If there is one person who mastered the 1980s, it was the late, great John Hughes. No matter what he did during the decade, it turned into gold.
One of his gems is the 1989 comedy “Uncle Buck,” starring the late, great John Candy. Candy plays Buck Russell, a fun-loving loser who lives in a small apartment outside Wrigley Field. He smokes, drinks, bets on rigged horse races and drives a beat-up 1977 Mercury. Due to a family emergency, Buck is called on to watch his nieces and nephew — 15-year-old Tia (Jean Louisa Kelly), 8-year-old Miles (Macaulay Culkin) and 6-year-old Maizy (Gaby Hoffmann).
As you can imagine, things go sideways pretty quickly. Buck doesn’t know how to care for himself, let alone three children. He cooks crazy meals, packs even crazier lunches and embarrasses the children at every turn. They don’t know him at all, so Buck is basically a stranger to them. Candy is master of delivery and he’s able to deadpan his lines to the children who are now under his care.
To make matters worse, Buck’s girlfriend Chanice (Amy Madigan) grows frustrated with him because he refuses to commit to a real relationship. He has accepted a job at her tire shop, but he prefers to stay up late, sleep into the afternoon and do as he pleases.
“Uncle Buck” was a departure of sorts for Hughes, who made his living on the teen comedies of the decade. While there are no scenes that will have you falling off your chair from laughter, there are some funny scenes — especially between Candy and Culkin. Keep in mind that Culkin hadn’t yet made the film that made him famous — “Home Alone.” There are also some sight gags in the film, most memorably one where Candy makes extra-large pancakes with a snow shovel.
Candy made some great films during his short career, and “Uncle Buck” is certainly among them. While the plot is your typical Hughes sugar-coated plot, Candy rises to the occasion to deliver one of his most heartfelt performances. Buck is lovable, a completely different character than Candy’s Del Griffith, from the 1987 Hughes comedy “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”
There are some awkward moments, but it was the 1980s. Buck tries to educate Tia that teenage boys are usually after one thing and one thing only. Buck terrorizes Tia’s boyfriend, Bug. Yes, you read that right, Hughes named the scumbag boyfriend Bug. At one point, Buck locks Bug in the trunk of his car. While that may seem a little extreme, it’s simply for laughs in Hughes’ world.
While “Uncle Buck” isn’t the best Candy movie out there, you could do worse. Candy would die in 1994, just five years after “Uncle Buck.” Candy died from a heart attack at the age of 43. He lived an unhealthy lifestyle, to say the least. Food, alcohol and drug addictions ultimately led to his demise. However, his films live on to entertain a new generation of fans.
A quick fun fact about “Uncle Buck” — while Madigan and Hoffman don’t cross paths much during the film, they had played mother and daughter in the iconic film “Field of Dreams,” which was also filmed in 1989. In fact, “Field of Dreams” was Hoffman’s big screen debut.
“Uncle Buck” got mixed reviews from critics. However, if you’re feeling nostalgic, fire it up and have some classic Candy.
“Uncle Buck” is rated PG for some adult themes and language. It is available on most streaming services.\
Chris Morelli is the managing editor of the Centre County Gazette.
