While I think it works okay in High Fidelity, I don't think it was necessary. On the other hand, a huge part of Ferris Bueller's Day Off is bringing the audience into Ferris's life and plan to take the day off. Breaking the fourth wall is an excellent way to pull the audience in and make them co-conspirators.

One of my favorite examples of breaking the fourth wall is in Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, "Once More With Feeling" (which also happens to be a brilliant integration of a musical into an actual storyline, in my opinion). There's a great scene where Xander and Anya are dancing and singing as if to an audience. Afterward, Anya says, "It was like we were being watched...like there was a wall missing in our apartment. Like there were only three walls and not a fourth wall..." I appreciate how Joss can step outside the story form and play with it like this.

I totally agree with Karen. The meta elements take Ferris Bueller's Day Off to the next level. (In fact, when I think of that movie, that's one of the first things that comes to mind. That, the set piece during the parade, and the big, climactic race where he's trying to beat his sister home and ends up running through backyards. Those are the 3 things that really stick with me.) With High Fidelity, it's cute but it doesn't feel integral.

I also consider Jules Winnfield’s part “I will strike down…” – the one with Brett I believe first time in the story it goes with high pressure of Former Jules’ delusion. And with that in our mind we can feel the depth of his – the renewed Jules’ quitting finale. It somehow summarizes and becomes one the major parts of his character’s arc by the end of the movie. I think with QT there’re also numerous trunk shots, that one way or another fit the given term. But I still consider this one (from the above) highly effective statement which was made in front of the audience and to the audience itself. And he's really "Bad Mo-er", who's turned out to be "tryin' real hard to be the shepherd".

I saw High Fidelity recently for the second time. Seen the other two, but haven't in a really long time. Woody Allen is one of my all-time favorite writer/actor/comedian/filmmakers in the universe. Talking to the audience in a play is really self-centered and in these movies, I think it's meant to be display that quality. Was Ferris the one that needed the day off - or his friend? Was his friend the one that had the major metamorphosis or Ferris? So Ferris was commenting on himself but really we were watching his friend. With Woody Allen, it's his story that he's telling. HIS story, no one else's. Rob in High Fidelity too, is obsessed with his journey. Figuring out why the exes dumped him and so exorcising Laura. But it turns out that he realizes through his very self-centred exercise that he is actually still in love with Laura. His self-centredness is evident in the scene at the cafe with the first break-up in his list - the one that he actually broke up with. And whose life he subsequently went on to ruin. Inadvertently.

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