Apr 29, 2014
"We're so sorry, Uncle Buck, we're so sorry if we caused you any pain". Yeah, sorry to all you many Wings fans and you one guy who enjoys my song references, I'm kind of low on material, kind of like John Hughes was at this point. Shoot, I don't think anyone or anything ran out of material faster than this film's spin-off TV series, although, in all fairness, I didn't actually watch any of that, like everyone else. Man, this film somehow got more attention than the TV show, but then again, this film might just not seem like received that much attention because it's not quite as memorable as something like "Planes, Trains & Automobiles". Nevertheless, John Hughes was not yet finished with John Candy, because as well-known as Hughes is for the youths, he had to have his working relationship with Candy stick around long enough to at least have a family-oriented title attached to it. This film is so deep into themes about weird family dysfunction that it stars Macaulay Culkin, and it predates "Home Alone", so you know that it's the real classic stuff... even though it came out only a year before "Home Alone". So yeah, this is family dysfunction for the whole family to enjoy, even though it's not especially memorable, what with its thin story.
While it has that classic hint of seriousness which characterized John Hughes' "comedies", this film's narrative is nothing of tremendous consequence, limiting potential something fierce, despite the occasional dramatic attempt that often isn't even believable enough to ring true. Like many of Hughes' efforts, the film tries pretty hard to keep relatively grounded for a fluff piece, and that makes it harder to ignore lapses in believability, not just in its sentimentality, but in certain comedic set pieces that go too far over the top to gel with more grounded comedic moments. The inconsistency in the magnitude of fluffiness is unnerving enough, and to make matters worse, when the fluff goes to its extreme heights, it gets there on the back of cheese, which seems to talk down to audiences through a lack of subtlety that is also reflected in moments of sentimentality, until contradicted by more subdued aspects which tend to be too subdued to be all that exciting. Believability is uneven, tone is uneven, and even subtlety is uneven, and as if that's not enough, there's also a certain unevenness to pacing, which is generally tight enough to sustain entertainment value on the whole, until broken by dry and draggy spells in Hughes' storytelling which, in comparison with the smoother spots in pacing, are nearly dull, and decidedly detrimental to a sense of momentum. There are plenty of aspects to this film that are blanding, but really, what blands things up about as much as anything is the final product's lack of originality, because as a late '80s/early '90s style family comedy, if not dramedy, it's nearly nothing new, and nothing less than hopelessly predictable. As if it's not enough that the story is thin by its own right, it's unrefreshing, and that, combined with the unevenness, defuses much of the final product's steam, until it collapses as what I've been saying it is: kind of forgettable. Still, while the film occupies your time, it occupies your attention adequately, for it's not as though Hughes was all that rusty this far along in his career, at least as a director.
John Hughes gets to be both too ambitious and a little lazy, but mostly as screenwriter, because as director, despite his issues, he turns in yet another relatively realized directorial performance, whose subtle technical proficiency and tight script interpretation sustain a fair degree of lively momentum, broken by more thoughtful moments in pacing which, while often blanding, give the feel of the film some tasteful range. As much as I criticize the inorganic incorporation, if not the sentimentality of certain dramatic touches, they're very rare, and when they do come into play, they're kind of touching in their putting dynamicity to tone and reinforcing some worthy themes. Unoriginal and thin, this portrait on overcoming family dysfunction through anything from shenanigans to trial and error does not offer an especially memorable narrative, but its story concept is still colorful, with a solid emphasis on worthy characters, made so engaging by their portrayers. Well, it's hard to get invested in the lovely, young Jean Louisa Kelly's teenaged Tia Russell character, who is ultimately redeemed, but just so startlingly unlikable throughout the body of the film that not even the then-newcoming Kelly's decency can compensate as much as it ought to, yet outside of that role, most everyone fulfills his or her role pretty sharply, but not like leading man John Candy, whose classic charm is overwhelming, and whose down-to-earth presence proves to be endearing in its crafting an endearing lead who may very well be more memorable than the film itself. Candy could have carried the flawed, but loving uncle role a little over the top, but instead he carries the film by approaching such a conventional role in a refreshing and likable fashion that sells material as best Candy can. However, that's not to say that the material that Candy and his peers has to work with is all that challengingly flat, for although Hughes is more inspired as director than he is as writer, his humor is generally pretty effective, and his weightier touches, while jarring and sometimes a little sentimental, have enough heart to them to freshen up a generally formulaic narrative with range and genuineness. It's a little traditional of an affair for the family dramedy crowd and John Hughes followers, but this film takes enough worthy notes from its formulaic books to endear as entertaining and sometimes touching, just not especially memorable.
Overall, a thin story's momentum is further shaken by an inconsistency in story believability, cheesy spells, and an unevenness in pacing which blands things up about as much as a lack of originality, thus making an underwhelming final product which is carried enough by thoughtful and sometimes touching direction, endearing performances - especially a worthy leading one by John Candy - and charming writing to make John Hughes' "Uncle Buck" a reasonably entertaining, if underdone portrait on family.
2.5/5 - Fair
Verified