Legendary 1980s Film Turning 40 Named 10th Best High School Movie Ever

Thursday marks the 40th anniversary of the release of one of the most significant 1980s coming-of-age movies. On June 11, 1986, Ferris Bueller's Day Off debuted in theatres around the country, and suddenly, people of all ages had an increased desire to play hooky.

Over the last four decades, the John Hughes film, which featured Matthew Broderick as the titular character and protagonist alongside an excellent overall cast (Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffry Jones, Lyman Ward, Ben Stein, Jennifer Grey, Cindy Pickett, Kristy Swanson Et al. ), has remained a cultural mainstay and is still regarded as one of the greatest high school movies ever made.

It's the 10th-greatest high school film of all time, in fact, per one publication

In August 2025, Entertainment Weekly ranked the top 50 high school movies of all time, a list that included Clueless, Grease, The Breakfast Club, Dazed and Confused and more.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off came in at No. 10, right in front of Say Anything, another renowned 1980s hit.

"Who didn't want to be Ferris (Matthew Broderick) in 12th grade?" asked Entertainment Weekly. "Who wouldn't want school to be a magical place where you could wake up and call in sick (with an awesome hacking cough keyboard) and then see your name in a get-well-soon message painted on the side of a water tower by lunch, all while you were cruising through Chicago in a red Ferrari? Thanks to Broderick as Ferris, teenagerdom has never felt more fun or mythic."

It has withstood the test of time

Last November, Vogue included Ferris Bueller's Day Off on its list of "The 21 Best '80s Movies to Rewatch Now."

"Is this movie great? I think so, but cannot say for sure. What I can say is that if there were a measurement for fun on film, the units would be expressed in Buellers," wrote John Ortved.

In 2014, the Library of Congress selected Ferris Bueller's Day Off for inclusion in the United States National Film Registry for being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is rated "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes with an 85% overall approval. It also received a 3/4 from RogerEbert.com and holds a 7.8/10 grade on IMDb.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 2:59 AM.