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Uncle Buck
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Wikipedia article
'Uncle Buck' is a 1989 American comedy film written, directed by John Hughes, and starring John Candy and Amy Madigan with supporting roles by Jean Louisa Kelly (in her film debut), Macaulay Culkin, Gaby Hoffmann, Garrett M. Brown and Elaine Bromka. The film tells the story of a bachelor who babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her younger brother and sister while the parents are away.
'Uncle Buck' was released in theaters on August 16, 1989, by Universal Pictures and grossed $79.2 million against a $15 million budget. The film was met with mixed reviews.
Plot
Bob and Cindy Russell and their three children, 15-year-old Tia, 8-year-old Miles, and 6-year-old Maizy, have recently moved from Indianapolis to the Chicago suburbs due to Bob's promotion.
Bob has a brother named Buck. In contrast to the Russells' upper middle class lifestyle, Buck lives in a small apartment in Wrigleyville, drinks, smokes cigars, earns his living by betting on rigged horse races, and drives a dilapidated 1977 Mercury. Buck also finds himself at odds with his girlfriend of eight years, Chanice. She wants to get married and start a family, but Buck is reluctant to do so as he loves his lifestyle. To quell her dissatisfaction, Buck has grudgingly accepted a new job at her tire shop.
At 12:02 AM, the family receives a phone call from Cindy's aunt in Indianapolis informing them that her father has had a heart attack. They make plans to leave immediately to be with him. After hearing the news, Tia, bitter about being forced to move, accuses Cindy of abandoning her father. Bob suggests asking Buck to come and watch the children, to which Cindy objects as she considers Buck a bad influence and a failure.
Cindy suggests asking their neighbors the Nevilles for help instead while also shooting down the idea of their neighbor Marcie watching them, but Bob finds they are holidaying in Florida. Buck cheerfully accepts the job when Bob calls him. When he informs Chanice that he cannot start his job yet due to the family emergency, Chanice assumes Buck is trying as usual to lie his way out of working.
Upon arriving, Buck deals with Cindy's cold demeanor towards him and finds himself cropped out of Bob and Cindy's wedding picture. Nevertheless, he quickly befriends Miles and Maizy, but Tia is brash and hostile as they engage in a battle of wills. When Buck meets Tia's cocky obnoxious boyfriend Bug, he warns her that Bug is only interested in her for sex and repeatedly thwarts her plans to sneak away on dates with him.
Over the next several days, he deals with several situations in comedic fashion, including taking the kids to his favourite bowling alley, making enormous pancakes for Miles' birthday, removing the drunk Pooter the Clown from the property, berating assistant principal Anita Hoargarth about Maizy's behavior in class, and handling the laundry when the washing machine does not work.
Eventually, Tia exacts revenge on Buck for meddling in her relationship by tricking Chanice into thinking that Buck is cheating on her with Marcie. The next day, Chanice comes over to confront Buck about what she heard, but is furious to find Buck dancing with Marcie in the living room. Chanice leaves him.
The following weekend, concerned after Tia sneaks out to a party, Buck decides to go looking for her rather than attend a horse race which would have provided him with enough money for the entire following year. He calls and begs Chanice to watch Miles and Maizy as he searches for Tia. At the party, thinking that Bug is taking advantage of her in a bedroom, he forces the door open by drilling out the lock, but walks in on Bug forcing himself on another girl. After he finds Tia wandering the streets, she tearfully apologizes to him and acknowledges he was right about Bug. Buck then reveals Bug, bound and gagged with duct tape, in the trunk of his car. After intimidating him, Buck lets Bug out of the trunk to apologize to her. When Bug is finally released, he threatens to sue Buck and retracts his apology, but flees in fear after Buck strikes him with a golf ball.
At home, Tia helps Buck reconcile with Chanice by admitting her lie and tells Chanice that Buck would be a good husband and father. Buck also agrees to start his job at the garage, and he and Chanice reunite.
Cindy's father recovers and she and Bob return home from Indianapolis. Upon entering the house, Tia surprises her mother with a hug. The entire Russell family says farewell to Buck and Chanice as they leave for Chicago, with Buck and Tia exchanging a loving wave goodbye.
Cast
* John Candy as Buck Russell, a bachelor who babysits his brother's kids.
* Jean Louisa Kelly as Tia Russell, the oldest daughter of Bob and Cindy.
* Laurie Metcalf as Marcie Dahlgren-Frost, the neighbor of the Russells who lives across the street.
* Jay Underwood as Bug, Tia's boyfriend.
* Amy Madigan as Chanice Kobolowski, the girlfriend of Buck and proprietor of a tire shop.
* Macaulay Culkin as Miles Russell, the only son of Bob and Cindy.
* Gaby Hoffmann as Maizy Russell, the youngest daughter of Bob and Cindy.
* Elaine Bromka as Cindy Russell, the wife of Bob.
* Garrett M. Brown as Bob Russell, the brother of Buck.
* Suzanne Shepherd as Anita Hoargarth, the strict assistant principal of Maizy's school.
* Mike Starr as Pooter the Clown, a birthday clown who Buck rejects for being drunk.
* Brian Tarantina as E. Roger Coswell, a friend of Buck.
* William Windom as Voice of Mr. Hatfield, the unseen neighbor of the Russells who Buck accidentally awakens upon his arrival.
* Dennis Cockrum as Pal
Additional voices by Granville Ames, Patricia Arquette, Jack Blessing, Garin Bouble, Ramey Ellis, Leigh French, Tim Hoskins, Laura Jacoby, Todd Larson, Devon Odessa, Julie Payne, and Arnold F. Turner.
Production
The film was the first one directed, written, and produced by John Hughes under a multi-picture agreement deal with Universal. Filming began on January 4, 1989, in Chicago. The company decided to keep the production facilities and locations as close as possible. The vacant New Trier High School in Northfield, Illinois, was chosen for the production facility. Three of its gyms were converted into sound stages on which several sets were constructed including the two-leveled interior of the Russell House, Buck's bedroom, and smaller sets. The school was also equipped to suit the needs of the cast and crew behind-the-scenes, classrooms for the young actors, offices, dressing rooms, wardrobe department, editing facilities, a special effects shop, equipment storage areas, and a projection booth. Production designer John Corso began designing the sets in October 1988 and within seven weeks his construction crew of twelve carpenters and five painters began work on the two levels of the Russell house. The elementary school corridor, the boys' restroom, the principal's office, and a classroom were filmed at Wilmette's Romona Elementary School. A colonial-style house in Evanston was chosen for the exterior of the Russell house. The exteriors and practical locations were shot in Chicago, Cicero, Skokie, Northbrook, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, and Riverwoods.
Reception
Box office
The film earned $8.8 million on its opening weekend in 1,804 theaters and was placed No. 1 at the box office. The film stayed in first place for three more weeks before being bumped down to second by 'Sea of Love'. Its US earnings were 18th in 1989, and the film has earned nearly $80 million worldwide since its release.Critical reception
Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has given it a "Fresh" score of 62%, based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "'Uncle Buck' has its ups and downs, but there's undeniable comedic magic that comes from uniting John Hughes, John Candy, and a house full of precocious kids." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 51 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Roger Ebert of 'The Chicago Sun-Times' gave the movie 1.5 stars out of a possible 4, writing that 'Uncle Buck' was unusually bitter and angry for a Hughes movie: "...Hughes is usually the master of the right note, the right line of dialogue, and this time there's an uncomfortable undercurrent in the material."Television series
A television series was broadcast on CBS in 1990. It starred Kevin Meaney as Buck, a slob who drinks and smokes. When Bob and Cindy die in a car accident, he is named as the guardian of Tia, Miles, and Maizy. The show was not received well by TV critics. After it was moved to Friday, in an attempt by CBS to establish a comedy night there, its ratings quickly plummeted and it was cancelled.
In June 2016, ABC premiered a second television adaptation featuring an African-American cast with Mike Epps in the title role, James Lesure as his brother, and Nia Long as Buck's sister-in-law. It suffered a similar fate as the previous TV adaptation, as it was poorly received by critics and then canceled after only eight episodes.
Remake
In 1991, the film was remade in Malayalam language and released as 'Uncle Bun'.
Home media
The film was released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1989, and on DVD in 1998 and 2003. On August 26, 2008, it appeared on the DVD box-set "John Candy Comedy Favourites Collection," along with 'The Great Outdoors' (1988) and 'Going Berserk' (1983). On February 8, 2011, it was released on Blu-ray Disc for the first time, and released again on June 28, 2011, on Blu-ray with a DVD and a digital copy.
References
Further reading
* A recent, extended review of the film and its 2012 Blu-ray release.
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