school?” No one wants to waste a beautiful day inside instead of going to the beach or taking time to smell the flowers.
Ferris Bueller felt the same way when he saw how nice the day was and realized he was going to be taking a test inside the school. Ferris wanted to take advantage of the day, which is why he decided to cut school and have an adventure.
“Pucker up, Buttercup!” – Ed Rooney
What is better than cutting school with your best friend? How about bringing your girlfriend along? It’s tough to get your girlfriend excused if she has already started attending classes…unless there happens to be an unexpected family emergency!
Cameron calls the principal and disguises his voice claiming to be Sloane’s father. Mr. Rooney thought this was Ferris, so the principal said he wasn’t going to excuse Sloane for a death in the family unless the family produced the dead body for him to see.
When Ed tells Cameron if he didn’t like his policies that he could kiss his ass, Ed followed that up by saying “Pucker Up, Buttercup.” Again, Ed thought he was talking to Ferris but then realized his mistake when a call from Ferris came in on a different line.
“If you stuck a lump of coal up his ass, in two weeks, you’d have a diamond.” – Ferris Bueller
What a nice thing to say about your pal, Ferris. However, this line is uttered to give the audience an idea of just how tightly wound Ferris’ friend happens to be! There’s not much else to say about this line except variations have been used in other media since the film first hit theaters back in 1986.
“So that’s how it is in their family.” – Ed Rooney
This line by itself isn’t so memorable. However, the situation in which Rooney used this line is. After the overly determined principal permitted Sloane to be excused from school, he still wanted to see her be picked up. As such, he decided to wait outside the school with Sloane until her ride arrived.
Ferris came in disguise to pick up Sloan and when they met, they shared a rather passionate kiss. Rooney sees this and then delivers the line above before heading back into the school.
“You’re still here? It’s over.” – Ferris Bueller
This was after the movie had concluded. At this time it wasn’t common to see footage after the credits had rolled. If you continue to watch the movie and don’t turn it off before the credits have finished, Ferris addresses the viewer of the movie in one final breaking of the fourth wall.
From the hallway, he urges the viewer to leave because the movie had ended. There was a planned sequel to the film, but leading man Matthew Broderick, who played Ferris Bueller, felt that a sequel was not necessary.
“Your ass is mine!” – Ed Rooney
Throughout the duration of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ed Rooney was unbelievably obsessed with proving that the title character was playing hooky. When Rooney thought he finally spotted Ferris, Rooney says this line…only to discover that he had in fact delivered it to a female student.
“Pardon my french, but you’re an asshole!” – Cameron Frye
Posing as a Mr. Peterson, Cameron makes one of the most epic prank calls in movie history. When Ed believes the caller to be Bueller, he goes off on a tirade only to be interrupted by his assistant with the real Ferris on the other line. What makes this line even better is Ed Rooney’s classic response of “You’re right sir.”
Hey batter, batter, batter, batter, swing batter! – Cameron Frye
If you are a fan of baseball there is a good chance you have used this heckle. You can thank our boy Cameron for that.
“Bueller…Bueller…Bueller.” – Economics Teacher
While the majority of this film focuses on Ferris and his pals as they enjoy a day of fun and sun in Chicago, it also features multiple scenes of their classmates going through the humdrum of late 80s high school!
One of the most memorable scenes of this caliber showcases Ferris’ economics teacher (played by Ben Stein) taking morning attendance and uttering both a rather reparative and monotone call of “Bueller…Bueller…Bueller” upon reaching Ferris’ name on the sheet.
It’s a rather humorous and overly embellished look at just how bored everyone happened to be, teachers and students alike. While at the same time mirroring a dynamic that still seems to be all too true in classrooms across the globe even twenty-five years later!
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller
The biggest and most quoted line from the film. The movie both starts and ends with this quote and it has been used in countless forms of media and pop culture ever since.
It is a life lesson that we should all live by. An important reminder not just for kids, that we should take the time to enjoy the small thing, the important things. The interesting thing is while significant at the time, these words of wisdom become even more relevant as the years pass.
These are just some of the most memorable lines from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Did your favorite make the cut? What is the most memorable line from this movie in your opinion?
