The 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off features one of the most memorable art museum visits in cinematic history. This year, in honor of the opening day of hockey season, the Detroit Red Wings recreated the beloved sequence at the Detroit Institute of Arts, in a parody of the film starring former players Darren McCarty and Danny DeKeyser.

“When the Red Wings call, you just have to answer,” Jen Snyder, the DIA’s chief digital officer, told me.
”They came to us saying ‘we have this wild idea,’ and when they pitched it to us, we said ‘absolutely, we have to be a part of this.'”

The original, of course, is set in Chicago, the hometown of director John Hughes. But Ferris’s best friend, Cameron Frye, notably wears the red and white jersey of legendary Red Wings star Gordie Howe throughout the movie, making the perfect tie in for the Detroit team. (It was allegedly the character’s way of rebelling against his dad.)

“The jersey was the spark of ‘What if we build this entire idea around all of our fans taking the day off and coming back to the arena?'” Ben Broder, the team’s vice president of marketing, told me. “We were trying to connect our fans in a non-traditional way, not just to the hockey team but to highlight some of the most historic landmarks in the city of Detroit. Obviously, it’s a no-brainer to partner with the Detroit Institute of Arts.”

Taking the role of Ferris, originally played by Matthew Broderick, was McCarty, who won four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings across 13 seasons with the team. DeKeyser, who played nine seasons for the Red Wings, stood in for Cameron (Alan Ruck), while Daniella Bruce, the team’s current broadcast reporter, took the place of Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara).

For “Darren McCarty’s Day Off”—which had official permission from the studio, Paramount—the three reenacted the original trio’s visit to the Art Institute of Chicago.

“Darren McCarty’s Day Off” filming at the Detroit Institute of Arts on September 16, 2024. Danny DeKeyser, Daniella Bruce, and Darren McCarty stand recreating a scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in front of Paul Cézanne’s Three Skulls (ca. 1898) and Madame Cézanne (1886–87). Photo courtesy of Allison Farrand, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment.

“We went shot for shot to try to find the artwork that matched most closely to the movie,” Snyder said. “The filming was so much fun.
It was just such a blast to have them.”

The trio are captured running up the museum steps, and joining hands with a field trip of children walking through the galleries past a classical statue. In front of Paul Cézanne’s Three Skulls (ca. 1898) and Madame Cézanne (1886–87), they stand in a line, arms crossed, McCarty closest to the camera, pondering the art.

Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, and Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). Photo courtesy of Allstar Picture Library Limited/Alamy Stock Photo.

But instead of locking his gaze on the little girl in George Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884) like Cameron, DeKeyser gets lost in the eyes of Mr. Hockey himself, staring at a larger-than-life painting of Howe in his playing days.

The painting, by Tom Mosser, is not actually part of the DIA collection. The artist painted it in 2017 as one of a series of works for the team as a project with consulting agency Sports and the Arts. DeKeyser actually filmed the scene in front of the similarly sized Quilting Time (1986) by Romare Bearden.

A still from “Darren McCarty’s Day Off” from filming at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is remade with a painting of Gordie Howe, whose jersey features prominently in the film. Photo courtesy of Hockeytown Pictures, Detroit Red Wings.

“You could probably have your own Cameron moment staring at Quilting Time,” Snyder said.

The Howe portrait, a three-story-tall reproduction of which is on view at the Red Wings’s home at Little Caesars Arena, is based on a 1956 publicity photo of Howe. The Canadian, who shares the record for most seasons played in the NHL, died in 2016 at the age of 88. He was on the Red Wings from 1946 to ’71, a span that included four Stanley Cup victories.

“LCA is like a museum. It’s very beautiful & very cold & you’re not allowed to root for the penguins,” the Red Wings wrote on YouTube, sharing a teaser for the full short.

Other masterpieces from the DIA collection featured in the video are Henri Gervex’s 1877 painting Café Scene in Paris, Auguste Rodin’s 1881 bronze statue Eve, and a pair of Vincent van Gogh canvases, Portrait of Postman Roulin (1888) and Self-Portrait (1887).

“It really hit a lot of the highlights of the museum,” Snyder said. “We’ve never done something like this with a sports team, and it was a great experience to be able to combine hockey audiences and art audiences.”

The team came to film on a Monday, when the museum is normally closed to the public, bringing with them a crew of about 55, plus some 30 to 35 children of Red Wings staff and players.

A still from “Darren McCarty’s Day Off” from filming at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Photo courtesy of Hockeytown Pictures, Detroit Red Wings.

“There were three different crews in the museum,” Snyder said. “They wanted to have all the shots set up so they could just move the talent from one shot to another.”

“We have a great video team,” Broder said. “It was a huge effort, including a lot of departments from sports and entertainment marketing, to creative corporate partnerships, to the communications team.”

Set up began at 7 a.m., with about three or four hours filming on site. Many museum staffers volunteered to help out with the production by watching crew members to ensure nothing was damaged.

A still from “Darren McCarty’s Day Off” from filming at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Photo courtesy of Hockeytown Pictures, Detroit Red Wings.

“We have to be really careful with film crews, because it takes two seconds to back into an an artwork,” Snyder said.

The museum has had plenty of experience with film crews lately, as Big Sean filmed a concert in the Rivera Court, named for the landmarked Diego Rivera mural cycle, last month. The performance, promoting his new album, was for Amazon Music and an upcoming Amazon Prime Video special.

Fan reaction on Reddit to the Ferris Bueller spoof was largely positive, although there was some disapproval over the patch from waste management company Priority, the team’s first jersey sponsor, defacing Howe’s uniform.

 

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The DIA, meanwhile, proclaimed its Red Wings fandom on Instagram, sharing a video of three museum-goers standing in front of Frederic Edwin Church’s 1862 landscape painting Cotopaxi suddenly changing into their hockey jerseys. (The museum is also rooting hard for the Detroit Tigers, who mounted an improbable September comeback to make the playoffs and will play a decisive game five against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday to hopefully advance to the ALCS.)

Snyder was inside the arena on opening night, which featured excerpts from the film throughout the game. “I had to go after doing the shoot!” Snyder said. “People in the crowd cheered when they saw the Detroit Institute of Arts come up on the screen.”

“Darren McCarty’s Day Off” filming in Detroit, Michigan, on September 16, 2024. Photo courtesy of Allison Farrand, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment.

Unfortunately, the Red Wings lost the season opener at home, 6–3, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team is coming off its first winning season since 2015–2016, but still fell short of making the playoffs in 2024. The film, therefore, lent some positive energy to an otherwise disappointing evening.

“Detroiters and all Michiganders are incredibly proud of their city and state,” Broder said. “It was great to do something that marries two things here that are not often associated together, art and the sport of hockey.”

“It was a really lovely way to include the city of Detroit and the Detroit Institute of Arts on the opening of the Red Wings’s season,” Snyder agreed. “We’ll be absolutely sharing and resharing the video and doing our own little montages and our own love letters to the Red Wings.”