There's a lot of talk on the internet today about it being the 30th anniversary of Ferris Bueller's day off. Not the movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which opened in theaters on June 11, 1986, but the character's actual day off. According to an article at The Independent, Ferris, Cameron and Sloane played hooky on June 5, 1985. How do they know? We'll get to that below as we investigate all the different dates that Ferris Bueller's Day Off could take place on.

Wednesday, June 5, 1985

The source for the Independent's claim is a 2011 piece on BaseballProspectus.com, in which Larry Granillo presents evidence that the three friends are in attendance at a Wrigley Field day game between the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves that took place on this date. The deduction came about specifically via the TV broadcast playing when Principal Rooney is at the pizza joint. It was initially assumed that the game we see in the background when Ferris and pals are in the stadium is the same game.

Tuesday, September 24, 1985

In a follow-up piece at BaseballProspectus.com, which the Independent seems to have overlooked, Larry Granillo was partially corrected. While the game featured on the TV set in the pizza place does indeed appear to be the June 5 match between the Cubs and the Braves, the actual game attended by the actors and crew and briefly captured on camera was between the Cubs and the Montreal Expos.

This information comes from the movie's second AD, Ken Collins, who is pretty sure they shot the scene on September 24, getting to Wrigley early to cover most of the shots. He's not 100% sure, though, and it could have been a day earlier, given that the Cubs also played the Expos at Wrigley on September 23. However, he mentions that 30 runs were scored, which would make it the 24th, with its final score of 15-17.

Granillo still concludes that within the movie, not the real life of the shoot, the day off occurs on June 5. Because of that one game shown on TV, which must have been edited together with Ferris's foul ball catch shot that fall.

Saturday, September 28, 1985

Hey, now, there's no school on Saturdays. True, but if we were going to date the day off as being when an event from the movie actually took place or was shot, then this would have to be a possibility. The Von Steuben Parade attended by Ferris and friends, during which Ferris performs "Danke Schoen" and "Twist and Shout," was held on September 28 -- seemingly late that year since Wikipedia claims Von Steuben Day is supposed to be held mid month.

April or May 1986

Saturday not being a school day aside, neither of the September dates work because Ferris Bueller's Day Off obviously takes place in the second half of the school year. But it can't be June 5 of any year, either, because at one point Ferris says, "I'm graduating in June." He wouldn't say that if it was already June. Well, he is pretending to be deliriously sick at the time, so that could be an excuse for the incongruity.

But there are two other reasons to believe Ferris Bueller's day off occurs much earlier. The original screenplay by John Hughes describes it as "a glorious late spring day." Technically, yes, that could include June 5, which is before the summer solstice. More likely, because of Ferris's aforementioned line, Hughes meant sometime in May. Rooney even says, "If Ferris thinks he can coast this last month and still graduate..." implying that it's mid May, a month ahead of the mid-June end of school.

However, the novelization of Ferris Bueller's Day Off (which, yes, I have read and still might have in a box somewhere), puts the events as taking place a month prior. "And it's only April, Rooney thought," as he's looking over Ferris's sick days for the semester. Two pages later, in describing the beautiful day, author Todd Strasser writes, "Spring had arrived..." That implies early in the season.

Of course, novelizations often take liberties that aren't applicable to the actual movie they're based on. Within the movie itself, the only other reason to think it's in April is another line from Ferris, talking directly to the camera, telling us that he and Cameron are "gonna graduate in a couple months." Of course, that contradicts another line from Ferris telling Cameron, "It's a beautiful day. It's almost summer."

As for the year, I just always go with the year of release for when a movie takes place unless there's reason to believe otherwise.

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