What on EARTH took me so long to see this movie? A lot of the movies I review here are revisits of old friends or titles I have wanted to see and this was an excuse. Uncle Buck, the beginning of a three picture deal with Universal for John Hughes, isn’t either. Uncle Buck was one of those films that always popped up on TBS about halfway through. I knew I would like the film. I loved John Candy since I first encountered him on SCTV and I think John Hughes wrote some of my favorite movie screenplays from the mighty, mighty 80’s.
So why hadn’t I sought this out earlier? BECAUSE it was always on, but I never caught it when it started. I just never circled back.
Until now.
This movie is an interesting mix. Nestled between John Candy’s greatest ever performance in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Macaulay Culkin’s best movie Home Alone, it does in fact feel a little like a bridge. It really wasn’t in either destination, but satisfyingly between both.
The set up is a riff on the “Mr. Mom” motif that has been mined for comedy gold forever. Some guy that has no experience or skill taking care of some unruly and difficult children. In this one, though, they dispose of the usual macho “I can take care of this, no problem” schtick and really shows a guy that is having a problem putting together his own life getting thrown into the middle of this type of experience.
Particularly wonderful in the film is the first film appearance of Jean Louisa Kelly. I always marvel at how well Hughes could write young female characters. I think everyone knew a girl like her in high school, just looking to lash out and didn’t mind whoever was crushed in her wake. Her relationship with Buck was both heartbreaking and heartwarming…depending on where you are in the film.
As a confirmed bachelor, John Candy got this character down well as well. While I like to think Buck is a tad more broken than I am, I know some of the loneliness and inner turmoil that Candy seems oddly suited to portraying. While this performance doesn’t stack up quite as well to Del Griffith in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, it is truly wonderful.
Of particular note is how Buck uses his secret weapon to keep his young flock in check: paralyzing them with embarrassment. Always more effective than a beating or screaming, it was funny to see his mastery of the technique with such ease.
Some of the quick moments, like the scene of Culkin’s questions of Buck and a scene with Buck sitting next to an elementary student outside the principal’s office were some of the best. A surprise appearance by the answering machine our family had in the 80’s made for a great nostalgic rush as well.
As great as this movie is, it is fairly dark for a “family” film with a possible off screen date rape and kicking it off with a 2 am phone call about a father having suffered a heart attack, but it does shine through with good old human connections that make you choke up with joy.