The Ferris Bueller Spin-Off Will Let Us Revisit Key Scenes Through Other Characters' Eyes, According To Jon Hurwitz
Has '80s nostalgia in Hollywood gotten out of hand? Yes. But then again, it's not like we're gonna complain about a spin-off of the best '80s movie of all time. Rather than attempting any sort of remake or sequel, "Sam and Victor's Day Off" will take us through the day of the two valet drivers who took the Ferrari on a joy ride and caused Cameron (Alan Ruck) so many headaches. We don't have many details just yet, but we know the movie will be made by the same creators behind "Cobra Kai," the successful TV spinoff of "Karate Kid."
Much like how "Cobra Kai" explores the perspectives of characters who didn't get the main focus in the original movie, this spinoff is expected to depict some events of "Ferris Bueller" from the outside point of view the valets provide. As co-creator Jon Hurwitz explained, "Some of the iconic set pieces or locations that we saw through Ferris' eyes, perhaps we'll get to see through the eyes of other characters."
More than anything, the spinoff will try to capture the same sense of wish fulfillment the original movie pulled off. Instead of Ferris skipping school and getting away with it, it looks like we'll get to see Sam and Victor goof off at their jobs with no repercussions. What exactly happened to them during their reckless adventure? Looks like we'll get to find out.
Everyone's got their own story
This is not the first time someone has done a spinoff in this manner, nor will it be the last. The most famous comparison is the 1966 play "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," which takes two extremely minor characters in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and follows them throughout the events of the original play from only their perspective, shedding a whole new light on the situation. At parts, it makes the events seem funnier and more absurd, but it also emphasizes the tragic consequences of Hamlet's actions in a way that further explore the original play's themes. Notably, the scenes where they talk to Hamlet play out exactly the same as they did in the original.
The same basic premise was also behind the "Phineas and Ferb" parody episode of "Star Wars: A New Hope." Whereas other shows often parody "Star Wars" by having cast members play the main characters, "Phineas and Ferb" had their characters play Luke Skywalker's neighbors on Tatooine. They go on an adventure that has them constantly crossing paths with Luke, Han and Leia, but the two groups rarely directly interact. It's a surprisingly smartly-written episode for a kids' show, one that takes on an already-parodied-to-death movie in a fresh new way.
A tribute to the original
It makes sense that creators are drawn to this sort of approach, as it provides a fun way of returning to the original story without ever retreading it. It also avoids the potential controversies that come with any sort of direct sequel. The original movie left audiences to imagine for themselves where each character ended up after high school, and any movie that tried to show us the characters' lives today would've ruined that.
It's also just fun to imagine that every single character in a story has a full, interesting life, even if that was clearly not the writers' original intention. Sam and Victor were one-dimensional joke characters in the original film, but it's a lot funnier to imagine them with some of their own personal demons to deal with. When Jon Hurwitz watches "Ferris Bueller," he wonders a lot about the two valets. "What's going on in their lives?" he asks. "What may have led to them needing that car, wanting that car and taking it? When you begin to unravel all the threads, it sparked a lot of ideas."
If done well, "Sam and Victor's Day Off" could serve admirably as a mostly standalone film that both captures the rebellious spirit of the original movie and gives us fun new glimpses of the original characters and events, without changing or undermining any of it. "We love and respect movies that everyone talks about being untouchable," Hurwitz assured fans of the original, "and this isn't looking to touch or mess with 'Ferris Bueller' in any way."