The Underrated John Candy Comedy You Can Stream On HBO Max
On February 3, 2021, seemingly without any explanation whatsoever, former Second City Television star, the late John Candy, began trending on Twitter. Photos and gifs of the actor were in steady supply — as were clips of his characters from SCTV.
Although John Candy passed away in March of 1994, his legacy as an actor and a comedian continues to this day because of the wealth of work he left behind. Whether it's playing off of Bill Murray and Harold Ramis as Ox in Stripes, unsuccessfully traveling on Thanksgiving with Steve Martin (before he stepped away from acting) in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, or just being Barf, Spaceballs' standout half-man, half-dog — Candy's work is simply legendary.
One of the most wonderful things about a career like Candy's is that there's always a chance that there's a movie of his you either haven't seen yet or simply haven't seen in a little while. Right now, people with HBO Max are gravitating toward Candy's 1989 classic Uncle Buck, and there's a good chance you'll want to check out this comedy with your family, too — if you haven't already.
Uncle Buck pairs John Candy with his Home Alone co-star
John Candy has an almost uncanny ability to make any character lovable, no matter how oddball or underhanded — which makes the character of Uncle Buck a perfect fit. Uncle Buck is the story of a family in crisis. Bob (Garrett M. Brown) and Cindy Russell (Elaine Bromka) suddenly find themselves in the midst of an emergency: They have to leave town to help Cindy's father who just had a heart attack. Unfortunately, since the married couple just moved their family to the Chicago suburbs, the only person they can get to watch their kids is Bob's brother Buck.
Buck is not really the obvious choice for watching children. He drinks, he smokes cigars, he drives a beat-up '77 Mercury Marquis, and his primary source of income is gambling on horse races. However, in an effort to avoid taking a job he doesn't want, Buck leaps at the chance to care for his brother's kids. There's just one problem — Buck's eldest niece Tia (Jean Louisa Kelly) hates him and spends most of the runtime of the film trying to ruin his life. As a result, wacky hijinks ensue.
The movie is fun, but the obvious selling point here is the reunion of Candy and Macaulay Culkin. The two are both in the iconic film Home Alone, but their storylines never quite match up together. In Uncle Buck, however, Candy and Culkin spend a lot of screen time teaming up together — and it's clear they are having an absolute blast. The scene where Buck essentially cooks Culkin's character Miles Russell his weight in pancakes is especially hilarious and adorable.
Uncle Buck is available to stream on HBO Max now.