“I would hate it if it were my last”: The movie Matthew Broderick doesn’t want to be remembered for
Even an actor as famous as Matthew Broderick fears for what their long-term legacy will look like.
Of all the classic high school characters created by John Hughes during his legendary run of 1980s coming-of-age films, no one was cooler than Ferris Bueller. While The Breakfast Club may have been more emotionally articulate and Sixteen Candles offered a more sympathetic portrayal of adolescence, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was the ultimate escapist fantasy for any high school student who dreamed of ditching their responsibilities and sticking it to their authority figures.
The film minted Broderick as a star, and even his reportedly difficult behaviour wasn’t enough to cost him that reputation. He wasn’t only able to find box office success by starring in more comedy films, but also developed a knack for stage work by taking several acclaimed roles in Broadway shows.
As is often the case, his opportunities grew thinner as he reached the middle stage of his career, in which he was no longer viable as the singular draw behind a film. All the goodwill he had earned for his subversive, dark role in Alexander Payne‘s Election was used as a means of redemption for Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla, the legendary box office flop in which he had starred the previous year.
Broderick had embraced being part of an ensemble, and on paper, the remake of The Stepford Wives sounded like an interesting idea, for not only was it directed by The Muppet Show legend Frank Oz, but it had a robust cast that included Nicole Kidman in one of her first major roles after winning the Academy Award for ‘Best Actress’ for her performance in The Hours.
Some classics simply don’t benefit from being remade, however, and The Stepford Wives is an example of pretty much everything going wrong: the tone was off, the performances didn’t work, and Broderick was miscast as the abrasive husband of Kidman’s character, to the point that he would reveal that he not only regretted the experience of making the film but hoped he wouldn’t be remembered for.
“Making that wasn’t enjoyable, frankly,” he admitted, “It was nobody’s fault, but my part was not terribly interesting, and my mum was dying, so there was really nothing fun about it, but even if she had been well, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. It was not a thrilling film. I would hate it if it were my last.”
It thankfully wouldn’t be his last part, as the popularity he had earned from the Broadway productions of The Producers and The Odd Couple was enough to briefly revitalise his film career. Although he offered his vocal talents to a few animated films, Broderick became most often utilised as a bit player within ensemble projects, including Manchester by the Sea, Rules Don’t Apply, No Hard Feelings, and Wonder Park.
The only person who seemed to truly suffer from The Stepford Wives was Oz, who only directed one more narrative film in the aftermath, and since a majority of the marketing campaign had been centred around Kidman, many people may not have remembered that Broderick was even in the film. It’s for better or worse that Broderick will always be best known for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; while he may not appreciate having peaked so early on in his career, he at least won’t be remembered for his high-profile mistakes.
