Review of Uncle Buck (1989) by Richard R — 10 Jul 2009
The director/actor partnership of John Hughes & John Candy is just as important in the archives of American film history as Scorcese & De Niro, Lee & Washington or Ford & Wayne. That magical spark which ignites when a director feels he has a man through which he can channel his thoughts, anger and opinions whilst the actor enjoys the feeling of being stretched across topics which he holds close to his heart by a man who learns more and more about his acting capabilities with each film.
It's an artistic marriage and the films are the children. Uncle Buck is a sometimes irresponsible bachelor who is called upon, as a last resort, by his brother to look after his teenage daughter and her younger brother and sister.
John Candy's performance makes Buck a role he was born to play and his new responsibilities as a guardian force him into learning his way around the home and leave his tendency for slobbishness behind.
He has many hurdles to overcome in order to become a 'parent'. The two younger children provide mental challenges: in one classic scene Buck is hit with a series of questions, as though fired from a handheld semi-automatic, by the clearly talented Macaulay Culkin.
His teenage niece is on the brink of ruining her life in a social/sexual sense and he has to decide on how committed he is to Amy Madigan whilst negotiating the advances of new neighbour Laurie Metcalf.
Uncle Buck is a vital part of the tapestry John Hughes painted about the comedic state of America's middle-class society around two decades ago.
This review of Uncle Buck (1989) was written by Richard R on 10 Jul 2009.
Uncle Buck has generally received positive reviews.
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