Since we’re in the Christmas season, I thought it fitting to give my regular readers a peek behind the VIP curtain. Please enjoy my previously Neopatron exclusive review of the John Hughes classic Uncle Buck.
More than 30 years on, Uncle Buck retains its status as a John Hughes comedy classic. Besides showcasing Hughes’ writing and directing chops, this film stands as a celluloid memorial to the late John Candy’s comedic genius.
And while acknowledging all of that, I must confess to not having gotten why everybody considered this movie a big deal, even on my first viewing back in the day. But having re-watched it recently, I think I get it now.
Let’s get into why.
Uncle Buck revolves around the titular character, played by Candy: a lovable and carefree bachelor who unexpectedly finds himself in charge of his nieces and nephew when their parents have to leave town.
John Candy’s brilliant performance carries the movie. His impeccable comedic timing and teddy bear charm bring the character of Buck to life. Neopatron Bayou Bomber clued me in to the similarities between Buck and his 1990 contemporary Homer Simpson – at least as Homer was portrayed back then. Both were big oafs who blundered into mischief, but they also had the street smarts and stubbornness to navigate the jams they bumbled into – as well as a dark side.
The dynamic between Uncle Buck and the kids is a time capsule of Boomer-Gen X (and Y) relations. Here, Buck represents the archetype of unfettered Me Generation wish fulfillment. He is every affluent Boomer’s image of what might’ve been if he hadn’t bought in, sold out, and moved to the suburbs.
That lack of attachment frees Buck to tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they may. Sure, he takes guff for rejecting materialism, but he always has just the right comeback to put uptight yuppies and Gen X punks in their place.
Watching it with fresh eyes keyed me in to what’s rubbed me the wrong way about Uncle Buck before. Unlike other John Hughes movies with traditional narrative structures, Uncle Buck’s plot features a series of vignettes as comedy set pieces, not always in immediately logical sequence. It often feels more like a gag reel from an 80s sitcom than a coherent film.
But it’s that High 80s/Early 90s vibe that establishes this movies value as a cultural artifact today. Young Macaulay Culkin nails the Gen Y zeitgeist of being raised by absentee careerist parents in the early 90s. He walks home from school alone, getting jumped by bullies along the way, and lets himself in the house. There, his predominantly female authority structure, represented by his Gen X sister, dismiss his problems while insisting he invest in theirs. Being raised by women has made him precociously clever in verbal interactions, but he’s helpless when it comes to practical tasks like making breakfast. The events of the movie happen to him as he watches in a passive daze.
The film’s status as a record of a long-gone time and place extends beyond its visual elements. The soundtrack is noteworthy for its juxtaposition of old rock tunes and pre-gangsta rap hip-hop. Uncle Buck might be the first major film to mark teens’ shift in music preference from rock ‘n’ roll to rap. And it says something that the oldies are always associate with Buck and his retrograde lameness, while the rap songs accompany young, hip characters.
Forming a perfect backdrop to the cultural shift in music, the film’s suburban setting is practically a character in its own right. As Gen X pundit Christopher Zeeman has pointed out, record labels sparked rap’s explosive popularity in the early 90s by marketing it to white suburban teens. In that respect, Uncle Buck captures the transition from 80s to 90s culture with documentary veracity.
In my overdue reassessment, Uncle Buck is a family comedy done right. It successfully blends humor with heart, offering a temporary escape into early 90s nostalgia. John Candy’s charismatic performance, combined with a talented supporting cast and Hughes’ directorial finesse, cements the film as a classic that continues to entertain audiences of all generations.
Whether you’re revisiting the film for a trip down memory lane or discovering it for the first time, Uncle Buck remains an important cultural record and a solid comedy that leaves a lasting impression.
This month only, Margrave and higher tier patrons get first access to the outline for my dark fantasy novel-in-progress The Burned Book.
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