Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

Uncle Buck (1989)

Director: John Hughes

Average user rating
2 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Tia (Kelly) is an unlovely specimen, her face fixed in a scowl of post-pubescent parent-hating, generated by mom's inattentiveness. When granny has a heart attack, mom and dad rush to her bedside, leaving the kids in the care of the family's black sheep, Uncle Buck (Candy). While the younger brats soon take to the slobby, loveable newcomer, Buck and Tia swiftly settle down to a war of attrition (he demobilises her dating power by fending off suitors with axes and power-drills, she throws a spanner in his affair with Amy Madigan). It's clear from the outset that by the time the parents return all will be reconciled; what is unclear is quite why this formulaic film fails to click, providing only interludes of satisfying Candy comicry amid the peculiarly meandering plot expositions. Set piece scenes arrive without warning and depart without conclusion, notably a painfully unfunny interview with a pimpled school principal in which crass 'don't-mention-the-melonoma' jokes fly thick and fast. Candy still raises laughs simply by playing himself, but the film is a heavy weight for even his imposing form to carry.

Author: MK 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

  • Big D said...
    Posted on Aug 12 2008 19:04 This review is a stinker. Yes, it was the grandfather who had the heart attack, and not the grandmother, but that's just the beginning of where this interviews went off track. The character of Tia is a stunningly beautify young woman. Uncle Buck takes great pleasure in tormenting her boyfriend "Bug" who is clearly interested only in getting into her pants - Buck can see it, but Tia cannot. Why? Because as Uncle Buck himself says, "When I was his age, I was the one zoomin' all the chicks." He sees himself in this kid, and hates him for it. And this is the whole point of the film - retribution. Can he become the person he wants to be? Can he salvage his life? Or is he doomed to stay the unmarriable slob he has become? This film is a gem. It is flawed, but I like it. It's John Candy's greatest role.
    Report as inappropriate
  • C said...
    Posted on Feb 22 2008 16:33 hi this is a good review and movie the only problem i had with it was how you said that the mom's granny had a heart attack when it was actually her dad.thank you and thats all i have to say
    Report as inappropriate

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Cast & crew

Director: John Hughes

Producer: John Hughes, Tom Jacobson

Cast: John Candy, Jean Louisa Kelly, Gaby Hoffman, Macauley Culkin, Amy Madigan, Elaine Bromka, Garrett M Brown, Laurie Metcalf, Jay Underwood full cast

Genre(s): Comedy

Duration: 100 mins


Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.