Uncle Buck (1989)

Director:

John Hughes

Writer (WGA):

John Hughes (written by)

Release Date:

16 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family

Tagline:

OH NO! IT'S...

Plot:

Bachelor and all round slob, Buck, babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister.

Plot Keywords:

Bug | Babysitter | Night | Teenager | Bowling

Cast

John Candy	...	Buck Russell
Jean Louisa Kelly	...	Tia Russell
Gaby Hoffmann	...	Maizy Russell (as Gaby Hoffman)
Macaulay Culkin	...	Miles Russell
Amy Madigan	...	Chanice Kobolowski
Elaine Bromka	...	Cindy Russell
Garrett M. Brown	...	Bob Russell
Laurie Metcalf	...	Marcie Dahlgren-Frost
Jay Underwood	...	Bug
Brian Tarantina	...	E. Roger Coswell
Mike Starr	...	Pooter-the-Clown
Suzanne Shepherd	...	Mrs. Hogarth
William Windom	...	Mr. Hatfield (voice)
Dennis Cockrum	...	Pal
Joel Robinson	...	Miles' Friend #1
Colin Baumgartner	...	Miles' Friend #2
Erik Whipple	...	Miles' Friend #3
Mark Rosenthal	...	Party Boy #1
Doug von Nessen	...	Party Boy #2 (as Doug Von Nessen)
Wayne Kneeland	...	Party Boy #3
Gigi Casler	...	Party Girl in Bedroom
LaVerne Anderson	...	Party Girl #1 (as Laverne Anderson)
Gina Doctor	...	Party Girl #2
Rachel Thompson Perrine	...	Party Girl #3
Ron Payne	...	Maizy's Teacher
Jane Vickerilla	...	Teacher #1
Kyle Lewis Eastman	...	School Child
Dana Taylor	...	School Child
Jennifer Kane	...	School Child
Christen Loftis	...	School Child
Genae Affrunti	...	School Child
Anna Chlumsky	...	School Child
Betsy Bottando	...	Woman in Car
Julia Morgan	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Granville Ames	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Ramey Ellis	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Leigh French	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Patricia Arquette	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Laura Jacoby	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Devon Odessa	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Arnold F. Turner	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Garin Bouble	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Tim Hoskins	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Julie Payne	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jack Blessing	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Todd Larson	...	Additional Voices (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Bassett	...	Extra (uncredited)
Michael Berkowitz	...	Student (uncredited)
Cathy Carlson	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Anthony Joseph Fatigato	...	Scary man in mailbox slot (uncredited)
Ryan Goldstein	...	School Child (uncredited)
Robert Minkoff	...	Bit (uncredited)

Directed by
John Hughes

Writing credits (WGA)
John Hughes		(written by)

Produced by
William H. Brown	....	associate producer (as Bill Brown)
John Hughes	....	producer
Tom Jacobson	....	producer
Ramey E. Ward	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Ira Newborn

Cinematography by
Ralf D. Bode		(director of photography) (as Ralf Bode)

Film Editing by
Lou Lombardo
Tony Lombardo
Peck Prior

Casting by
Risa Bramon Garcia		(as Risa Bramon)
Billy Hopkins

Production Design by
John W. Corso
Doug Kraner

Set Decoration by
Daniel Loren May		(as Dan May)

Costume Design by
Marilyn Vance		(as Marilyn Vance-Straker)

Makeup Department
Ben Nye Jr.	....	makeup designer: John Candy
Linda Rizzuto	....	additional hair stylist
Dione Taylor	....	hair stylist
Jamie Sue Weiss	....	additional makeup artist (as Jamie Weiss)
Steve LaPorte	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Alan C. Blomquist	....	unit production manager
Raymond Hartwick	....	unit production manager (as Ray Hartwick)
Tom Udell	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William H. Brown	....	second unit director (as Bill Brown)
Forrest L. Futrell	....	second second assistant director
David Kelley	....	second assistant director
Thomas J. Mack	....	first assistant director (as Thomas Mack)

Art Department
Len Borggrebe	....	propmaker foreman (as Len Borgrebbe)
Daniel B. Clancy	....	set dresser
James M. Davis	....	construction foreman (as Jim M. Davis)
Kenneth J. Gagnon Sr.	....	construction coordinator: Chicago (as Kenneth J. Gagnon)
Casey Hallenbeck	....	leadman (as Casey C. Hallenbeck)
Kim S. Hobbs	....	lead set: Chicago (as Kim Hobbs)
Steve Homa	....	greensman (as Steven C. Homma)
Steven Curtis Husch	....	assistant prop person
Thomas M. Jones	....	set dresser
Doug Kraner	....	visual consultant (as Douglas Arthur Kraner)
Louis M. Mann	....	assistant art director
Amie McCarthy	....	assistant prop person
Jerry Moss	....	property master
Jeff Passanante	....	construction coordinator
Paul Stanwyck	....	painter foreman (as Paul J. Stanwyck)
William F. Stuebe	....	labor foreman: Chicago
Jacob Zawacki	....	construction foreman: Chicago
Anthony Joseph Fatigato	....	painter (uncredited)
Robert E. Knight	....	head signwriter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Greg Agalsoff	....	boom operator (as Gregg Agalsoff)
Gary Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer
James R. Alexander	....	sound mixer (as James Alexander)
Bob Beher	....	assistant sound editor (as Robert A. Behr)
Tom Bellfort	....	supervising sound editor
George Fredrick	....	sound editor
Scott Martin Gershin	....	sound editor
Joe Gilbert	....	adr assistant
Stan Gilbert	....	adr supervisor
Per Hallberg	....	assistant sound editor
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer (as D.M. Hemphill)
Chris Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Larry Kemp	....	sound editor
Lou Kleinman	....	sound editor
Michael Magill	....	sound editor (as Michael D. Magill)
Cindy Marty	....	sound editor
Jeff Rosen	....	sound editor (as Jeffrey Rosen)
Frank Smathers	....	sound editor (as Frank T. Smathers)
Wylie Stateman	....	supervising sound editor
Jeffrey A. Williams	....	cable person
Larry Kemp	....	foley supervisor (uncredited)
Mark Lanza	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Danny Cangemi	....	special effects (as Dan Cangemi)
Jeff Jarvis	....	special effects coordinator

Stunts
M. James Arnett	....	stunt coordinator (as James Arnett)
Ken Blazer	....	stunt double
Bob Elmore	....	stunt double
Manny Perry	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Bradarich	....	video playback operator (as Stephen Bradarich)
Michelle Crenshaw	....	second assistant camera
Ron Leahy	....	chief lighting technician: second unit
Morgan Michael Lewis	....	key grip
Gregory Lundsgaard	....	director of photography: second unit
Mel P. Mack	....	electrician (as Mel Mack)
Mark E. Matthys	....	grip (as Mark Matthys)
Dan McKenzie	....	grip
Ronald W. McLeish	....	chief lighting technician
Roy A. McLeish	....	electrician
Danial Miller	....	dolly grip (as Danial A. Miller)
David Morenz	....	first assistant camera: second unit
James O. Oakes	....	best boy grip
Michael Stone	....	camera operator
Robert Swander	....	chief lighting technician: Chicago (as Robert S. Swander)
John Swanders	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as John Swander)
Alex Touyarot	....	first assistant camera
John Waldo	....	second assistant camera
Dean Williams	....	still photographer
Kevin Bassett	....	second unit: camera assistant (uncredited)
Paolo Cascio	....	additional first assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Paul Adler	....	casting associate
Suzanne Smith	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ilene Giardini	....	costumer: women
Daniel J. Lester	....	costume supervisor (as Dan Lester)
Silvio Scarano	....	costumer: men

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Ellen Elphand	....	apprentice editor
Jerrie Fowler	....	assistant editor
John Lafferty	....	assistant editor
Gina Lombardo	....	first assistant editor
Ed O'Malley	....	assistant editor
Tim Silano	....	first assistant editor
Tony Taurus	....	assistant editor
Fred C. Vitale	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
Jeff Carson	....	music editor
Matt Dike	....	composer: additional music
Tom Kramer	....	music editor
Ron Payne	....	music coordinator
Michael Ross	....	composer: additional music
Tarquin Gotch	....	music supervisor (uncredited)
Don Nemitz	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
John Hardy	....	transportation co-captain
James Hogan	....	transportation captain
Patrick Lynn	....	transportation co-captain (as Patrick J. Lynn)
Armand Paoletti	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Jacqueline G. Arthur	....	assistant: Marilyn Vance-Straker (as Jacki Arthur)
Jacolyn Baker	....	location manager
Charles J. Brady Jr.	....	craft service (as Charles J. Brady)
Michael D. Cronin	....	first aid
Joan Eisenberg	....	unit publicist
William Shane Grisco	....	animal trainer (as William S. Grisco)
Frank T. Hernandez	....	personal assistant: John Candy (as Frank Hernandez)
Holly Hudecek	....	teacher (as Holly Hudacek)
Tammy Karabas	....	production secretary
Adena Lazan	....	accounting clerk
Shari Leibowitz	....	production coordinator
Brenda Morris	....	assistant auditor
Mary Nitti	....	assistant production coordinator
Jolanta Piwowarczyk	....	location auditor (as Jolanta T. Piwowarczyk)
Anne Rapp	....	script supervisor (as Ann Rapp)
Marshall Schlom	....	script supervisor (as Marshall I. Schlom)
Jane Vickerilla	....	assistant: John Hughes
Jeanne Webber	....	graphic consultant (as Jeanne Weber)
Miranda Garrison	....	choreographer (uncredited)
Mark Gulbrandsen	....	dailies projection technician (uncredited)
Stephen W. Hollocker	....	assistant: John Hughes (uncredited)
Steve Kraus	....	dailies projectionist (uncredited)
Chris McKay	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Robert Schick	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Daniel Shriver	....	photo double (uncredited)
Daniel Shriver	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents)
• Hughes Entertainment

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1990) (USA) (TV)
• Universal Pictures (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (1990) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Egmont Entertainment (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Esselte Video (1989) (Finland) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2002) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2002) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-edited)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1996) (2006) (2008) (Finland) (TV)
• Sub (2009) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Sturm's Special Effects International (snow making)

Other Companies

• Cherokee Studios  music recorded and mixed at
• Geddes Agency, The  extras casting
• Inter Video  24 frame video services
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Peru:PT | Spain:T | UK:12 (original rating) | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:PG | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Wheeling, Illinois, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

When Buck goes to the party to find Tia he hears the Rap music playing and jokingly says "Who's That? The Grass Roots?" The Grass Roots were a popular band in the late 1960's that had a string of hits including "Lets Live For Today", "Midnight Confessions" and "Temptation Eyes" among others.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Miles unpacks the lunch that Uncle Buck has made for him and asks the boy to his right "Would you like to talk about a possible lunch trade?" (27:51 to 28:10), the scene cuts to an overhead shot (28:11 to 28:12) of the three boys at his table propelling their chairs backwards across the room. The overhead cut has numerous continuity errors. At 28:11, (1) Miles is still unpacking his lunch so his hand is back in the lunch bag and he is missing the canned sardines and two plastic bags, (2) the boy to Miles' right is wearing a solid purple shirt rather than a blue shirt with black stripes, and (3) the sandwich in the right hand of the boy to Miles' right has been replaced with a bag of Fritos.

Quotes:

Maisy Russell:They have rent-a-shoes!
Tia:And rent-a-foot disease!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "20 to 1: Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (#6.6)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

TWEEDLEE DEE

Here's a quarter. Go downtown, and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face.

Candy's best performance ever. As hard as it is to pick a favorite role that John Candy ever portrayed, I'd have to say it was Uncle Buck. Although this wasn't the only title he and Culkin ever shared, it was the only film the two ever shared any time on screen together.

Basic plot: Candy's sister-in-law's father has just had a heart attack in the middle of the night and the two parents rush trying to find someone to watch the kids for them while they hop the next flight to go see her father. In a desperate last resort, they call the husband's brother. Buck. Of course, the concerned uncle comes to the rescue and takes the task with no complaint. However, the oldest of the children doesn't care for her bumbling uncle, and the discipline and protection he places upon her, while her parents are away.

A great heart-warming comedy that will make you laugh and possibly even cry at times. A classic, and certainly a triumph that wouldn't have happened without John Candy. Hollywood truly lost a great actor.

I give this movie a 9 out of 10. One of the funniest and most wonderful stories, but not my favorite.

And that's my review.