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Movie · Comedy · 1986 · PG-13

Ferris Bueller's Day Off: parents' guide

12+our pick

Best for ages 12 and up. Rated PG-13.

A sunny, endlessly quoted comedy about skipping school that tweens and young teens usually love, as long as parents are fine with a hero who lies his way through the day and faces no consequences. Language is the main issue: frequent s-words and "ass," plus one f-word. The violence is slapstick, mostly at the dean's expense, and sexual content stops at kissing, a flirty candygram and a nude drawing on a computer screen. Cameron's misery over his cold, controlling father gives the film a sad undercurrent worth talking about. Fine from about 12 with a parent.

What's in it

Violence

Mild

Slapstick only. Jeanie kicks the dean in the face and knocks him out, the family's Rottweiler chases and attacks him, and a prized Ferrari crashes backward through a garage wall and is wrecked. No blood.

Language

Moderate

Fairly frequent: s-words, "bulls--t," "ass," "bitch," "bastard," "goddammit" and "d--khead," with one f-word listed in a detailed guide. Also a middle finger and insults like "slut" and "whore."

Sex and nudity

Mild

Ferris and Sloane make out a few times, and Jeanie kisses a young delinquent at the police station. A nurse-costumed woman delivers a racy candygram, Ferris enlarges the breasts on a computer drawing of a nude woman, and there's talk of seeing a girl change.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Moderate

Mostly background drinking and smoking by adults at a fancy restaurant. In one police-station scene Jeanie sits beside a young delinquent who appears to be on drugs. Pill bottles in Ferris's room are props for faking sick.

Scary or intense scenes

Mild

Little that is scary. Cameron slips into a near-catatonic state and later sinks into a pool before Ferris dives in after him, and he dreads facing his father over the wrecked car.

Worth talking about

Ferris breaks every rule and never pays for it, while Cameron finally stands up to his father. Which character actually changes by the end, and what does the movie say about how parents shape their kids?

Where to stream →

On our lists

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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Wikipedia, bbfc.co.uk. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.