'Ferris Bueller' Super Bowl Ad: Pop-Culture Cheat Sheet

We take a closer look at the many references to 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' in Honda's commercial.
By Eric Ditzian

Matthew Broderick in his Honda CR-V commercial
Photo: Honda

Did you catch everything there was to see in the "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"-inspired Super Bowl ad? Perhaps there were some references you didn't pick up, some callbacks that went unnoticed. Maybe you just want to go back and watch, again and again, what is sure to be one of the night's most talked-about Super Bowl commercials.

So go right ahead with the help of MTV News' pop-culture cheat sheet:

Sick phone call: In the movie, it was Ferris' buddy, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), who picked up Ferris' call to plead that he was too sick to leave his bed. In the ad, Ferris receives the call.

Walter Linder: His agent's name in the commercial is the name written right above the name of Abe Froman — the sausage king of Chicago — at the restaurant Ferris and his pals crash.

Pencils and Wite-Out: Bored secretary Grace (Edie McClurg) spent much of the film sniffing Wite-Out and picking pencils out of her hair, so note the pencils and Wite-Out prominently displayed on Linder's desk.

Baseball: The ball Broderick's agent tosses in the air calls to mind both the ball Ferris caught at the Chicago Cubs game and the one he flung at his stereo to kill the fake snores at the film's end as his parents approached his room.

Roeman, Peterson & Frye: The name of Linder's agency, etched in glass on his door, is a reference not only to Froman, but to Cameron Frye and Ferris' girlfriend, Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara).

"He bought it": After Ferris successfully fools his parents, the first line he utters to camera, much like in the ad, is, "They bought it." Later, he pops off another classic line referenced in the ad: "Incredible. One of the worst performances of my career, and they never doubted it for a second."

Opening curtains: After Ferris successfully fools his parents, he thrusts open the curtains in his bedroom and wonders how he can be expected to go to school on such a gorgeous day.

Yello's "Oh Yeah": Though the song plays in the commercial as Ferris opens the curtains, it doesn't play in the film until the first time we see the Frye family Ferrari.

Twisty towel: Both Ferris and Matthew's preferred post-shower getup includes a robe and a twisty towel on the head.

"Broderick, Broderick": A callback to one of the film's most famous lines, in which Ferris' dry-as-toast teacher (Ben Stein) takes attendance and, in a ridiculous monotone, says, "Bueller? Bueller?"

Rottweiler: The dog sitting by another Honda outside the hotel is a Rottweiler, the same breed of dog the Buellers own and which terrorized Principal Edward R. Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) as he attempts to bust Ferris.

Detroit Red Wings jersey: On the roller coaster, the man behind Ferris is wearing a Red Wings jersey, the same one worn by Cameron in the movie.

Grace: The woman who calls Broderick while in the Honda is named Grace, another reference to Ferris' school secretary.

Exaggerated coughing: When Broderick coughs loudly while on the car phone, we thought back to the call Ferris made to some high school freshmen, during which he used a keyboard sound effect to make it seem like he was literally coughing up a lung.

Who's in the driver's seat?: As Broderick pulls up to a stop in his car, he discovers he is right next to Linder. He quickly hides behind a stuffed panda. In the film, Ferris finds himself stuck in traffic right next to his dad and switches places with Sloane.

Trench coat and clarinet: Look closely during this scene and you'll see a man playing the instrument, a nifty callback to Ferris' activities early in the movie.

SOCHOIC: Broderick's license plate refers to the way Ferris describes the Ferrari: "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Natural History Museum: Instead of attending the Art Institute of Chicago as in the movie, Broderick checks out the history museum. Instead of walking hand in hand with kids, he chases them.

The walrus: Two references in one. First off, Ferris shouts out John Lennon early in the film, saying, "He was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people." Secondly, the staring contest with the animal riffs on Cameron's deep gaze into "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," Georges Seurat's pointillist masterpiece.

Horse race: In the film, Ferris checked out a Cubs game. In the ad, Broderick opts for a horse race.

Chinese parade: Whereas Ferris rocked a parade in downtown Chicago, belting out "Twist and Shout" and "Danke Schoen," this time around, he crashes a Chinese parade.

The valet: Call us crazy, but the way that valet shadily looked at Broderick, we were thinking back to the garage attendant who told Ferris to relax, because he was a professional, yet took the Ferrari on a joy ride. In the ad, the valet soon peels away from the curb and is seen racing the car off a jump.

"Life moves pretty fast": Indeed, Broderick will say it again, as he did twice during the film itself: "If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

What "Ferris Bueller" references did we miss? Let us know in the comments!

Check out everything we've got on "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678553/ferris-bueller-super-bowl-ad-cheat-sheet.jhtml

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