A TV flop starring Jennifer Aniston in front of friends

Jennifer Aniston would become one of NBC’s biggest stars as Rachel Green on Friends, but the road to stardom wasn’t always smooth sailing. One of her bumps in the road (besides starring in a funny horror comedy Leprechaun), was her role in the television adaptation of John Hughes’ 80s classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Aniston was perfect for the role of Ginny, Ferris’ sister, replacing Jennifer Grey, who played the character in the film. Aniston’s low, slurred voice, pouting mouth, and exasperated sighs perfectly portray Ginny’s positive attitude and frustration with Ferris’ antics, namely his uncanny ability to charm everyone he meets and his clever ways of getting out of trouble. She’s great for the role, but the TV show itself? Well, it’s not that great. It’s even surprising.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the best John Hughes movie ever made, focuses on the ultimate day of graduation—the last celebration before its characters Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane face the mundanity of adulthood. However, to make the story work for the TV series, the writers had to go back in time, taking us to Ferris’ junior year to explore the everyday life of the suave, fun-loving teenage miscreant. The concept was short-lived, as the series was eventually canceled just months after its debut, airing only 13 episodes. Reviews were poor, p Citizen of Ottawa calling the series a “high school horror” that deserves a “failing grade.” It just didn’t have the magical spark of the movie, of existing in a weird parallel universe where this version of Ferris wasn’t like The Boston Globe let’s say memorable, “the kind of high school student with whom other children would like to communicate”, but the one with whom “other children would like to communicate”.

The series is trying something that might be reasonable if the lead actor, Charlie Schlatter, didn’t have such a creepy presence. Schlatter doesn’t have the swagger and boyish charm of Matthew Broderick, instead he comes across as a cool all-around clown who’s more annoying than funny. In this strange, upside-down world of Ferris Bueller, there is an original John Hughes film based on the life of Schlatter-as-Ferris. He complains about the movie and even berates Matthew Broderick for playing himself, going so far as to saw off his own head from a life-size cardboard cutout. “It’s TV; it’s real,” he says. While this meta-joke may have seemed like a smart way to start the show — since the comparisons were inevitable — it feels unnecessary with all the weird changes from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Why create a series at all? None of the cast members return, and the action moves from Chicago to Santa Monica, removing the mundane suburban atmosphere of the original film. Ferris’ high school shenanigans could have been fun to watch, but it all feels routine and inconsequential. The short season revolved around Ferris sparring with Ed Rooney, meeting Sloane, and helping Cameron find a girl. There are storylines about getting in an elevator with Rooney, wanting to run for student president, and dealing with a nagging grandmother. “Ferris Bueller” just doesn’t have the heart of a John Hughes film, especially without Matthew Broderick’s magnetic performance. Ferris’ story wasn’t just about fun rides visiting museums and destructive advice; it was about teenagers struggling with their future, caring for their friends, and dealing with family issues. If you’re strangely fascinated by how difficult this early part of Jennifer Aniston’s career was, there are a few clips on YouTube.