Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey reunite in Ferris Bueller 'sequel' ad
40 years after Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Grey plays Jeanie again in a holiday ad for Home Instead, and Sheen's police-station guy is back too.
Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey have reunited 40 years after “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, in a holiday advert that plays like a mini-sequel. The ad, called “Save Jeanie”, was released on Monday, 9 November by Home Instead, a US company that provides in-home care for older people, and it pushed Sheen’s name up US search trends this week.
What happens in the ad
Grey plays Jeanie Bueller again, now grown up and searching for her missing brother. Her search takes her to a bar, where Sheen’s character turns up, TV Insider reported. In the 1986 film, he was the nameless young man who chats to Jeanie at the police station and ends up kissing her. This time, he suggests she call Home Instead.
Cindy Pickett is also back as Katie Bueller, the siblings’ mother. Matthew Broderick, who played Ferris, does not appear, which is why the ad is all about looking for him.
The spot was directed by Jody Hill and made with the agency BBDO Chicago, and the company says it is timed for the film’s 40th anniversary.
Why people are talking about it
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is one of the best-loved teen films of the 1980s, and the police-station scene between Grey and Sheen is one of its most quoted. Fans have seen Sheen reprise the character once before, in the sitcom “The Goldbergs” in 2019, and this time Grey is back with him.
The reunion continues off screen: Grey is set to appear on his podcast, “Mostly Sheenius”, for a reunion episode, according to the reports.
A familiar ad formula
Brands have mined 1980s films for big-name ads for years, and Ferris Bueller has done it before: Broderick played an older Ferris in a Honda Super Bowl ad in 2012. The difference here is the story: it is about an ageing family, which fits a company that sells home care.
