This movie is good. Go watch it.
. . .okay, fine, I'll actually review it.
Uncle Buck is one of a string of 1980's hits coming from the late, great writer/director John Hughes, who you probably know from various other films like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles among many others. During the 1980's and early 90's, John Hughes seemed like he could do no wrong. Out of all of those films, this one was one of them. It was also the fourth in the six films that John Hughes made with the also late, great John Candy between 1983 and 1991.
But what is the deal with Uncle Buck? Well, our story begins not with John Candy himself, but with Bob and Cindy Russell (Garrett M. Brown and Elaine Bromka). Bob's promotion has seen them move from Indianapolis to Chicago, which has gotten under the skin of their three children, in particular insufferable teenager Tia (Jean Louise Kelly). She is the oldest of their children, the younger ones being Miles (Macaulay Culkin) and Maizy (Gaby Hoffmann).
They seem to be on track for an idyllic suburban lifestyle of ignoring their children's problems when, suddenly, Cindy's father suffers a plot-inducing heart attack. Having to get someone to watch the kids on the fly as they go back to Indianapolis, their options shrivel up until only Bob's brother Buck (John Candy) remains.
In stark contrast to Bob and his suburban life, Buck is a bachelor who drinks and smokes, makes money by betting on horse races, drives a screaming metal death trap of a car, and continually shirks actual work and commitments to his girlfriend Chanice (Amy Madigan). Because of frankly all of this, Cindy is not keen to call on Buck. However, when the chips are down, he jumps at the chance and takes to the job with gusto.
While Buck reunites happily with Bob and Miles and Maizy warm to their uncle fairly quickly, Cindy and Tia are harder sells. Will Buck be able to win their hearts, keep his relationship with his girlfriend going, and still be hilariously funny?
Well, duh. He's John Candy!
As with any comedy, reviewing it on the merits of the comedy is kind of subjective. That said, if you like John Candy...you're likely to like this movie. The man's facial expressions are pure gold, and that's not even getting into the many iconic moments he has in the film that could very easily be in a horror movie with some slight edits and a music change as some have noted. The whole cast does pretty well and everyone gets at least one funny moment if not more. John Hughes beating the Home Alone and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles drum on the theme of family for that perfect bit of heartwarming to keep us anchored firmly in the human element.
John Candy's Buck is...well, awesome. He's rather crude and crass as the movie poster tells us, but also very compassionate and caring. Couple this with being an incredibly insightful individual as well as Candy's witty and charming persona that makes even his annoying characters intrinsically likeable, and you have - in my opinion - a fantastic family movie. Also, any film where someone is bound and gagged and thrown into a trunk to be whacked in the head with golf balls after someone used a power drill to take down their bedroom door has got to be awesome!
. . .yeah, it makes sense in context.
. . .and it's hilarious.
Buck learns to be better by the end, starting to get his life sorted out as well as...well, I won't spoil the rest. Needless to say, Buck isn't the only one who learns a lesson.
Seriously, I'll say what I said in the introduction: go watch this movie. It's funny and heartwarming as given to us by John Hughes and interpreted by a fantastic cast. What more could you ask for?
Oh, and Happy 800th Blog Post to me!
Uncle Buck was brought to us by Hughes Entertainment and Universal Pictures.
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