Comparing Ferris Bueller's Day Off 'And Deadpool'

Engaging the audience is a key aspect that every movie strives to achieve. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, directed by John Hughes and Deadpool, directed by Tim Miller, both endeavour to engage their audiences with the use of character development throughout the entire films, by the use of action scenes throughout, the featured scene settings and with a focus on comedy throughout both Deadpool and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Deadpool follows the events of Wade Wilson (Deadpool), and his lust for revenge against Francis (Antagonist) who is attempting to destroy Wade’s life. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off follows Ferris (The Protagonist) taking the day off school with his friends Cameron and Sloane. Although both these films incorporate many similarities in

their pursuit of audience engagement, they both also accommodate subtle differences with their inclusion of many different film techniques required to target the different audiences.

Character development is a major film technique used by both Hughes and Miller to engage the audience, albeit varied in their inclusion of the character development due to the differences in the genres of the films. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is unusual with its character development, as the main character, Ferris Bueller, does not actually change throughout the movie, he is more of a catalyst for the development of other supporting characters throughout the film, in particular his friend Cameron Frye. At the beginning of the film, Cameron is portrayed as a hypochondriac who is too afraid to do anything. Cameron slowly develops over the course of the film, with Ferris introducing him to the audience as ‘frequently sick, how he's happier when he's sick, how his family life is messed up, how he's never been in love, and how he's afraid’ and Cameron’s initial reluctance to take the day off with Ferris, until Ferris manages to manipulate him into coming along and also taking his father’s prized Ferrari. Throughout Ferris’ adventure through Chicago Cameron remains disinterested with the proceedings, and constantly asks when they are going to head home. Cameron also portrays a jealous streak towards Ferris, when Ferris jumps onto one of the floats during a parade and thrills the crowd with his singing. Cameron remarks; ‘You know, as long as I've known him, everything works for him. There's nothing he can't handle. I can't handle anything - school, parents and the future. Ferris can do anything.’ Towards the end of the film as the trio drive home, when Cameron realises that the Ferrari had been taken for a joyride and has many more miles on it he is mortified, and sees that his entire life is being controlled by his father. When Ferris and Cameron return the Ferrari they realise they aren’t able to undo all the miles put on the car, and this is the pivotal scene where Cameron finally stands up for himself after realising his father has been ruining his life, stating; ‘I am not going to sit on my ass as the events that affect me unfold to determine the course of my life. I'm going to take a stand. I'm going to defend it. Right or wrong, I'm going to defend it.’

Miller’s use of character development throughout Deadpool is much more subtle in comparison to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off yet it still allows the audience to follow Wade Wilson’s (Deadpool) progression throughout the film. The film introduces Wade as the suited vigilante ‘Deadpool’ trying to exact revenge on the antagonist ‘Francis’. Wade then tells the audience: ‘You're probably thinking, "My boyfriend said this was a superhero movie but that guy in the suit just turned that other guy into a fucking kabab!" Well, I may be super, but I'm no hero. And yeah, technically, this is a murder. But some of the best love stories start with a murder. And that's exactly what this is, a love story. And to tell it right... I gotta take you back to long before I squeezed this ass into red spandex.’ The movie then flashes back to Wade working as a Mercenary for hire, who only cares for money. Eventually Wade falls in love with a woman named Vanessa, and Wade eventually proposes to her but then learns he is suffering from Cancer of the liver, lungs, prostate and brain, and leaves Vanessa to try and cure his cancer. He eventually ends up in the care of the antagonist Francis, who injects him with a Mutation serum, and then tortures Wade until his body mutates, leaving Wade disfigured. Wade eventually tries to escape but Francis impales him and leaves him for dead, although Wade survives the fire. Wade then creates the persona ‘Deadpool’ and begins his pursuit of Francis for him to reverse his mutation, as Wade believes that Vanessa won’t love him anymore with his disfigured body. At the end of the film Wade realises that he can’t be cured, but he then realises that Vanessa still loves him, so even though he may be a merciless killer seeking revenge throughout the film, he has developed from an indifferent Mercenary to someone who was determined to win his loved one back. So both Miller and Hughes have a prevalent use of character development throughout their respective films to help engage the audience.

Both Miller and Hughes also use the settings of their films to provide a greater engagement to the audience.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is set in Chicago, and throughout the film duration Ferris, Cameron and Sloane spend their day off travelling all across the city, with Ferris narrating their journey through the city. During their travels, the trio visit many distinct landmarks including the Art Institute of Chicago, Sears Tower, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and Wrigley Field, as well as watching as the Von Steuben Day Parade. The movie also features scenes in Ferris’ home and typical suburban backyards, as well as Ferris and his friends taking the day off school, and this allows the audience to relate to the escapades of the trio throughout the film. This is especially prevalent when Ferris pretends to be sick, and after fooling his parents he turns to the audience and exclaims; ‘Incredible, one of the worst performances of my career and they never doubted it for a second. How can I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?’ This is especially appropriate for any audience members that still attend high school, and another example is when the camera cuts to Ferris’ school, and the English teacher is teaching a lesson, and he exclaims; ‘ In... what... way... does the author's use of the prison [takes chalk and draws prison bars through the word 'prison' on blackboard] symbolize the protagonist's struggle, and how does this relate to our discussion of the uses of irony? This statement in itself is ironic, as school itself can also be considered as a form of prison, and thus allows for a greater audience engagement due to a large percentage of the audience able to relate to Ferris’ feelings about

school.

Deadpool, on the other hand, does not identify any specific location for the events occurring during the length of the film, but with its large skyscrapers and expansive highways, it seems likely that the location featured in the movie is meant to represent a typical American city. The film shows highways filled with cars and at the same time it also features much more poverty-stricken areas hidden away from view from what most people normally see in the city. Wade’s home where he lives also breaks the usual stereotypes with him living in apartment complex that is more of a slum. This provides a contrast against the X-Men mansion where the other two Super Heroes live in, and the mansion is the stereotypical house where Superheroes[ usually reside. Hughes uses the city of Chicago to allow the audience to obtain a greater engaging with Ferris and the other characters, while Miller uses stereotypical features of American cities, as well providing a contrast in stereotypes for Superhero dwellings to attain a greater audience engagement for the duration of the film.

Another prominent film technique used by Miller and Hughes is the use of action scenes throughout the film. Although Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is not an action movie, there are still many action scenes featured throughout. One noteworthy action scene is where the two parking valets are taking Cameron’s father’s Ferrari for a joyride, and the movie shows them racing along side streets. As they approach the top of a hill the camera drops down to just past the crest of the hill, and the Ferrari jumps over the crest and flies above the camera in slow motion. As the car slowly passes over the camera the Star Wars theme songs begins playing linking the scene to Star Wars. The film introduction features the same song playing as a ship slowly flies over the camera so this scene allows an engagement to audiences with the reference to Star Wars. Another prominent action scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is the chase scene where Ferris is trying to make it back to his house before his parents get home, and there are many cuts between Ferris running home and his sister Jeannie is driving their mum home. This frequent switching builds the tension of the scene, with the audience held in suspense as to whether Ferris will make it home before Jeannie or not. The scene where Ferris starts singing in the parade is also an example of how Hughes uses music to allow the audience a greater engagement with the movie. Ferris sings hit songs during the parade, and all the spectators are cheering and clapping, thus providing a greater atmosphere for the scene and greater engagement for the audience viewing it.

Deadpool also incorporates many action scenes during the length of the film, and the introductory fight scene - Wade Wilson starts a fight in an automobile travelling along a highway resulting in an action-packed scene. One particular feature is the use of close-up camera shots to provide an enhanced viewing experience, and this is seen when Deadpool is facing a group of bad guys he realises he only has 12 bullets, and when he fires the camera switches to the falling cartridge case from the pistol. Each casing has a number stamped on the rear, counting down towards zero with each consecutive shot, thus increasing the feeling of tension as Wade slowly runs out of ammunition. Another major feature of action scenes throughout Deadpool is Wade’s personal narration of his situation to the audience, and the fourth-wall break throughout the film allows the audience to feel a greater engagement to the film. Deadpool also incorporates humour throughout the action scenes, in particular in the scene where Wade shoves a hot car Cigarette Lighter into a bad guy’s mouth, with Wade then commenting ‘I don’t usually say this, but don’t swallow.’ This incorporation of crude humour as well as the running commentary from Wade throughout the film allows for a much greater engagement for the audience watching the movie.

Although both John Hughes and Tim Miller have different target audiences for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Deadpool, they both utilise a variety of similar film techniques to engage their viewers, with both movies having their main characters as a source of narration throughout the length of the film, as well as using similar settings for the locations depicted in the movies. Muller and Hughes also use action scenes to engage the audience although Deadpool’s are much more violent in comparison to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off they both achieve their purpose. By using action scenes and many other film techniques the result is a greater audience engagement during the entire film viewing.