For example, Ferris plots to get Sloane out of school by faking her grandmother’s death, which is already a pretty low thing to do, but to complete the act Cameron impersonates her father over the phone. The initial set-up and punchline are admittedly funny, with the dramatic music settling in and building to Principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), mortified at his failure at mocking a dead family member, only to reveal Cameron on the other end of the line. Then the scene keeps going, and Ferris can’t decide what he wants Cameron to say; the joke goes on too long, and Ferris even slaps Cameron after he is inconsistent with what he wants Cameron to say. If that’s not enough, Cameron is put in an even riskier position when Ferris insists on taking his dad’s prized Ferrari out into the town, knowing his dad will kill him if anything happens to it.
C.W. Spoerry