Uncle Buck Episode Review: Uncle Bucks No Trends…But That’s OK

review

UNCLE BUCK - Pilot Gallery (ABC/Mitchell Haaseth) JAMES LESURE, SAYID SHAHIDI, AALYRAH CALDWELL, NIA LONG, IMAN BENSON, MIKE EPPS

UNCLE BUCK – Pilot Gallery (ABC/Mitchell Haaseth)
JAMES LESURE, SAYID SHAHIDI, AALYRAH CALDWELL, NIA LONG, IMAN BENSON, MIKE EPPS

Last night ABC launched a new sitcom titled Uncle Buck. If that title sounds familiar it is because the late John Candy starred as the title character in a movie, back in 1989. For lack of any better ideas, why not turn a successful film into a TV series? Well, one reason might be that the idea seldom works. This one, though, may have a chance.

Now, if you are looking for an innovative comedy, such as Modern Family or The Big Bang Theory, this will not be the place to find it. First of all, as mentioned, it is based on a movie that has been around for quite a while. Second, even if John Candy had not blazed that specific trail, the formula is nothing we haven’t seen before: ne’er-do-well single guy suddenly cleans up his act when he finds himself responsible for a family of likeable children to care for.

On the other hand, just because something has been done before, does not mean we should all stop trying to do amusing variations on the theme. If, after the first boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back show ran whenever it ran, the entertainment industry decided it could never repeat such a theme, then both Hollywood and Broadway would have long since gone out of business.

Since I basically enjoyed the two shows that initiated the series Tuesday night, I have to say that I am a little worried that the show is airing on ABC, unquestionably the yellowest network when it comes to giving a show time to find its audience. Sure, they have long-running shows, but for the ones just starting out, this is possibly a little risky.

The first two half-hour episodes consisted of the pilot, in which the Uncle Buck character (played by Mike Epps) establishes his credentials as an irresponsible person, with whom you would have to be crazy to entrust with the care of your children. We also establish that his supportive brother and very skeptical sister-in-law, Nia Long (formerly the voice of Roberta Tubbs in The Cleveland Show), are too busy to keep track of their three children. When their respective jobs take them out of town at the same time, you surely know that they will not be able to arrange a sitter. And when they reluctantly settle for Uncle Buck, of course the children are less than thrilled at the prospect, to nobody’s surprise whatsoever. By the end of the pilot though, Uncle Buck seems to have landed a tentative sinecure as the live-in care-giver for the couple’s two daughters and son.

The next episode focuses on the youngest child struggling to overcome her painful shyness (at least in front of crowds; she had no trouble giving Uncle Buck plenty of lip in the pilot) in order to sell cookies for the equivalent of her Girl Scout troop. As you again might guess, it is Uncle Buck to the rescue.

So all right, the plots are formulaic, but within them, the writing is fresh and the acting, by the adults and the children, is top-drawer. If you missed the first two episodes, I’m not sure where you would go to get caught up, but it may not be all that important if you pick it up at the third episode. If you have nothing better to do at nine o’clock on a Tuesday evening, you may want to give it a look. Check out the trailer below, if you like. 

Uncle Buck, ABC, June 14, 2016

 

Read more comedy news.

 

 

The following two tabs change content below.

Thomas Cleveland Lane

Thomas Cleveland Lane is a semi-retired freelance writer for pay and a stage actor for nothing more than the opportunity to make a fool of himself. Well, he does get a small stipend from the Washington Area Decency League, after playing the role of Hinezie in The Pajama Game, to never, ever appear on stage in his underpants again. When he has not managed to buffalo some director into casting him, Thomas can often be found at his favorite piano bar, annoying the patrons with his caterwauling. Thomas is the author of an anthology called Shaggy Dogs, a Collection of Not-So-Short Stories (destined to become a cult classic, shortly after he croaks). He is also the alter-ego to a very unbalanced Czech poet named Glub Dzmc. Mr. Lane generally resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and was last seen in the mirror, three days ago.
Thomas Cleveland Lane
Thomas Cleveland Lane
Thomas Cleveland Lane is a semi-retired freelance writer for pay and a stage actor for nothing more than the opportunity to make a fool of himself. Well, he does get a small stipend from the Washington Area Decency League, after playing the role of Hinezie in The Pajama Game, to never, ever appear on stage in his underpants again. When he has not managed to buffalo some director into casting him, Thomas can often be found at his favorite piano bar, annoying the patrons with his caterwauling. Thomas is the author of an anthology called Shaggy Dogs, a Collection of Not-So-Short Stories (destined to become a cult classic, shortly after he croaks). He is also the alter-ego to a very unbalanced Czech poet named Glub Dzmc. Mr. Lane generally resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and was last seen in the mirror, three days ago.