It used to be the calling card of Bugs Bunny and Michael Caine in Alfie, but Hughes transplanted the concept of breaking the fourth wall into his teen flicks – with stand-out effect.

Mostly, he used the idea for comedic ends, with characters shooting the audience a knowing glance here and there at an opportune moment. More often than not, the character breaking the fourth wall would be about to chat up a girl.

It worked best, however, in Ferris Bueller, in which Matthew Broderick frequently addressed the audience head-on with witty, knowing asides. It’s a technique that could have fallen flat on its face if it weren’t for Hughes’ clever and authentic dialogue.

“Adults ask me all sorts of baffling questions, like, ‘Your teenage dialogue - how do you do that?’ and ‘Have you actually seen teens interact?’” Hughes once remembered. “And I wonder if they think that people under 21 are a separate species…”