Uncle Buck

I first watched Uncle Buck when I was about 10 or 11 years old and fell in love with it instantly. It’s a movie that I have watched easily 50 times over. Uncle Buck is a John Hughes written and directed movie, which if you are my age, you know that he directed some of the most successful comedy films of the 80s and 90s.

John Candy is the star of the story, playing the character Uncle Buck that we all fall in love with and are cheering for. The story follows a proper story structure in that it has a beginning, an event, a middle, a climax, and an end.

In the beginning….

Once upon a time…. there was an unemployed bachelor man named Buck who loved horse racing and had a girlfriend named Chanice.

Every day…. Buck would live his unemployed life in his messy bachelor pad, but the next morning he would be starting his new job at Chanice’s tire shop. Buck promises that he will show up for his first day in the morning.

But, then…. Bob (Buck’s brother) and Cindy Russell receive a phone call in the night informing them that Bob’s father-in-law has suffered a heart attack and they need to head back to Indianapolis and find a suitable babysitter for their three children, Tia, Miles, and Maizy.

Because of that…. Bob calls Buck (even though Cindy is anxious about the idea) to house-sit and watch the kids for a few days. Buck agrees, gets into his dilapidated vehicle, and heads to Bob and Cindy’s.

Uncle Buck’s attempt at adulting….

Then.… Uncle Buck quickly befriends Miles and Maizy, the younger children, but has a hard time with Tia who is rebellious, brash, and hostile towards Buck.

Then…. Buck and the kids go through various situations such as all going to a bowling alley, making enormous pancakes for Miles on his birthday, removing a drunk birthday clown from the property, and handling laundry when the washing machine breaks.

Then…. Tia meddles in Buck’s relationship with Chanice by leading her to believe that Buck is cheating on her with the neighbour. Chanice comes to the house to confront Buck, see’s Buck dancing with the neighbour, is obviously furious, and leaves.

Then finally.… Tia has had enough of Buck and sneaks out to a party with her boyfriend Bug. Buck decides to go look for her instead of going to the horse races. He convinces Chanice to come over to watch the two younger children while he searches for Tia. When he gets to the party, he thinks he sees Bug taking advantage of Tia in a bedroom, drills out the lock of the door, only to find Bug with another girl.

Then…. He leaves the party to continue looking for Tia and finds her in an emotional state. She apologizes to Buck for being hostile towards him and acknowledges that he was right about Bug.

In the end….

In the end…. back at home, Tia helps to mend the relationship between Chanice and Buck, admitting she lied about the alleged affair.

Bob and Cindy come home to an emotional hug from Tia, who appears to have a new appreciation for her mom and dad.

Chanice and Buck are back together and leave feeling as though Buck is now a valued member of the family.

Buck and Tia exchange a warm wave goodbye.

How we can relate….

The story of Uncle Buck follows Ashley Fell’s Four I’s which is why we all can relate and this movie has stuck as one of my favourites for years.

Interest

The interest is maintained throughout the movie as we watch Uncle Buck go through various life issues, most of those we can all relate to, such as his relationships, his bad habits (gambling, drinking, cigar-smoking), and his desire to be a good person.

Involve

The conflicts that Uncle Buck goes through are the same ones any one of us might face. Unemployment, relationship issues and breakups, putting someone else first ahead of ourselves. The story involves all of us as humans and situations we may face in our day-to-day lives.

Instruct

There are many teachable moments in the movie, but the most upfront theme I found was that Uncle Buck teaches us the importance of family.

Inspire

Uncle Buck is a loveable character with a big-hearted personality. He is the fun uncle we all want or maybe already have in our families. As he grows up a little throughout the movie, so does the teenager Tia, and we are easily inspired by these parallel transitions.