It boggles the mind that we have now over three decades without John Candy in the world. Much like Robin Williams’ passing, Candy’s left a big hole in the land of laughs and feel-good times at the movies. So too, the world lost the wonderful John Hughes far too early, taking with him a unique voice and way of storytelling.

Fortunately, Candy and Hughes collaborated several times and left indelible and masterful works to revisit over and over again. That’s why it’s difficult to accept they’re gone. One only needs put on one of their many efforts and its like they’re still around.

Speaking of which, Kino Lorber has delivered unto my Parcel Box the new 4K scan of the Hughes/Candy collaboration Uncle Buck! One of my favourite Candy flicks.

Telling the story of hapless kidult Buck Russell (Candy), the black sheep of the family who is reluctantly conscripted to babysit his brother and disapproving sister in law’s three kids, when a family emergency calls them away. There’s little Miles (Macauley Culkin) and Maisey (Gaby Hoffmann) and teenaged malcontent Tia (Jean Louise Kelly), none of whom are that familiar with Buck. In a real fish out of water romp, Buck tackles domestic responsibilities like a bull in a China shop, misfiring at every step, destroying harmony and property at every turn. But underneath all the slapstick and camp humour (Laurie Metcalf’s Marcie Dahlgren-Frost is a riot) is a sweet story about a man who never wanted to grow up, having to. And a teenaged girl struggling to adapt to change.

Another of Hughes’s layered, relatable scripts that hit every beat out of the park. Movies like this so often are played for cheap laughs and are shallow as puddling. There is depth, emotionality, and relatability in every scene of this movie. Scenes that could easily have sped into melodrama or tonal grating work with beautiful writing and natural performances. Jean Louise Kelly was a standout, sharing a lot of battling scenes with Candy. Culkin, just a whisker from super-stardom in Home Alone, is a revelation in the few scenes he’s in and defines scene stealer in every one of them. Every bit part is memorable and hilarious.

This flick has always been feel-good medicine. It’s lightning in a bottle from the script to setting to performer to end credits. This is a perennial favourite in our house and a true classic.

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Edition

Home Video Distributor: Kino Lorber
Available on Blu-ray - February 18, 2025
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Video: HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

VIDEO

AMAZING! Kino Lorber has slam-dunked this 2160 native scan of the original camera negatives. Whoever did this movie should go back and do Planes, Trains and Automobiles, cause the results are night and day better. There is a clean, organic picture throughout, managing problematic night scenes as consistently as bright day scenes. Flesh tones, colours, fabric textures all get a massive swing in detail. Formally crushed darker scenes and inky, nuanced and detailed. HDR comes with either Dolby Vision or HDR10+ and carefully enhances the picture, adding dimensionality without hyperbole. This is a perfect restoration on a perfect film. Well done!

AUDIO

No complaints here either. This DTS-HD 5.1 lossless mix is a well-balanced track, which I believe comes from a previous release, gives you clean delineations between centre, fronts, rears and your sub. It’s obviously not a blockbuster, explosions every minute, kind of track, but what you get is a thoughtful range of well-placed elevations (Buck’s backfiring car, the kicked door toward the end, the drill through the bedroom door!). When you’re in a bowling alley, it sounds like a bowling alley, when you’re in an empty school hall, it echoes. One only pines for a 7.1 Atmos as well, but this serves the movie fine.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• See below for details

Special Features:

DISC ONE - 4K BLU-RAY

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• NEW Audio Commentary by critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
• NEW Audio Commentary by critic Historian Joe Ramoni
• 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
• Optional English SDH Subtitles

DISC TWO - BLU-RAY

• NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• NEW Audio Commentary by critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
• NEW Audio Commentary by critic Historian Joe Ramoni
• Sixteen Going on Seventeen: NEW Interview with Actress Jean Louisa Kelly
• Theatrical Trailer
• 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
• Optional English Subtitles

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: PG.
Runtime: 110 mins
Director: John Hughes
Writer: John Hughes
Cast: John Candy; Macaulay Culkin; Jean Louisa Kelly
Genre: Comedy
Tagline: OH, No! It's ....
Memorable Movie Quote: "You have much more hair in your nose than my dad."
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: August 16, 1989
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: February 18, 2025.
Synopsis: Laid back commitment-phobe Buck babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister.