Throwback Thursday: 'Uncle Buck' Review

For our throwback Thursday review this week, we are covering a film of perhaps the quintessential filmmaker of the 80’s: Mr. John Hughes. No collection of films screams the fun and cheesiness of that decade like ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)’, ‘The Breakfast Club (1985)’, ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)’, and so many more. He shaped so many youths as he was able to look at life through the eyes of children, teenagers, and adults who act like children. And in no other of his projects does he achieve all of those viewpoints as well as he does in ‘Uncle Buck (1989)’.

It’s such a shame that John Candy has left us, because, at one point, he was a master of his craft. In this movie, he manages a wonderful balance of rambunctious physical comedy, witty one-liners, and a kindhearted soft-side that just wants to reconnect with his family. His character is handled with a “marvelous grace” if I may say so. In the film, in the event of a family tragedy, the father must call upon his notoriously irresponsible brother to watch his three children while they are away. The only problem? The eldest of the children is a teenage girl named Tia, who believes she is an independent woman who does not need to listen to any person of authority; this is where the heart of the movie comes from. The kids in the film are also great; they’re naiveté plays for some pretty big laughs. Buck really ends up stumbling his way into tying loose ends of this dysfunctional family.

This is a film that plays very much as if it’s pulling on the audience’s heartstrings with a great feeling of nostalgia. It’s a very fuzzy movie, with a predictable plot that gets tied up with a nice, pristine little bow. However, as long as a predictable film is well-made and made with care, I am willing to overlook some of its familiar flaws. Just look at ‘Almost Famous (2000)’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast (1991)’, two classic movies with pretty predictable plots but a high rewatchability factor. Therefore, I was very happy to come back to this film I watched in my childhood, and it just made me smile. It is an 80’s comedy that translates to today and still makes you laugh. It’s heartfelt, maybe a little too much so, but it is really the definition of a classic family film. I am going to give this movie a ‘7 out of 10’. So what do you think of ‘Uncle Buck (1989)’? Have you seen it? Do you want to see it after the review? Leave your comments below!