‘Red Oaks’ Star Craig Roberts Will Happily Ruin ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ For You

Red Oaks is Amazon’s delightful look back at the fun (and angst) of coming of age in the 1980s. The show centers on college kid David, who finds work as a tennis pro at the local country club during one fateful summer. Rising star Craig Roberts plays David with a mix of wit and vulnerability.

The show’s producers and stars were on hand at last week’s Summer 2016 TCA to answer the press’s questions about last season and the upcoming second season. Interestingly, Craig Roberts was decidedly…quiet during the event. He barely spoke during the TCA press conference and was a bit laconic during my interview (set to run closer to the season two debut) with the cast afterwards. While Ennis Esmer, Oliver Cooper, and Alexandra Socha playfully bounced off each other, Roberts added a word here or there — and only when prompted.

Then I asked the group to name their favorite ‘80s movie. As Oliver Cooper rattled off the John Hughes oeuvre, he tacked on “…and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” That’s when the fireworks exploded and that’s when Craig Roberts destroyed Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Craig Roberts: I have a problem with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Meghan O’Keefe: What is your problem?

Ennis Esmer: You said this before. What is your problem with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?

Craig: I don’t think it works.

Oliver Cooper: It definitely works.

Ennis: You mean like the cool thing he invented to make it seem like he’s still in the bed at home?

Craig: Well, no. Just the fact that—

Ennis: That worked great!

Craig: Yeah, sure, but I mean it’s works as a movie, but I don’t… I mean I get that he’s like Jiminy Cricket in the fact that he’s doing that, but like –

Ennis: Is he? Is that a reference to Jiminy Cricket?

Craig: Well, it’s just like he’s like the narrator almost. Like, he’s kind of narrating it, but his story does not develop at all.

Ennis: So he’s just a trouble-maker.

Craig: Yeah, and the main story is the best friend who is not really the main character. And he’s the only one who has a character arc. But structurally, no, it does not work.

Oliver: The thing about John Hughes —

Craig: Mister John Hughes.

Oliver: The thing about John Hughes that he does well that makes you forgive things like that…he got youth. He knew how to get performances. They’re all good actors, and they would have probably have given a good performance, but he always got like this special performance out of everyone. I can’t even explain it. He really brings out the best—

Craig: I’m coming in as Devil’s Advocate one more time. But what also works about those movies is they’re set in the ‘80s. There was a lot more innocence in cinema in general. Now, we’re very cynical. For instance – and you can be involved in this theory — the fact is Ferris Bueller was seen as badass. He skips school and goes to an art gallery. Now you have to burn a house down to impress people.

Ennis: That’s true.

Oliver: This have definitely changed —

Craig: You couldn’t make Ferris Bueller now. Unless you were doing some sort of Drive homage to it.

I’m not saying that Craig Roberts and Oliver Cooper kept debating the merits of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off after the interview ended, because that would be off the record, but they might have.

Season Two of Red Oaks premieres November 11. Check back here for more about Red Oaks closer to the big premiere.

[Watch Red Oaks on Prime Video]

[Watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on Prime Video]

[Photos: Everett Collection]