Gary Taylor is a Coral Springs real estate owner with a wife and two kids. Every Sunday night is family time, when mom, dad, and the kids get together to enjoy a wonderful film. Just a couple weeks ago, Gary picked a favorite from his high school days, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Gary explained to his kids that 1986’s PG-13 Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is unquestionably Matthew Broderick’s best work. Starring as a role model of dad’s generation, Ferris, and his buddy spring his girlfriend from class to embark on a day of adventure in downtown.
There’s nothing Ferris can’t handle. Cruising in a breath-taking 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California, the trio visits Sears Tower, the Art Institute, the Board of Trade and a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. The Lennon-quoting Ferris even boards a parade float to lip-sync to the fab Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.” It’s quite a “sick day.” Watch for a young Charlie Sheen as the juvenile delinquent with bloodshot eyes in a police station. There’s also Louie Anderson as a flower deliveryman who accompanies a singing nurse to the kid’s home. As dad explained to his children before watching the slick, some parts may be childish and immature. But then again, so is high school.
The very next week, Gary’s daughter insisted that the family watches 2005’s Charlie & the Chocolate Factory in their home for sale in Coral Springs. Of course, dad tried to convince her they should see director Mel Stuart’s 1971 classic starring Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Dad lost that argument.
We begin with five golden tickets, like five lucky strikes of lighting, ready to strike without notice at any part of the map. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory stars Johnny Depp as the eccentric candy man. Willy descends Wankamania upon the world by hiding five Golden Tickets inside candy bars that grant entrance into his top-secret factory. The theme is simple, family values and honesty.
Lucky winners include the ever-whining Veruca Salt, along with television and video obsessed techi, Mike Teevee. Violet Beauregarde is an obnoxious gum chewer whose skin eventually turns violet. Underprivileged, but lucky last ticket-finder Charlie Bucket, escorted by his Grandpa Joe, is the last man standing as the other children are picked off in a familiar fashion.
Draped in a purple top hat, giant sunglasses, and Chiclet teeth, Depp is comical in the slightly different Burtonesque structure. The gothic-styled candy man certainly doesn’t have the clever one-liners that Wilder possesses when talking to the mumbling children. Incorporating a childhood for Willy, Depp reunites with his dad, an anti-chocolate dentist. In fact, Wonka has trouble pronouncing the word “parent” prior to the reunion. Burton’s greatest alteration is Violet’s mother, a hilarious silicone queen possessing a plastic tan and face. Unfortunately, the film’s only singing comes from the Oompa Loompas, one midget, digitally cloned 165 times. Yup, that means there’s no “Cheer Up Charlie.”
Dad eventually had to admit that While comparing Burton’s Wonka to 1971’s fantasy film is a disappointment, the venture is still worth the trip for Coral Springs luxury homeowners.
About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty:
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty serves 19 counties throughout Florida with over 40 locations and approximately 1,800 Sales Professionals. The full-service brokerage company, founded in 1999, is a subsidiary of Lennar Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and is a franchise member of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ network, one of the few organizations entrusted to use the world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway name. The company offers residential and commercial services as well as seasonal rentals, property management, REO & Foreclosures, corporate relocations, referral services, title, home service plans, and personal concierge services. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty ranks in the Top 10 in the network among 42,000 Sales Professionals, 1,200 offices throughout 47 states. The company is the overall No. 1 fundraiser for The Sunshine Kids Foundation, having generated more than $3.37 million since 2001. Visit www.BHHSFloridaRealty.com.
