Uncle Buck (1989)

If Summer Rental was what first truly introduced me to John Candy and made me a fan, Uncle Buck was the movie that cemented it. I saw it for the first time not long after Summer Rental, catching it, I believe, on the USA network, and it instantly became another of my personal favorite films of his, along with, when I finally saw it many years later, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I think I might've seen it more times in my early-to-mid teens than Summer Rental, as Disney Channel tended to play it quite often, as well as TBS (here's a flashback: I once saw it on Dinner and a Movie, if anyone remembers that block). Back then, I loved it just for Candy himself, his character, and the shenanigans he would get into, with gags like his car backfiring very loudly, him punching out a drunken clown, telling off the uptight assistant elementary school principal, threatening Tia's scummy boyfriend in funny ways, and that great moment where he breaks down a door with a power-drill while smoking a cigar and with a big grin on his face, not to mention that it also featured a pre-Home Alone Macaulay Culkin. But, looking at it now as an adult (I never owned it until I was well into my 20's), I can also see instances of really great acting by Candy, especially in the third act, with his character growing and maturing nicely by the end, and I also appreciate that it deals with some fairly heavy issues concerning teenage rebellion and the dangers of it. Some critics at the time, including Roger Ebert, may have seen this as an untypically "angry" John Hughes movie, viewing Uncle Buck himself as scary and borderline psychotic at points, but I just see that as another example of him and other critics taking things way too seriously.

The Russell family, consisting of Bob, Cindy, their three children, Tia, Miles, and Maizy, and the family dog, Percy, has recently moved from Indianapolis to the Chicago suburbs. Tia, who's fifteen, is not at all happy about it or their parents' constant absence, and isn't shy about making her bitterness known, creating tension between her and Cindy. That night, just after 12:00 AM, Bob and Cindy receive an urgent phone call: Cindy's father, who still lives in Indianapolis, has suffered a heart attack. Now, desperate to get there as soon as possible, they have to find someone who can watch the kids for the next week or so. Bob suggests his brother, Buck, an unemployed bachelor who lives in Chicago itself and makes his living by betting on rigged horse races. Cindy, initially, isn't having it, as she sees Buck as a bad influence, but when no one else is available, they have no choice but to go with him. Although Buck is more than happy to help out, his doing so causes friction between him and his longtime girlfriend, Chanice, whom he just agreed to come work for. While he has some trouble finding the house at first, actually going to the wrong one, and doesn't do much to quell Cindy's concerns about him, once he arrives and gets settled, he quickly makes friends with young Miles and Maizy. Tia, however, is just as hostile towards him as her parents, and the two of them quickly become adversaries. During his time there, Buck proves to have his own, special way of doing household chores, dealing with matters such as Miles' birthday and Maizy's parent-teacher conference, and also gets the unwanted attention of Marcie, the family's nosy neighbor. He also sees trouble in Tia's obnoxious boyfriend, Bug, and warns her that he's interested in her for one reason, which only escalates the war between them to its boiling point.

Uncle Buck was something of a comeback film for John Hughes, as his previous directorial effort, She's Having a Baby, didn't do that well financially or critically. While Uncle Buck received a mixed reception from critics, it was a big hit with audiences, making close to $80 million on a budget of just $15 million. Interestingly, while he and John Candy were good friends and he had a hand in a number of Candy's most popular movies, writing and producing The Great Outdoors, and Candy, of course, appeared in Home Alone, this was the only other time Hughes actually directed Candy in a movie after Planes, Trains and Automobiles. What's more, the movie ended up being Hughes' penultimate directorial effort, as he never directed again after 1991's Curly Sue, instead withdrawing from any publicity and merely writing and producing various films until his death in 2009. As I said in my review of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, it's been highly suggested that Candy's untimely death in 1994 was what led to Hughes abandoning his directing career.

It's crazy to think that a good number of actors, from Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, John Goodman, and Robin Williams to Tim Allen and even Jack Nicholson(!), were considered for the role of Uncle Buck, as it feels like it was tailor-made for John Candy. Buck is a lot of things: he's unemployed, earns a living by betting on rigged horse races, has some rather shady friends, and, though he does have affection for his long-time girlfriend, Chanice, is not at all ready to give up his bachelor lifestyle. But, in addition, he's a very warm, cheerful, lovable lug who, despite being viewed as a black sheep by his brother's side of the family, especially where Cindy is concerned, is more than willing to watch the kids while she and Bob are gone to Indianapolis. Granted, an incentive for him doing so is to get out of going to work for Chanice at her tire shop, but it's clear that his motivation is mostly to help out. Because Buck hasn't been over to Bob and Cindy's house since they moved to the suburbs, that leads to him going to the wrong house and pounding on the door and ringing the bell in the middle of the night. He's also rather clumsy, having set some bushes on fire while barbecuing a while back, unintentionally smashing an old, expensive plate from England after being at the house for only a few minutes, overfeeding the dog, and letting him drink from the toilet. He's not that great of a cook, either, given what he cooks the kids for breakfast on the first morning and what he puts in Miles' lunch-bag. Funniest of all, he fails to get the washing machine and dryer running, leading him to do the washing in the kitchen sink and the drying in the oven, which he manages to make work! But those are hardly his biggest challenges while staying there.

Those would happen to be the kids. Despite some initial hiccups, like Miles absolutely grilling him about his life when he first meets him, and Maizy forcing him to sleep with her, he immediately becomes very close with them, even proving himself to be a potentially good parent himself. When he asks Miles if he brushed his teeth and he insists he did, Buck tells him, "You know, I have a friend who works at the crime lab at the police station. I could give him your toothbrush and he

could run a test on it, to see if you actually brushed your teeth or just ran your toothbrush under the faucet," making both him and Maizy realize they'll need to start brushing their teeth for real. He also teaches the kids to earn their keep by having them do chores, like having Miles wash the dishes, and teaches them how to bowl. But most importantly, he watches out for them. When Pooter the Clown shows up to Miles' birthday party drunk, Buck isn't having it, telling him to get lost, and when Pooter

claps back at him, he knocks his lights out. And when he goes to have a meeting with Mrs. Hoargarth, the assistant principal at the elementary school, and she calls Maizy a "bad egg," as well as a "twiddler," a "dreamer," a "sillyheart," and a "jabber-box," adding that she doesn't take her "career as a student" seriously, Buck gives her an awesome verbal beatdown: "I don't think I want to know a six-year-old who isn't a dreamer, or a sillyheart. And I sure don't want to know one who takes their 'student career' seriously. I don't have a

college degree. I don't even have a job... But I know a good kid when I see one. Because they're all good kids, until dried-out, brain-dead skags like you drag them down and convince them they're no good. You so much as scowl at my niece, or any other kid in this school, and I hear about it, and I'm comin' lookin' for you!"

But Miles and Maizy are easy, compared to the time Buck was with Tia, Bob and Cindy's rebellious, bitter teenage daughter. From the moment he first meets her, he finds her to be cold and hostile, despising everything about him, like how he doesn't even know Miles and Maizy's names, initially. This leads to a serious battle of wills between the two of them, one that Buck lets her know he has no intention of losing. When she threatens to not show up for him to pick her up

after school, he tells her, "Stand me up today and tomorrow, I'll drive you to school in my robe and pajamas and walk you to your first class." Later, when she refuses to go out bowling with him and the other kids, he warns her, "How'd you like to spend the next several nights wondering if your crazy, out-of-work, bum uncle will shave your head while you sleep? See you in the car." He even makes a shaving sound for emphasis. But where he really starts to bring the hammer down on Tia is when he meets her obnoxious boyfriend, Bug,

whom he warns her is only interested in her in order to get his jollies. This puts up even more of a wall between them, especially when he catches the two of them at a get-together in the middle of the woods when Tia was supposed to be over a cheerleader's house and not so subtly threatens Bug with a hatchet. As payback, Tia interferes in Buck's personal business, potentially ruining his relationship with Chanice.

Again, his relationship with Chanice wasn't on the steadiest ground anyway, given his refusal to commit and his disdain for working for her, but it gets flushed down the tubes when Tia has Chanice believe Buck is having a fling with Marcie, their nosy neighbor who has a thing for him. Upon arriving just when Suzie barged in on Buck, Chanice drops him immediately and storms off, which is especially sad, as he'd just left her a sincere and playful message about how much he

missed her. Already depressed about it, when Tia lets him know she was the one behind it, Buck spends the night hitting the booze with Percy. He talks about how people used to tell him that he had made it, adding that no one says that anymore. Regardless, he looks forward to the next day, when he's going to go down to the racetrack and make a bet guaranteed to have him set for the next year. That's when Tia sneaks off to a party with Bug, planning to be gone all weekend. Aggravated at

this, and thinking only of himself, Buck decides to take Miles and Maizy with him to the track and let Tia deal with whatever happens. But when he gets them in the backseat of his car and is about to take off, he realizes what he's doing is wrong, and worries about Tia. This is one of those instances where John Candy really shows what a great actor he could be, as you can see how torn he is, how much he desperately wants to go to the track and get his dough for the year, but knows he can't, that there's something more important he must do. After

calling up Chanice and managing to get her to watch Miles and Maizy, he goes looking for Tia, finding the house where the party is happening. He pushes his way through the throngs of kids, making comments about the music and what the kids are doing, while asking about Tia and Bug. He goes upstairs and uses a power drill to get inside a locked bedroom where he finds Bug, but with someone other than Tia. Appalled at seeing him do this to someone else, Buck then goes searching for Tia elsewhere and finds her wandering the streets.

After she admits he was right about Bug, Buck takes her home. On the way, he promises not to tell her parents about what's happened and also admits that he wishes someone had been on him about the way he lives his life in the same manner he was about her. Once they get back home and Tia admits to Chanice that what happened with Marcie was her doing, Buck and Chanice reconcile, as Buck is no longer enamored with his bachelor lifestyle.

I mentioned this back when I reviewed Planes, Trains and Automobiles but it applies here as well because, like in that film, John Hughes decided to end on a heartwarming image of John Candy; in this case, it's Buck and Tia exchanging a sincere, loving wave as he and Chanice prepare to head home, showing the bond that's replaced the antagonism that was there before (in fact, it's almost like he's smiling and waving at you). Having not seen many of his more well-known movies, I just recently learned that Hughes tended to end them with still frames, but it's still very poignant to come to the end of both this and Planes, Trains and Automobiles and see these final, frozen images of Mr. Candy, with nothing beyond them save for some miscellaneous sounds and gags during the ending credits. Like I said in that other review, it comes off as an unintended but effective reminder that this wonderful guy is no longer with us, but we'll always have these great movies that he made. And in the final bit of the credits here, where you hear Uncle Buck yell, "Wake up!", followed by the sound of an air-horn and his lovable chuckle, it feels like it's meant to smack you out of any feelings of sadness you may have, reminding you that Mr. Candy wouldn't want you to be that way.

I'll give Jean Louisa Kelly the highest compliment possible by saying that, as Tia, she does a great job at being a snarky, embittered, and downright nasty fifteen-year old. In her introductory scene, you learn the reason for her attitude, which is due to having been forced to move from Indianapolis to the Chicago suburbs, as well as that, because of their jobs, the reasons why they moved, her mother and father aren't around that much. Still, she comes off as a real piece of work. She snarls at Maizy to, "Shut your face," puts Miles in an arm-lock and shoves him to make him pick up his backpack, refers to their mother as a "mother figure," and continually makes nasty remarks at her at the dinner table. She only gets worse when Bob and Cindy learn about the latter's father having a heart attack and head to Indianapolis without them. When Cindy, who's already dealing with the shock of what's happened and the scramble to find a house-sitter, says that she loves her father, Tia goes, "So why did you move away from him? If my whole family moved away from me, I'd have a heart attack too," and then slams the bedroom door in her face. She's also not happy about Uncle Buck being the one to watch them for the week and is antagonistic towards him from the get-go, giving him crap for not knowing Miles and Maizy's names, as well as for just existing in general. Unfortunately for her, Buck is as strong-willed as she is, and the two of them engage in a battle that only worsens when Buck sees and recognizes her boyfriend as a guy who's only interested in her for sex. The more he insists on keeping her away from Bug, the more Tia becomes determined to get back at him. First, she lies about him to her mother, saying he drinks and that he left Miles and Maizy alone. Then, when she learns about Chanice, Tia tells her, when she returns one of Buck's phone calls, that he's out with Marcie. And, after Chanice dumps Buck when she coincidentally catches him with Marcie, he still refuses to let Tia go out, she, in turn, lets him know that she was behind it all.

However, there are times where we get a glimpse of the sad, confused girl behind the anger, one who, despite her frustration with Buck trying to keep her away from him, is uncomfortable with Bug and his tendency to be a little too amorous. During the scene where she and some other kids are hanging out at a house in the middle of the woods, Tia tells him that she doesn't feel right "yet" while he's constantly kissing her and suggesting they go out to his car. But, when he offers to take her home,

she opts not to go there, either, showing that she doesn't know what she wants. In the end, she learns the hard way that what Buck said about Bug was true. Whether he had his way with her and then moved on to the next girl or dumped her when she wouldn't put out is never made clear, but after Buck finds Bug forcing himself on another girl at the party house, he comes across Tia as she tearfully walks the empty streets. To her relief, instead of chewing her out or even rubbing her face in it, he simply agrees to take her home. On the

way, he promises not to tell her parents what went on during the past week, as well as asks her to help him settle things with Chanice. In a very touching moment, he tells her, "You know there's uh... one family charity case who loves you very much," leading her to tearfully apologize for the way she treated him. In the end, she does help him with Chanice and, when their parents get back, Tia surprises her mother with a warm, loving embrace.

It's no secret that Macaulay Culkin's small role here as Miles was instrumental in John Hughes' determination to get him cast as Kevin in Home Alone and, while he doesn't have a big part, you can see that energy coming through, as he's definitely the more memorable of the two younger kids. He's very precocious and often stands up to Tia, saying, "Oh, let's have a cow," when she growls at him for leaving his backpack on the floor. He goes on to say, "I'm an American! I have rights!", after she puts him in an arm-lock, and when she tells him to shut up, he goes into a jokey fighting stance, putting up his dukes, saying, "Wanna make me?" His very startled reaction to meeting Uncle Buck is also great, but my favorite scene with him is when he interrogates Buck, as the back and forth between him and John Candy is awesome: "Where do you live?" "In the city." "You have a house?" "Apartment." "Own or rent?" "Rent." "What do you do for a living?" "Lots of things." "Where's your office?" "I don't have one." "How come?" "I don't need one." "Where's your wife?" "Don't have one." "How come?" "It's a long story." "You have kids? "No, I don't." "How come?" "It's an even longer story." "Are you my dad's brother?" "What's your record for consecutive questions asked?" "38." "I'm your dad's brother alright." "You have much more hair on your nose than my dad." "How nice of you to notice." "I'm a kid. That's my job." That alone probably netted him the role of Kevin, especially when you realize that, while he did read off a card (that was taped to John Candy's head), it was only in his close-ups. 

But then, there's also the scene where Chanice arrives to look after him and Maizy, which feels like a small prototype for Home Alone. Chanice arrives, knocks on the door, and looks through the window, just as Miles peeks out through the mail slot. Not seeing anything, he closes it, only for Chanice to knock again. The routine repeats, when Miles, who's sitting on a chair on the other side of the door, looks through the slot a third time and imagines seeing a trio of scary guys outside. He

gasps and closes the slot again, which Chanice hears. She bends down to the slot when he opens it up, only to close it again when he sees her. She tries to explain that she's friends with Buck and that he's supposed to come over to watch him, but Miles asks to see her driver's license. She does show it to him, only for him to ask if she would remove it from her wallet, much to her aggravation. That, coupled with everything else he does here, showed that Macaulay Culkin had a lot of natural talent, despite his young age.

As for Maizy (Gaby Hoffman), she's mainly just cute. However, there is that funny scene where she gives Uncle Buck the puppy dog eyes so he'll let her sleep with him and he tries to explain why it's not a good idea. Also, at the beginning of the movie, there's a moment where she says she's going to tell on Tia for saying "crap," only for Tia to correct her that "shit" is actually the swear word, and when she actually uses it not too long afterward, Maizy goes, "I'm telling on that one." And, while Buck is having his meeting with Anita Hoargarth, Maizy tells her class, "My uncle was microwaving my socks and the dog threw up on the couch for an hour." When asked why Buck was microwaving her socks to begin with, she says, "He can't get the goddamn washing machine to work." Her horrified teacher yells, "Blasphemer!"

I can't help but feel really bad for Cindy (Elaine Bromka). Though she and her husband, Bob (Garrett M. Brown), did move their children away from the place that, for all we know, was the only home they'd ever known, and their jobs keep them from participating in their children's lives (Cindy asks Miles if he won at hockey the day before, only for Miles to tell her it's been over for two weeks), you get the sense that they are good parents and, if nothing else, are trying. Other than Miles talking

about being chased down and beaten on by a sixth grader, the only person who really has a problem with the move is Tia, who makes Cindy her emotional punching bag. Like I said, right after she learns that her father had a heart attack and is scrambling to find someone to house-sit while she and Bob head off to see him, Tia makes her feel even worse by accusing her of causing the heart attack by moving away from her father, something she was already grappling with herself. Speaking of which, while there's not much to say about Bob (I've read they wanted Rick Moranis for this role, and doesn't Garrett Brown kind of look like Moranis?), he comes off as a really good guy, telling Cindy not to blame herself for the heart attack. As for his brother, while he admits that Buck is "out there," he doesn't look down on him like she does (you later learn that she cropped Buck out of her and Bob's wedding photo). Case in point: when they're trying to find someone, Bob is the one who suggests him but Cindy shoots him down, saying that Buck isn't the "type" of person she wants looking after her children for a week. But when they can't find anyone else, Bob calls Buck up, tries to shield his coughing and the loud sounds of his part of town from Cindy's ears, and has him come over. When he arrives, Buck doesn't do much to assuage Cindy's fears, talking about how he stopped smoking cigarettes, only to have switched over to pipes, part of his "five-year plan." She also insists on leaving him some blank checks rather than letting him pay for everything in his way. While she and Bob are in Indianapolis, Cindy gets even more worried when Tia outright lies about Buck, as well as when Buck himself tells her about certain mistakes he's made concerning the house and taking care of the dog. But when she and Bob return home, she's greeted with a warm hug from the very different Tia, and promises her that things will be different from now on.

Chanice Kobolowski (Amy Madigan), Buck's girlfriend of eight years, genuinely loves the guy and wants to marry and have a family with him, but is frustrated with his refusal to give up his bachelor lifestyle. She's also not thrilled with his lack of enthusiasm towards coming to work for her at her tire shop, and when he calls her to tell her he's not going to be able to come in, she doesn't give him time to explain, as she thinks whatever he has to say is a lie to get out of it. Even when she learns it wasn't a lie, she's not happy that he could play the father for his brother's family but not actually be one with her. She also decides to fill his position with someone else, and is frustrated when he asks her to hire someone temporarily for a week or so, giving him to think about it. Despite this aggravation, Chanice does find herself missing Buck, especially when he leaves her a playful and naughty message on her answering machine. That inspires her to call him, only for Tia to make her think he's cheating on her with Marcie. And when Chanice drives down to see for herself, she walks in on Buck after Marcie barged in on him. Convinced that what she was told was true, Chanice leaves Buck, but she does agree to watch Miles and Maizy for him while he goes to look for Tia after she disappears. Though Tia does admit that she lied about Buck cheating on her, it takes some convincing to make Chanice realize that, in the past week, Buck has become a different man, one who's much more mature and responsible. By the time they leave, they're well on their way to having a family of their own, as they're already acting like a married couple in their bickering.

Among some other memorable characters in the film are Marcie Dahlgren-Forst (Laurie Metcalf), the Russells' nosy and thirsty neighbor, who was another choice to watch the kids that Cindy shot down immediately. She wasn't even aware that Cindy and Bob left town, as she walks into the house while Buck is having trouble with the washing machine and, hearing the nasty stuff he's yelling at it, believes he's assaulting Cindy. She's about ready to pepper-spray him when he comes out of there, but once he explains what was going on, she, being divorced, immediately becomes interested in him. She asks him to lunch, then suggests a rain-check when he turns her down, saying that Cindy may be gone longer than he thinks. She later walks in on him while he's doing the laundry in the kitchen and decides he needs some "adult supervision." She puts on the song, Laugh, Laugh by the Beau Brummels, and goads Buck into dancing with her. Though he proves to be rather clumsy and uncoordinated, he does manage to get into it... right when Chanice arrives after Tia lied about him cheating on her. After she storms off, Marcie remarks, "Well, what flew up her nose?" Buck, completely defeated, very politely tells her to go home, much to her chagrin. She says she'll just wait for the Federal Express man, as she's that desperate for a guy.

Of course, there's Bug (Jay Underwood), Tia's boyfriend who immediately gets on Buck's bad side with how obviously hungry for her he is, as well as by making sarcastic remarks about his dilapidated 1977 Mercury Marquis that backfires very loudly. Bug quickly grows to fear Buck about as much as he wants to get into Tia's pants, especially when Buck infers that he might take a hatchet to him. Naturally, he proves to be as much of a sleazebag as Buck thought he was, as he

catches him forcing himself on another girl at the party Tia was supposed to be attending with him. Even more incentive for Buck to put him through his own special brand of punishment. Anita Hoargarth (Suzanne Shepherd), the elementary school assistant principal, is only in one scene but it's a very memorable one, as she proves to not only be strict but also cruel, uppity, and downright insane in her approach to educating kids who are just around six years old. As such, it's awesome to see Buck completely tear her down, as well as

make reference to the big, ugly mole on the side of her chin by tossing her a quarter and telling her, "Have a rat gnaw that thing off your face!" He'd already made a lot of cracks about it but that was the most satisfying, by far. Similarly, Pooter the Clown (Mike Starr) appears briefly but also makes an impression with how, even though he's supposed to be performing for some young kids, he shows up at the Russell house totally drunk, talking about dildo jokes and the like. When Buck confronts him about this, Pooter gets uppity and nasty with him, prompting Buck to tell him to leave. Pooter tries to get the last word in, only for Buck to deck him and make an impression on his rubber nose. Though he shakes that off, Buck delivers another whack that clearly put him down for the count.

Naturally, it's not a John Hughes film if it's not set in the Chicago area, and while I've always liked it in films like this and Home Alone just on principle, having now been there several times, I can say I like it even more. I especially like the juxtaposition of the comfortable, cozy suburbs where the Russell family lives, with all the nicely manicured lawns, lovely middle-class homes, and overall bucolic setting, and Buck's life in the city itself, where he lives in a small, cluttered apartment. It makes their contrasting lifestyles apparent from the get-go, and

helps with that tiny bit of commentary of how, in addition to her other reasons for not wanting him to house-sit, Cindy doesn't think Buck "belongs" there. The Russell house itself is a very posh, two-story colonial house, with everything from the dining room and kitchen to the living room, the upstairs bedrooms, and even the bathroom being absolutely exquisite. It's definitely enough to impress Buck when he first arrives, as he finds himself admiring their living room by playing some notes on the piano and looking at the old,

fancy plates they have displayed on the shelves there... one of which he accidentally breaks, almost immediately. Although the exterior was an actual house in Evanston, Illinois, the interiors for the house and many others, including Buck's apartment and, very likely, the house were the party near the end is held, were done on sound stages that were actually the gymnasiums at the New Trier High School in Northfield (these stages would later house many of the interiors for the McCallister

house in Home Alone). However, the scenes in the elementary school, like the restroom and the principal's office, were shot at an actual school, Romona Elementary, and the scene at the bowling alley was done at two such places, both in Cicero: Palace Bowl for the exterior and the Windy City Bowling Association for the interiors. One of my personal favorite locations in the movie is this old, seemingly abandoned stone-house in the middle of the woods that the teenagers have a get-together at one night. I just like very out of the way places like that, as it makes me think of a place that's been in our family for God knows how many years, where my dad, uncles, and, sometimes, even myself, would camp out at.

Despite what I said about the expected Chicago area setting, Hughes had originally intended to shoot Uncle Buck in St. Louis, but opted not to when the winter of 1988 proved unseasonably warm there. I'm glad he did, too, because, while it's not that important to the story overall, the idea that it's the middle of winter and really cold gives it a certain vibe that I like, especially during the nighttime scenes. I like shots such as Buck driving the cold streets of Chicago in his constantly smoking Mercury; Tia and Bug hanging out with

the other kids at the stone-house in the woods, many of whom are gathered around a bonfire or some lanterns; and Tia wandering the cold, empty city streets late at night, after she's learned that Buck was right about Bug. Also, when I think about it, it likely adds more to that feeling of isolation and misery that Tia is going through. I don't know about you but, when winter drags on and on, I get so tired of the cold, as you're unable to really go anywhere or do anything outdoors, and

during daylight savings time, it can feel like you're living in endless night on top of it. So, when you're like Tia, who doesn't want to be living there to begin with, and is desperate to get away from her home life as much as possible, it piles onto that mindset, and the fact that she just bears the bitter cold as much as she does shows how unhappy she is.

Hughes was a director who never got that fancy or showy with his filmmaking, although he did have his trademarks, like close-ups of two characters locking eyes (a prime example being Steve Martin and Kevin Bacon at the beginning of Planes, Trains and Automobiles), someone using the term "four-flushing," and his ending freeze frames. But for the most part, his cinematography and direction were fairly straightforward and naturalistic, save for gags, like an overhead shot of the kids scooting away from Miles when he offers to trade them the

nasty lunch Uncle Buck made him, a big close-up of Percy's face when he licks Marcie's butt during her first scene, Buck swinging right at the camera when he punches out Pooter the Clown, and an action movie-like shot of Buck flying over the camera when Chanice whacks him with the kitchen door. There are a number of moments where he shoots John Candy from down low, showing how massive Buck is to kids and also to make him look intimidating to those who've gotten on his bad side.

I also like the way he shot the lead-up to when Marcie first meets Buck, as she peeks through the slightly ajar laundry room door, but because so much stuff is blocking her view, she only sees tiny bits of what's going on, with Buck's profane tirade at the washing machine really making it seem like he's assaulting someone. Hughes also knew how to do establishing shots really well, especially in the actual city of Chicago, which I know he adored, and I also like the touch of the shots of the full

moon in the sky you sometimes see. And while I may be making more out of it than there, there are moments here where he shoots someone in a room from down a hallway that feel kind of significant. He does this when Buck is first left alone at the house, kind of showing how out of place he is there, and also when Buck is looking at Tia in her room, smiling smugly at him after insinuating that she was behind Chanice's falling out with him, making her feel just a tiny bit more petty and smug, as well as alluding to Buck's frustration with her as it really hits him.

We do get a funny montage when Buck, during his first night, is forced to share the bed with Maizy, Miles, and Percy and has the worst time trying to sleep, which Hughes punctuates with the use of swipe cuts, zoom-ins on Buck's face as he lies in the floor, and close-ups of a clock face and moving minute hands, which swipe across the image, dissolve to one of those shots of the moon and are also superimposed atop it. It's of the few times in this movie where he gets truly fancy in his direction, and some others that stick out to me are

near the end, when he twice puts Buck in silhouette. The first time is when he busts down the bedroom door with the power-drill and stands in the doorway, backlit, in a moment that's both heroic and yet, kind of scary. The second is when he gets out his golf equipment and prepares to make Bug suffer for hurting Tia, an instance of the humor that was viewed by some as mean-spirited and nasty.

Once in a while, I like to look up the old Siskel and Ebert segments on YouTube to see what they thought of various movies. Even if I don't agree with their opinions, and, as you know, I often don't, I can at least appreciate and admire how they verbalize them, at least most of the time (Ebert's comments about the characters in The Thing needing a "buddy system" and Siskel's complaints about the little girl getting attacked at the beginning of The Lost World: Jurassic Park completely dumbfound me). So when I watched

their segment on Uncle Buck, I was rather surprised when Ebert said he felt the movie had a "dark undercurrent," referring to the scene where Uncle Buck goes after Bug. And in his actual review in the Chicago Sun-Times, he described it as being strangely bitter and angry for a movie by John Hughes. Looking at it, yeah, there are moments where Buck does come off as a bit... unhinged, shall we say? Like when he threatens Bug with a hatchet and proves to actually have one in his trunk when Tia is sure he's bluffing. Or when

he does almost take Bug's head off when he pulls away while he's leaning through the open passenger door to kiss Tia. There's also no denying that the lead-up to him busting in on Bug forcing himself on that girl is shot like a horror film, with him banging on the other side of the door, the close-up of the drill coming through the knob, and the creepy music. And yeah, his abducting Bug, duct-taping his hands, gagging him, and tossing him in the trunk, before whacking him with a golf-

ball as he tries to run away, is borderline psychotic, which was probably why they always cut that scene on Disney Channel... but on the other hand, it's gratifying because Bug is such a creep. In the end, I think this is another example of Ebert taking things way too seriously, as he often did (ironically, Siskel liked the dark stuff more than the heartwarming, child friendly material). For me, the movie combines the light-hearted, kiddy stuff and darker, most twisted material rather well, as the

latter really only happens in regards to the more serious part of the story, with Buck trying to warn Tia that Bug is not the guy she thinks he is. Now, when I first watched the movie on cable and saw the scene with Bug bound in the trunk and then getting hit with a golf-ball, I was taken aback, as it was much darker than what I knew of the movie, but I think it's a nice comeuppance for such a nasty character, especially given how he's not at all sorry for what he did to Tia.

Speaking of which, while it doesn't get too heavy-handed or hard-hitting with it, the films does touch on the dark sides of being a teenager, be it angst, unhappiness, and trying to figure out who you are or, most significantly, how there are people out there who will take advantage of you. The guy at the bowling alley, Pal, is the most blatant example, one who doesn't even attempt to hide his disgusting intentions, but the scarier, more real-to-life example is Bug. While he initially seems like just kind of a goofy guy, there are hints of his

perversions in his and Tia's interactions beforehand, which I've mentioned. But the scene near the end, where he's caught forcing himself on another girl, shows how much of a scumbag he is, just as or even more than Buck thought he was. It's really the lead-up to the reveal that does it, as he comes off as so sleazy and unsettling with how he caresses the girl's back, then gets her down on the bed, and slowly but surely starts to remove her clothes, as she can be heard whispering that she

doesn't want to do it and asking him to stop. Bug, however, doesn't listen and doesn't care, telling the girl that she doesn't mean what she's saying, and when he first hears pounding on the door, his reaction is scary aggressive, threatening to kick someone's ass if they interfere in him having his way. And like I said, we don't know exactly what happened between him and Tia before Buck got there, so he could potentially be even worse and the hard, painful lesson Tia learned could've been even more of a trial by fire.

Some may also be turned off by Buck actually punching out Pooter the Clown or threatening to come after Anita Hoargarth but, hey, at least he's putting these other crummy people in their place and is doing it for the kids' sake. Yeah, I know it wouldn't be socially acceptable to threaten a vice principal, no matter how nasty they are, but I enjoy seeing Buck give that snooty, overbearing, and mean bitch a serious tongue-lashing, just as much as I like the moment in Kindergarten Cop where John Kimble punches out that abusive father (by

the way, as much as I really like that movie, I would say its attempt at combining kiddy stuff with darker material is a bit more problematic than Uncle Buck, and yet Ebert liked it!). And some of his threats towards Tia, like shaving her head while she's sleeping, are a bit much but, come on. She needed to be brought down a peg. Buck is a good, warm, lovable lug, but he also doesn't stand for any bullshit, especially when kids are involved, and that's one of the things I love about him (now, if he

were killing these people or actually terrorizing Tia, that would be another thing altogether). To tell you the truth, I find the instances where Miles and Maizy say words like "goddamn" and "shit" more troubling than anything Buck does. I know kids do actually swear quite a bit but it's weird to hear Gaby Hoffman, who was only six at the time, say that kind of stuff.

Like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the movie does have its fair share of rather crude and crass comedy, though never to the point of becoming downright gross, as in something like American Pie or, if you want to stay within its actual period, the Porky's and Revenge of the Nerds movies. For me, personally, the one moment where I feel it does get skin-crawly is when they're at the bowling alley and Tia gets hit on by this very sleazy, creepy-looking guy named Pal, who sits next to her, twigs a toothpick up and down in his lips, flicks his left

eyebrow, and smiles at her in a creepy manner. There is some genuine levity when, while flipping the pick up and down in his mouth, it gets stuck vertically between his palate and tongue, but then, he goes to offer her some beer, asks if she's cheerleader, adding, "You look firm," and then asks if she wants to go for a ride in his new, red Bronco. She tries to pretend that she can't speak because of throat problems, but he's not deterred, saying, "I got a cure for that." Fortunately, Buck sees what's going on and tells him to get lost. Later, when

Chanice hears a message Buck left on her answering machine, he's talking about the nicknames he gave to various parts of her body: "I think about those two little dimples on your buns. What do we call them? One, one was, on the right was Lyndon and left was... Johnson, I think. No, that was your boobs, we did. No, your boobs were Minnie and Mickey. I remember that because of Disney World. And Felix! Felix is what we called your..." Cut to the sound of a cat meowing loudly.

And then, there's the misunderstanding that Marcie has when she hears Buck before meeting him. She hears him in the laundry room, saying, "Alright, get ready. Here I come," followed by a loud pounding. As she creeps to the door, Buck's yelling gets louder and more profane, as do the banging sounds: "What, do I have to talk dirty to you? Come on! Open up for daddy! I'm gonna shove a load into you! There we go! Come on, it's nice and easy. Aaah! Come on, there we go! Ah! Take that!

Take that! Come on! You don't want the crowbar, do you? Come on! Open up! Ugh! I'm gonna shove my load into you whether you like it or not! Come on! Ugh! Come on, you son of a bitch. Open up." As you can see, the cutaway to him struggling could give the wrong impression in and of itself. Then, as Marcie peeks through the crack in the door, she can only see Buck's legs in front of the washing machine as he appears to thrust forward and slam into it. While there's nothing funny about sexual assault, this misunderstanding is freaking hilarious, and it's followed up by Marcie screaming when Percy licks her butt, which freaks Buck out in turn.

Other than those moments, as well as Buck getting drunk along with Percy, the comedy is pretty family friendly for the most part. A lot of it is good old-fashioned slapstick and buffoonery, like Buck getting whacked on the head with a bowling ball while packing his stuff, him going to the wrong house in the middle of the night, accidentally smashing one of the old plates in the living room, hanging out and watching TV with Percy while the kids are at school (he eats Frosted Flakes while watching a workout video), him bringing in a cat

that isn't theirs, getting whacked so hard by a door that he's sent flying like a shot in an action movie, and accidentally causing a bunch of pots and pans to fall, after which he yells a frustrated, "Shit!" Buck's 1977 Mercedes is the source of a lot of comedy, due to how it puts out exhaust smoke like nobody's business, is so old and junky that it looks as though it's going to fall apart any second, and, whenever it idles, it backfires so loudly that people tend to think it's someone firing a shotgun (for

years, my aunt had a station wagon that reminded me a lot of Buck's car, although it didn't backfire like that). And then, there's just the humor that comes from watching John Candy be the charming goofball he always was, particularly when he finds his own, special way of doing household chores, compensating for not being able to get the washer or the dryer to work by using the kitchen sink and the oven. Let's also not forget his casual, chatty way of pushing through the crowded house-party, and when he attempts to be quiet while eavesdropping on Tia and Chanice's conversation about him, only to be forced to stifle a cough at one point.

Though Gene Siskel didn't care for it, I think some of the best stuff in the movie consists of Buck's various interactions with the kids, be it him startling Miles when he first meets him, their hilarious back and forth during Miles' interrogation, his dealing with Maizy giving him the sad eyes so he'll let her sleep with him and trying to make her understand why it wouldn't be a good idea, or just the banter he has with the kids in general. I especially like the scene where he tries to sleep in the same bed with Maizy, Miles, and

Percy, barely has any room, falls in the floor continuously, and then opts to just sleep there, only for the kids and the dog to join him, leading them to get back in bed, all while Mr. Sandman plays on the soundtrack (that scene makes me think of what it's like when I house-sit for some people and their two dogs insist on sleeping with me). Then, there's him giving Miles a very disgusting sack lunch, something the other kids want nothing of when he offers a trade, and later when he makes him an

enormous pancake breakfast for his birthday, commenting, "You should see the toast! I couldn't even get it through the door!" Miles' astonished reaction really sells it. And even before his meeting with Anita Hoargarth, you have the image of him walking the elementary school hallway while smoking a cigar and wearing sunglasses, when he decides it might be best to do that in the restroom. He ducks into the boys' room, lets out a puff, then finds the stalls are occupied, so he wets down the

cigar and throws it into a trashcan. But, when he decides to do his own business, he remembers that the urinals were not built with a large man like him in mind, forcing him to get down on his knees in order to make it work. But, besides the humor, his interactions with the kids are often just charming and sweet, like when he lovingly tucks Maizy in, she says, "Good night, Uncle Buck," and he replies, "Good night, sweetheart," before kissing her good night, and when he tells her and Miles they need to be quiet while Tia settles things with her mother, saying they need to button their lips, zip them up, lock them up, and throw the key away, miming doing so, which they mimic.

As with a number of John Hughes' films, Uncle Buck was scored by Ira Newborn, although much of the soundtrack consists of actual songs and pieces of music from decades past. Newborn actually plays with some of this material, opening the movie with a re-orchestrated, slightly different-sounding version of Rhythm of Life by Hugh Harris, which the movie ends with, and a bigger, more sax-heavy version of Ray Anthony's Thunderbird, serving as something of a leitmotif for Buck himself, playing when he takes Tia to school and when he makes Miles' enormous birthday breakfast. Newborn also uses some vastly different styles throughout, playing some sloppy-sounding, jazzy music when Buck is driving to the Russell house for the first time; some wimpy strings for when Maizy gives Buck the puppy-dog eyes; a subtle, twanging piece for when Suzie hears Buck seemingly assaulting Cindy, followed by a tense-sounding buildup to when Percy sniffs and licks her butt; some eerie, theramin-like music for when Buck threatens to shave Tia's head and when he threatens Bug with the hatchet; a rocking sort of beat when Buck heads to and leaves his meeting with Anita Hoargarth; a more upbeat version of his theme when he does the laundry in his own, special way; bluesy guitar for when he's getting drunk with Percy; heartfelt music for when he wrestles with the dilemma of going to the racetrack; fast-paced, rocking music when he heads to the house party; and a transition from creepy, horror-like music when he's trying to break into the bedroom, to big, triumphant horns when he does so, and then from quieter, sadder music when he sees Bug isn't with Tia, as well as a bit more horror when he goes after Bug with the drill, to heartfelt and poignant when he finds Tia walking the streets by herself. There's also a bit of roaring, action-like music for the moment when Buck gets sent flying by Chanice.

As for the soundtrack, I've already mentioned Rhythm of Life, Mr. Sandman (which I can never hear without thinking of the Halloween movies), Thunderbird, which plays over the latter part of the ending credits, and Laugh, Laugh, which is tied to the movie's subplots by its lyrics, as they can elude to both how Chanice feels when she catches Buck with Marcie in that moment and what Buck tries warn Tia about Bug. Other songs include Tweedlee Dee by LaVern Baker when Buck is first cooking breakfast, Juke Box Baby by Perry Como and Lipstick, Powder and Paint by Big Joe Turn, both of which play during the scene at the bowling alley, Sport by Lightnin' Rod, which loops during the scene where Tia and Bug are making out at the get together in the woods, and Bust a Move by Young MC, which you hear during the house-party. Also, the start of Runnin' by Edwin Star can be heard when Buck realizes Tia has stood him up and he goes back home in frustration.

In closing, I'll say that I am aware of both of the attempts to turn Uncle Buck into a sitcom, neither of which panned out. But, I have no interest in seeing them, as I don't think this story and character really merit a series, and also, without John Candy, you may as well not even try. He is the heart and soul of this film and character, along with John Hughes' writing and directing, the great and memorable supporting cast, the classic Chicago locations and winter setting, and the fun score and soundtrack. Some may agree with Roger Ebert and find the film to be kind of unsettling and mean-spirited in some of Buck's scenes but I see it as Hughes effectively blending family-friendly comedy (for the most part) and Candy's charming, lovable onscreen persona with some darker subject matter, particularly where Tia is concerned. If you're reading this, odd are that you're a fan of John Candy like me and have always loved Uncle Buck, but on the off-chance that you haven't, definitely give this a watch. You will not be disappointed.