To create the cereal prizes to tie-in to the movie promotion, we need a brief synopsis of what Cameron Frye's Day Off is about. Can't just make a Detroit Red Wings sweater eraser and call it good.
What's fun is Alan Ruck has already reprised Cameron in a commercial for home security, where the scene is set that he has a family and a nice corporate job downtown. In those 30 seconds, he has established he's a much more mellow character than he was as a teen - we can thank Ferris' influence for that. And he is wise to his son and his friend's shenanigans.
And rich. He owns the killer house and the roadster.
So WHY would Cameron Frye have the day off?
A - He's been downsized;
B - Ferris has roped him into a caper; or
C - His family needs him for something, and it's dad to the rescue.
I don't want this to become a downer, as this will be an escapist, nostalgia trip that exists purely for fun, so A is out. As a tie back to the first movie, where he hated his dad for working and ignoring his family, Cameron seems like the kind of dad who would be there for his kids.
And Ferris is an icon.
Let's combine B and C!
But what would his kid or kids need him for? The commercial has established he has a Ferris-like son. But what about a fun exploration of the father-daughter dynamic?
I picture a daughter who is a little too much like the Cameron of old, and her dad wants her to live a little. What if she's showing signs of busting out of her shell and needs dad and Uncle Ferris to help her?
Antagonists would be the older brother from the commercial as a reprise of Ferris and Jeanie's sibling rivalry; mom who doesn't want her to become a screwup like her brother (a cautionary tale); and life itself, with college, and perhaps untapped talent on the line.
Ferris is on board, a professional cybersecurity expert putting those early computer skills to good use.
Hilarity ensues.
The original Ferris Bueller's Day Off was a love letter to Chicago between the Cubs game, the parade, the Sears Tower, and of course, "The Sausage King of Chicago." Cam's love for cars and the Detroit Red Wings sees him relocating to the Detroit area, so we can bring our affection to the Motor City and have him working for Ford, capitalizing on the Motor City Renaissance.
Musical montage at Hitsville USA.
A stop at Comerica, where a day game is happening. Cam and Ferris lament missing the game and still manage to catch a ball, perhaps a home run out by GVSU's Detroit offices.
To make the breakfast food connection, daughter Gord (naturally) has to be a cereal freak.
Before readers complain (crickets), this isn't the Great American Novel; this is an escapist-nostalgia comedy created to fictiously sell cereal.
And a fun fantasy start.
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