Answer: I thought he was freaking out, realizing the picture was made of thousands of tiny dots (pointillism).
Question: What did Rooney mean when he told Grace to "go soak your head"?
Answer: It's an old insult, somewhat equivalent to 'buzz off'.
Answer: Probably, yes. From dialogue, Ferris is about to graduate, and he and Jean seem to be at the same school, so either she's actually the younger of the two (which seems unlikely - would parents give the younger child a car but not the older?) or they're in the same school year. On the assumption that they're in the same year, the most likely scenario is that, yes, they're twins. The only other possibility is that they were born less than a year apart (putting them in the same school year), with Jean probably being the older of the two.
Or Ferris had repeated a year of school sometime in the past and Jeanie had caught up. The gifted car vs computer is a key point of resentment for Ferris throughout the movie, suggesting that Ferris may not have been trusted with a car, and got the computer instead.
Answer: Twins (even fraternal twins) are usually much closer in temperament to each other. Jean, on the other hand, seems very uptight and even envious of Ferris. Could be that Jean is an adopted child, same age as Ferris. There is typically some friction with adopted kids.
Question: Can someone please tell me how old Ferris and Jeanie are? It seems that Ferris is a senior and that would make him about 17 or 18, but then why would Jeanie have a car if she was younger, especially since Ferris says that he asked for a car and didn't get it? If she was older, what would she still be doing in school?
Answer: They're twins.
Question: Just before Ferris makes it into his house, Ed Rooney appears and finally catches Ferris. Just as he's about to lay into Ferris, Jeanie appears and covers for him. As soon as Ferris gets in the house, Jeanie shows Ed Rooney his wallet and mentions that she found it on the floor causing him to be shocked. After being chased off by the dog, why did Rooney simply give up?
Answer: Rooney had gotten so carried away with trying to catch Ferris skipping school, that he illegally entered the Bueller house. Jeannie found his wallet and had proof that he had trespassed, an act that could get him arrested and fired from his job. She is blackmailing him to leave. He knew he'd lost and left.
Question: Its an American film, set in America, with American kids in an American way of life...so why the HUGE Union Jack on the inside of Ferris' bedroom door? What's the significance with Britain?
Chosen answer: The British flag was a trendy item in the mid-80s. You had it on t-shirts, on pants, on all kinds of items, and kids would draw it on their sneakers (remember Converse's rubber toes? That was perfect to draw a British flag!) or on whatever they could draw on.
Answer: It's tribute to the Beatles. Ferris sang the Beatles version of "Twist and shout" at the parade.
Question: A lot of people in this film sing the song "Danke Shoen." Why do they do this?
Question: In the beginning, Cameron is on the phone with Rooney, pretending to be Mr. Peterson, in the Bueller's kitchen. Ferris then calls the office for homework assignments, and he is on the round, red phone from his room. This movie was made in 1986- were phones with dual lines on them available in 1986?
Answer: Yes, they were available back then. Plus it could have been two separate lines not necessarily one "dual" line. They were used a lot in homes with financially well off people as Ferris' parents obviously are.
Question: In the US, can you really be taken to a police station for (presumably) making a phony phone call? To me it seems like a waste of resources since it is probably a common occurrence. Also Jeannie would have stuck to her story that it was true...as break-ins do happen all the time.
Answer: In the United States, phoning in a false report to police can be treated as either a misdemeanor or felony offense (depending on jurisdiction). A false report is considered obstructing law enforcement, which is pretty serious. A misdemeanor offense can result in jail time of a year or less, while a felony offense can result in more than a year's jail time and heavy fines. The important factor that makes it a crime is knowingly trying to mislead the police, not accidentally reporting false information. In "Ferris Beuller's Day Off," Jean was not trying to mislead the police; but, lacking evidence, the police assumed she was knowingly phoning in a false report, so they arrested her (probably on a misdemeanor).
Answer: Illinois law makes making a false report on 911 a form of disorderly conduct.
Answer: I think the main thing was Jeanie wasn't in school and was probably taken in for truancy as well as the supposedly phony call. But it's unlikely that they would have taken her to the police station if she was picked up at home.
Question: Obviously Sloane knew the moment the nurse came in that she was going to be leaving because Ferris planned the whole thing. But wouldn't it be a bit of a giveaway to the rest of the class and the teacher that she starts putting on her coat and gathering her things before any of them find out why the nurse is there? The nurse could have been coming to see someone else, and if Ferris wanted to make sure he and his friends could have the day off and not get caught by Rooney, shouldn't Sloane have been a bit more subtle or played along as if she didn't know what was going on?
Answer: Yes, and she does play along once the nurse and the teacher turn their attention to her. When the nurse first comes in, however, she and the teacher aren't looking in her (Sloane's) direction, so she quickly gets ready while the nurse informs the teacher of what (she thinks) has happened. Maybe a little overeager, sure, and definitely a risk, but her excitement over spending a day playing hooky with her boyfriend just overcame her, I guess.
Answer: Sloane knew it was a hoax. Ferris would not have done something like that without her knowing. Rooney pretty much had figured it out, but could never prove anything. Once he was discovered inside the Bueller house (illegally) by Ferris' sister, anything he did know he would have to keep to himself.
raywest ★
Sloane starts to put her jacket on the moment that she sees the school nurse walk into the classroom, suggesting that Sloane already knew she would be called out, and she smiles to her classmates.