Using the fourth wall is known to sometimes give the effect of bring the viewer closer to the film or project being shown on the screen as a more immersive experience. From a small moment to build feeling (The final shot of The Revenant) to a more upfront method (Ferris Buller's constant involving of the viewer). But how much is too much. The show White Gold on Netflix, we see Ed Westwick, basically hold the hand of the audience as the viewer travels through the episodes. Thoughts on how much may be too much.
Cinematography : 4th Wall by Bryan Perez
4th Wall
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Breaking the fourth wall can be done once for punctuation, at the beginning or the end of the film. If you do it in the middle of the story it can be jarring or effective. Your example of Ferris Bueller is solid but I'm trying to figure out how many times he actually does break the fourth wall I want to say it's maybe 6 off the top of my head I'd be surprised if it's more than that. Deadpool is a more current example, and he does it extremely often. There is a certain kind of narrative for which it works and it will be interesting to see what the responses are because I've never given this a lot of thought. I think it might be used in almost anything as to be honest it's been done in theater for centuries, where a player comes downstage center and addresses the audience. Actually other ancient theatrical contrivances like Greek Opera have been used successfully in films buy directors ranging from Woody Allen to PT Anderson. Clearly however, you've got to be careful using any of these. If misused, it may create a WTF? moment for the audience.