Uncle Buck (1989)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

John Hughes

Writer (WGA):

John Hughes (written by)

Release Date:

16 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

OH NO! IT'S...

Plot:

Bachelor and all round slob, Buck, babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister.

Plot Keywords:

Bug | Teenager | Bowling | Babysitter | Night

Cast

John Candy	...	Buck Russell
Jean Louisa Kelly	...	Tia Russell
Gaby Hoffmann	...	Maizy Russell
Macaulay Culkin	...	Miles Russell
Amy Madigan	...	Chanice Kobolowski
Elaine Bromka	...	Cindy Russell
Garrett M. Brown	...	Bob Russell
Laurie Metcalf	...	Marcie Dahlgren-Frost
Jay Underwood	...	Bug
Brian Tarantina	...	E. Roger Coswell
Mike Starr	...	Pooter-the-Clown
Suzanne Shepherd	...	Mrs. Hogarth
William Windom	...	Mr. Hatfield (voice)
Dennis Cockrum	...	Pal
Joel Robinson	...	Miles' Friend #1

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:PG | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Peru:PT | Spain:T | UK:12 (original rating) | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

2604 Lincoln Street, Evanston, Illinois, USA

Company:

Hughes Entertainment

Trivia:

When Buck goes to the party to find Tia he hears the Rap music playing and jokingly says "Who's That? The Grass Roots?" The Grass Roots were a popular band in the late 1960's that had a string of hits including "Lets Live For Today", "Midnight Confessions" and "Temptation Eyes" among others.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Uncle Buck is drinking on the couch, at first, from the front, the label on his beer bottle is to his right at first. In the next cut, from behind him, the label is on his left side. Then, when viewed again from the front, the label is again on his right side.

Quotes:

Miles: Where do you live?
Buck: In the city.
Miles: You have a house?
Buck: Apartment.
Miles: Own or rent?
Buck: Rent.
Miles: What do you do for a living?
Buck: Lots of things.
Miles: Where's your office?
Buck: I don't have one.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Buck Rules (2007)

Soundtrack:

SLIDE

Here's a quarter. Go downtown, and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face.

Candy's best performance ever. As hard as it is to pick a favorite role that John Candy ever portrayed, I'd have to say it was Uncle Buck. Although this wasn't the only title he and Culkin ever shared, it was the only film the two ever shared any time on screen together.

Basic plot: Candy's sister-in-law's father has just had a heart attack in the middle of the night and the two parents rush trying to find someone to watch the kids for them while they hop the next flight to go see her father. In a desperate last resort, they call the husband's brother. Buck. Of course, the concerned uncle comes to the rescue and takes the task with no complaint. However, the oldest of the children doesn't care for her bumbling uncle, and the discipline and protection he places upon her, while her parents are away.

A great heart-warming comedy that will make you laugh and possibly even cry at times. A classic, and certainly a triumph that wouldn't have happened without John Candy. Hollywood truly lost a great actor.

I give this movie a 9 out of 10. One of the funniest and most wonderful stories, but not my favorite.

And that's my review.