Uncle Buck

"He's crude. He's crass. He's family."

1989 1h 40m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🍅

61%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 1,422🍅61%Rotten Tomatoes●51Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 120,612

ComedyDramaFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Buck Russell, a lovable but slovenly bachelor, suddenly becomes the temporary caretaker of his nephew and nieces after a family emergency. His freewheeling attitude soon causes tension with his older niece Tia, loyal girlfriend Chanice, and just about everyone else who crosses his path.

“He's crude. He's crass. He's family.”

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Cast

John Candy
Buck Russell
Jean Louisa Kelly
Tia Russell
Gaby Hoffmann
Maizy Russell
Macaulay Culkin
Miles Russell
Amy Madigan
Chanice Kobolowski
Elaine Bromka
Cindy Russell
Garrett M. Brown
Bob Russell
Laurie Metcalf
Marcie Dahlgren-Frost

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Hughes
Writers: John Hughes
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Hughes, shot by Ralf D. Bode. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ira Newborn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tony Lombardo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Candy and Jean Louisa Kelly and Gaby Hoffmann carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He's crude. He's crass. He's family.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0098554 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Hughes directs. Ralf D. Bode behind the camera. Ira Newborn scores. Tony Lombardo cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 5.3× over at the box office.
237 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by John Hughes, shot by Ralf D. Bode. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ira Newborn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Tony Lombardo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6John Candy and Jean Louisa Kelly and Gaby Hoffmann carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "He's crude. He's crass. He's family.".
8IMDB entry: tt0098554 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9The top-rated still from this film on TMDB has multiple community votes — a signal the frame composition stuck with viewers.
10Classified under 14 themes, including "babysitter", "uncle", "nostalgic", "backfire".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ralf D. Bode
Original score: Ira Newborn
Editing: Tony Lombardo
Production design: John W. Corso
Costume design: Marilyn Vance
Makeup / hair: Ben Nye Jr.
Sound: Doug Hemphill
Stunt coordinator: M. James Arnett
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $79,300,000
Return: 529% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Uncle Buck (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes: 61% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 51/100
IMDB rating: 7.1/10 · 120,612 votes
MPAA: PG

Also by

John Hughes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

kevin20192025-05-02
★ 8/10
"Uncle Buck" is structured along familiar lines and the character epiphanies which take place are generally of the unrevelatory variety. The characters themselves are standard stereotypes we have encountered too many times before and there is no attempt made to freshen them up in any way. Now, you would imagine all of this could justifiably be considered damaging to the overall effectiveness of the film and it is extremely surprising this isn't the case. However, this is not an outstanding film by any means, but it is a highly amiable and entertaining one instead and the comedy really works terrifically well throughout. It is effortlessly capable of generating its fair share of laughs and it ends on the promising note of there being a brighter future ahead for everyone involved.

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