Uncle Buck
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| Uncle Buck | |
|---|---|
 The movie poster for Uncle Buck. |
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| Directed by | John Hughes |
| Produced by | John Hughes Tom Jacobson |
| Written by | John Hughes |
| Starring | John Candy Jean Louisa Kelly Macaulay Culkin |
| Music by | Ira Newborn |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  August 16, 1989 |
| Running time | 100 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000 (estimated) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Uncle Buck is a 1989 comedy-drama starring John Candy, Amy Madigan, Gary Sinclair, Jean Louisa Kelly, Gaby Hoffmann, and Macaulay Culkin. Jay Underwood and Laurie Metcalf co-star, and William Windom, Mike Starr, and Anna Chlumsky have cameo roles. The movie was written and directed by John Hughes, and received a PG rating from the MPAA.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Cindy and Bob Russell are raising a family in an upper middle-class Chicago suburb. Their children are Miles (Culkin), Maizy (Hoffman), and Tia (Kelly). They had recently moved to Chicago from Indianapolis. The move caused Tia to become very upset.
Late one night, Cindy and Bob receive a phone call from Indianapolis. Cindy's father had just suffered a heart attack. Cindy and Bob make plans to leave immediately. However the children had school, which made taking them along not possible.
Bob suggests they ask his brother Buck (Candy) to watch the kids, which Cindy rejects because she doesn't feel comfortable with him. Buck drinks, smokes, and is a general slob. Cindy also does not approve of his girlfriend (Madigan). However it turns out that no one else is available to help them, so they have no choice but to turn to Buck. Buck agrees to come out to their home and watch them. Buck doesn't even remember the names of the two younger children. After some confusion over what house Bob's family lives in, he finally gets to Bob and Cindy's home. The couple soon leave to go to her father.
Buck immediately hits it off with both Miles and Maizy. However Tia does not like Buck. When taking her to school, Buck meets Tia's boyfriend Bug. Buck sees right through him, Bug's only interest in Tia is for sex.
Over the next several days, Buck has to deal with a number of interesting situations involving his girlfriend, Miles, Maizy, and Tia. These situations included taking the kids to Buck's favorite bowling alley, Buck talking to a school principal over her concerns about Maizy, cooking gigantic pancakes, and dealing with a drunk clown. In these situations Buck is shown to be a man with a heart of gold who adores his brother's children.
At the end, Tia realizes that Buck is right in his theory about Bug. Although Tia walks away from unwanted sex with him, Buck decides to get revenge on Bug for his crime. He drills a hole through the door knob of his room, walking in on him with another girl, and ties him up and throws him in his old car. In the final scenes, Tia forgets her earlier resentment to her mother, and both get along.
[edit] Closing Shot
The final shot in this film is of actor John Candy waving goodbye to his neice. This scene is regarded by many fans as John Candy's most memorable screen capture. Fans like to believe that the image is actor John Candy waving goodbye as he would pass away only five years later of a heart attack while filming the comedy Wagons East! in 1994.
[edit] Trivia
- 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.
- A short biography about Macaulay Culkin claims that, upon the film's release, a child asked Culkin if he really lived with actor John Candy, to which Culkin replied, "Yes I do. He's upstairs microwaving my socks right now."
- For the scene in which Miles rapidly interrogates Buck about the fine details of his life, John Candy had the prompter set up on his back so that Macaulay Culkin could maintain the scene's breakneck pace.
- This movie is still Macaulay Culkin's highest grossing film outside of the Home Alone series.
- This 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. Notice that the empty student parking lot is visible despite school supposedly being in session.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Candy | Buck Russell |
| Jean Louisa Kelly | Tia Russell |
| Gaby Hoffmann | Maizy Russell |
| Macaulay Culkin | Miles Russell |
| Amy Madigan | Shanice Kobaloski |
| Elaine Bromka | Cindy Russell |
| Garrett M. Brown | Bob Russell |
| Laurie Metcalf | Marcie Dahlgren-Frost |
| Jay Underwood | Bug |
[edit] Quotes
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The clown hired for Miles' birthday arrives and Buck finds out the man is drunk.
Buck: What, did you have a few drinks this morning? Huh? Yeah, I think you did.
Pooter-the-Clown: What are you? Mother Cabrini? You never touch the stuff?
Buck: No, no. It's just that I wouldn't be drinking if I was going to entertain some kids. You know?
Pooter-the-Clown: I don't have to take this shit from you. You know who I am? In the field of local-live-home entertainment, I'm a god!
Buck: Get in your mouse, and get out of here.
Pooter-the-Clown: Hey, you, let me tell you something you low life lying four flushing sack of shit. Buck punches him in the nose.
Bug - "Ever hear of a tune-up? Ha ha."
Buck (mocking Bug's laugh) - "Hee hee hee. Ever hear of a ritual killing? Hee hee hee."
Bug - "I don't get it."
Buck - "You gnaw on her face in public like that again and you'll be one. Hee hee hee hee!"
(Buck is about to take the children bowling) Maizy - "They have rent-a-shoes."
Tia - "And rent-a-foot-disease."
Principal - "And who are you?"
Buck (after noticing that the school principal has a large mole on her face) - "Buck Melanoma, Moley Russell's wart."
Buck (after yelling at the principal for selling Maizy short) - "Here's a quarter. Go downtown, and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face!"
Principal (feeling remorse) - Next.
Buck (walking out this school doors) - Ha! Yes! (Introduction to "Wild Thing" is played)
E. Roger Cogswell - (to Buck) "You gotta let somebody know where you are. I've been checking car trunks for your corpse."
Miles (watching Buck make breakfast) - "Holy smokes! He's cookin' our garbage!"
Buck-"Who Let The Cat Out?"
Maizy-"We Dont Have A Cat"
Buck-"Get Out Here...shoo shoo"
Buck- "I use this hatchet--not to kill, just to maim."
Teacher: "Anyone do anything interesting over the weekend?"
- Maizy raises her hand*
Teacher: *sighs* "Yes, Maizy?"
Maizy: "My uncle microwaved our socks and the dog threw up on the couch for an hour."
Teacher: "Honest?"
Maisy: "Honest."
Teacher: "And why was your uncle microwaving your socks?"
Maizy: Cuz' he can't get the goddamn washing machine to work.
Teacher: "BLASPHEMER!"
[edit] The TV Show
In 1990, a television show named Uncle Buck was broadcast on CBS. It starred Kevin Meaney as Buck, a slob who drinks and smokes. When his brother and sister-and-law die in an automobile accident, Buck is named as the guardian of Tia, Miles, and Maizy. The show was not well received by either critics or the viewing public, and it was quickly cancelled.
[edit] External links
- Uncle Buck at the Internet Movie Database
- Uncle Buck at All Movie Guide
- Uncle Buck at Rotten Tomatoes
- Uncle Buck (TV series) at the Internet Movie Database
