Alan Ruck From ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ Finally Answers If Ferris Was in Cameron Frye’s Imagination
Actor Alan Ruck, who played Cameron Frye in the iconic ’80s film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off doesn’t buy the fan theory that Frye made up Ferris Bueller as a coping mechanism.
Referred to as the “Fight Club Theory,” some fans believe that instead of exploring Chicago with Bueller, Frye, who is depressed and in bed, conjures up the day and Bueller in his mind. The entire day is actually a coping mechanism for Frye’s gloom.
“I heard about that, some people call it the ‘Fight Club Theory,'” Ruck told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “It’s fun to think about but I don’t actually think that it’s true. I don’t know that Cameron created everybody in his mind and never got out of bed that day. I hope not.”
Alan Ruck described the magic behind John Hughes
Writer/director John Hughes was the genius behind the film, as well as other trailblazing ’80s movies such as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and countless others.
Ruck shared that Hughes knew teens well because he almost was a big kid himself. “He just had a feeling for kids,” Ruck recalled. “And in a way he was a big overgrown kid because it was the ’80s and he was wearing a full mullet. He was wearing Air Jordans and was happiest in a record store just like going through albums and finding new music.”
“He was really like a big kid,” Ruck continued. “And he just had this ability to write. I mean he dashed off Ferris Bueller in about a week. He did Sixteen Candles, the legend has, it in a weekend. So he just was a terrific writer and his feeling about kids was that he treated them like complete human beings with aspirations and hopes and dreams and fears. He didn’t talk down to kids.”
“When you’re 17 and in love and they don’t want to have anything to do with you, older people might say in 10 years you aren’t going to even remember this,” Ruck said. “But right then you think you are gonna die. And he honored that. It’s like, well, it’s a problem right now. He had a good ear for the way kids talked, at least at the time.”
Ruck also describes what really happened to the 1961 Ferrari 250GT California
Frye’s father’s 1961 red Ferrari 250GT California Spider played an important role in the film. The coveted vehicle had a certain number of miles on it and Frye’s father knew the exact mileage. But Bueller talked Frye into taking it out for a joyride in Chicago, leaving the duo to later worry about how to turn back the mileage at the end of the film. They propped the vehicle on a cinderblock, jammed the gear in reverse, and thought they could cleverly reverse the counter.
Fans know the car skids off of the blocks and through the garage’s pristine glass walls. Thankfully an actual Ferrari 250GT, one of which was recently valued at $17 million, was not used for the scene. “There was a kit car,” Ruck assured us. “It was a fiberglass body on top of a Mustang chassis.”
Ruck recently recreated the infamous garage from the film to promote LiftMaster’s smart garage, equipped with a smart garage door opener, built-in camera, and two-way communication.
Ruck also shared that Succession Season 3 will begin shooting in November. He plays Connor Roy on the award-winning HBO series. Plus, his film Freaky hits theaters on Nov. 13.
