Uncle Buck is a 1989 comedy-drama starring John Candy, Amy Madigan, Jean Louisa Kelly and Gaby Hoffmann, and co-stars Macaulay Culkin, Jay Underwood and Laurie Metcalf. The movie was written and directed by John Hughes. It received a PG rating from the MPAA and a 12 rating from the BBFC.
Plot
Bob Russell (Garrett M. Brown), his wife Cindy (Elaine Bromka), and their three kids, 8-year old Miles (Macaulay Culkin), 6-year old Maizy (Gaby Hoffman) and 15-year-old Tia (Jean Kelly), recently moved from Indianapolis to Chicago. Tia resents her parents because she feels everyone was happy enough where they were already living.
Bob and Cindy are in bed one night when Cindy's aunt calls, telling them that Cindy's father has had a heart attack. Bob and Cindy immediately make plans to go to Indianapolis to visit Cindy's father. Upon being told the news, Tia angrily states that "If my whole family moved away from me, I'd have a heart attack too", and slams the door in her mother's face.
Bob and Cindy then decide that the children need a babysitter. They choose Bob's brother Buck (John Candy), despite Cindy's objection, saying that Buck is a sloppy guy and he does not know how to do anything.
Cindy and Bob leave for Indianapolis, leaving 'Uncle Buck' in charge. Buck does the best he can; Miles and Maizy come to love him, but he still has problems with the rebellious Tia, as well as Chanice Kobolowski (Amy Madigan), his girlfriend for the past 8 years.
Buck meets Tia's boyfriend, Bug (Jay Underwood), and sees that he is clearly trying to seduce her. When Buck scares Bug away from her with a hatchet he claimed he wanted to show him (proclaiming to be so proficient with the weapon he's been known to "circumcise a gnat"), an infuriated Tia gets revenge by making Chanice think that Buck is flirting with the Russells' neighbor, Marcie Dahlgren-Frost (Laurie Metcalf). Chanice leaves Buck.
Tia escapes the overprotective Buck, sneaking out to a house party to see Bug. While there she realises that Bug is only interested in her for sex, which he tries to pressure her into. Buck finds his way to the house and barges in on Bug by drilling through the doorknob, only to discover that not only has Tia already left (having turned Bug down), but Bug is already with another girl.
Buck starts driving back home, finding Tia wandering by herself on the streets. In the car, Tia admits that Buck was right about Bug all along: Buck stops the car in a quiet area and opens the trunk, revealing a tied up Bug. Buck requests that Bug apologizes to Tia with subtle threats of drilling his teeth out, and then lets him go (while still tied up). Bug then yells various obscenities and threatens to sue as he retreats, so Buck gets out a golf club and drives a ball into Bug's head, as an incentive to leave faster.
Buck has finally earned Tia's love and respect, so back home she admits to Chanice that she set Buck up to look like he was flirting with Marcie. Chanice reunites with Buck.
Later, Cindy and Bob return home as Cindy's father is recovering. Tia meets her mother as she enters the house. Cindy is expecting a loud tirade. Instead, she is surprised to receive instead a tearful embrace. Cindy promises that things will change, so Tia won't be so resentful of her parents any longer. Uncle Buck leaves with Chanice as the family waves goodbye.
Cast
- John Candy as Buck Russell: He is a very clumsy but caring person. He loves bowling, and has a personalised gold bowling ball. He lives in Chicago.
- Jean Louisa Kelly as Tia Russell: the oldest of the three Russell children. Tia has a rebellious personality, mainly because the family moved to Chicago, while she wanted to stay in Indianapolis. Her boyfriend is Bug.
- Macaulay Culkin as Miles Russell: the middle and only male child. He claims that a 6th grade bully chased him out of school because he is new.
- Gaby Hoffmann as Maizy Russell: the youngest child. She is rumored to be a troublemaker like Tia. She is the sister of Tia and Miles Russell.
- Amy Madigan as Chanice Kobolowski: Buck's girlfriend of 8 years. She runs Kobolowski Tires, where Buck was supposed to begin working when he was asked to babysit.
- Garrett M. Brown as Bob Russell: the father of Maizy, Miles, and Tia, and Buck's brother.
- Elaine Bromka as Cindy Russell: the mother. She does not like her brother in law, Buck.
- Laurie Metcalf as Marcie Dahlgren-Frost: the Russells' neighbor. She has been married at least twice, and doesn't want her married name (Frost) to be lost in marriage.
- Jay Underwood as Bug: Tia's boyfriend. He is only interested in getting her into bed, which makes him an enemy of Buck.
Production
John Hughes claims that the scene wherein Macaulay Culkin speaks with Amy Madigan through the mail slot in the front door was what gave him the idea for Home Alone. The film was shot almost entirely on the campus of New Trier West High School in Northfield, Illinois. The house set was constructed in the gymnasium. The piano music at the beginning of the film is by Hugh Harris, it is taken from his 1989 song "Rhythm Of Life"; the full song is played at the end of the film.
Towards the end of the film when Buck fires a golf ball at the fleeing Bug, the "club swing" shot was filmed on the grassy school bus turn-around of the New Trier West campus, but the Bug fleeing shot was filmed in the parking lot of a small grocery store in Glencoe, Illinois, more than 3 miles (4.8 km) away. For the scene in which Miles rapidly interrogates Buck about the fine details of his life, John Candy had the script pages stuck on his back so that Macaulay Culkin could maintain the scene's breakneck pace.
William Windom, Mike Starr and Anna Chlumsky make minor appearances.
Danny Devito was considered the role for Buck.
Reception
During its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, Uncle Buck grossed $8.7 million in 1,804 theaters, ranking #1 at the box office.[1] It stayed the #1 film for a total of four weeks in a row.[1]
The film grossed a total of $66.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.5 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $79.2 million. In 1989 it was the 18th top grossing film in the United States and Canada, and the 20th top grossing film worldwide.[2]
As of November 2007, Uncle Buck is Macaulay Culkin's highest grossing film outside of the Home Alone series.[3]
TV series
In 1990, a television series named Uncle Buck was broadcast on CBS. It starred Kevin Meaney as Buck, a slob who drinks and smokes. When his brother and sister-in-law die in a car accident, Buck is named as the guardian of Tia, Miles, and Maizy. The show was not received well by TV critics, but it did quite well on Monday nights. However when the show was moved to Friday, in an attempt by CBS to establish a comedy night there, the shows ratings quickly fell and it was cancelled.
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John Hughes concoction…meaning it is outlandish, wise, 'human', and silly all at once
You have to hand it to writer-director John Hughes. With enormous
moonspinner55 from redlands, ca - 14 May 2009success behind him in the misfit-teenager/high school vein, he managed
to branch out into other areas of comedy, finding in the bargain a
great ally in comedian-actor John Candy. Here, goof-off adult Candy
becomes a better person after agreeing to babysit his brother's
wiseacre kids; it's a surefire formula designed to please both cynical
teens as well as their parents, and it isn't any wonder the film was a
winner with theater audiences. Still, Hughes relies almost completely
on Candy's charm to put the scenario over, and one may eventually grow
tired of the repetitious gags with the star front and center. The kids
are sitcom-smart, the other adults shapeless blobs, and Amy Madigan is
too intense, too hyped-up playing Uncle Buck's girlfriend. Later became
a TV series, which is befitting since the material was already
television-perfected. *1/2 from ****
A seriously overlooked jewel of a comedy!
There are some very negative critical reviews on this movie, which I
Bethany_Cox25 from United Kingdom - 11 May 2009think personally is unjustified. This film is very funny indeed,
especially when the bowling ball falls on Buck's head. John Candy gives
possibly his best performance here as Buck Russell. John Candy was one
talented actor, evident in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Cool
Runnings, and I think comedy lost a truly great actor when he died, and
I don't think he ever got the respect he so rightly deserved. This film
is very funny indeed, sometimes the jokes are a little over-familiar,
and the sentimentality gets in the way at times. Out of the child
stars, who were all excellent, Macaulay Culkin of Home Alone fame is a
standout. Cute and self-assured suits Culkin like a glove. There was
great chemistry between the stars, and in conclusion, see this gem, of
which I will award an 8/10 Bethany Cox.
Another classic from John Hughes.
With Uncle Buck writer/director John Hughes brings us the story of a
Justin Smith from United States - 5 March 2009well-meaning uncle who is not always at the top of his game, but is
called upon in a moment of crisis to watch his nephew and two nieces.
Being a John Hughes film, we get the awkward family moments, the angsty
teenager, the occasional curse word that seems perfectly placed in the
script, the well-meaning parents who do not have enough time for their
kids, and of course, the heart-warming ending where all problems are
resolved. Now, do not get me wrong, although Hughes's scripts may have
a hint of predictability, he usually comes at it from a different angle
each time and manages to make a good (and sometimes great) film, and
Uncle Buck is no exception. The one thing that really makes this film
shine is the choice to put John Candy (1950-1994) in the lead role as
Buck Russell. Candy adds a warm and genuine personality to the
character that keeps us rooting for him to the end.When Buck's brother, Bob (Garrett M. Brown), finds out that his
father-in-law has had a heart attack, he reluctantly calls Buck to see
if he can watch the kids while they are out of town. Buck agrees, which
causes tension for nearly everyone involved. Buck's girlfriend is
unhappy because he was supposed to start his new job (working with her)
the following day. The kids mom, Cindy (Elaine Bromka) is concerned
because she feels that Buck is not even responsible enough to take care
of himself, much less her kids. Then there is the teenage daughter, Tia
(Jean Louisa Kelly), who is not only upset about Buck coming to watch
over her and her younger siblings, but is also angry that her parents
are leaving her behind in the first place.When Buck arrives in his old beater, complete with smoking exhaust and
a backfire that goes off like a shotgun, everyone is unsure if they
have made the right decision. Despite this, the younger kids, Maizy
(Gaby Hoffmann) and Miles (Macaulay Culkin in one of his earliest and
best performances), grow fond of Buck almost immediately. Tia, however,
fights against Buck nearly all the way through the film, mostly because
Buck is trying to protect her from a boy that Tia likes, who Buck sees
only as a predator. Many of the scenes with Buck and Tia's boyfriend,
Bug (Jay Underwood), are hilarious and sometimes disturbing, like when
Buck makes a comment about keeping a hatchet in the trunk of his car in
order to shave off people's knee caps, then, just when we (and Bug)
think that he is joking, Buck pulls a hatchet from his trunk and shows
it to Bug, all while wearing a devilish grin. Another one of my
favorite scenes in the film is when Miles is trying to decide what he
thinks of Buck. There is a question and answer session between the two
of them that bounces back and forth so fast that you may have to watch
it a second time to catch it all.As if Buck did not have enough going on with the kids and his angry
girlfriend, the nosy neighbor, Marcie Dahlgren-Frost (Laurie Metcalf),
comes over to see what is going on and begins to flirt with Buck, which
leads to several humorous and awkward moments. Of course, since this is
a John Hughes film, we know that things are going to work out in the
end, but this does not take away from the enjoyment of the comedic
journey we are taken on to get there.
A Nice Comedy
Uncle Buck was a nice comedy.I use the word "nice" here,meaning as good
Dragoneyed363 from United States - 12 May 2008as it gets.This film got somewhat boring and downright unbelievable at
times.While I did laugh at almost every word that came out of Buck's
mouth,because he was EXTREMELY hilarious,there was just some material I
found very unprofessional and mediocre.Don't misunderstand me,if you
haven't seen this film,you should,but don't be expecting anything
great.If you have seen this film,and you don't like it,try to lighten
up.This was a really-(the word again)-"nice" film.So,Uncle Buck was,I
will say one of the funniest movies I've seen.It just didn't get THAT
HIGH of a rating from me,because there was too much raw,mediocre,and
far-fetched material.
Amiable piece showcasing John Candy's strengths.
Buck Russell is a slob, but as a last resort during a family crisis,
JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom - 14 March 2008Bob & Cindy Russell agree to let the oafish Buck babysit their three
children………Perhaps a tad too sugary with its moralistic social commentary,
director John Hughes has none the less crafted an entertaining, and at
times heart warming film. Watching Buck bulldoze his way thru a series
of standard chores is never less than entertaining, but it's the
interplay with the three offspring of his brother that is the films
successful core. The two youngest children take to Buck straight away,
to them he is like one big clown, but the relationship with the
teenager daughter is fractious at best, but in typical John Hughes
fashion, Uncle Buck becomes a rites-of-passage piece, and family values
come shining to the fore from whence there was merely mirth. It's John
Candy's show all the way, he puts enough skin on the bones of Buck to
keep him interesting in spite of the almost crass make up of his
persona, and as usual the comedy moments only serve as a reminder that
we lost a comic talent when the big man passed away.A very safe and enjoyable 6.5/10.
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