Uncle Buck
by John Hughes
from Universal Studios
John Candy stars in this John Hughes comedy as an idle good-natured bachelor who is left in charge of his nephew and nieces during a family crisis. Unaccustomed to suburban life fun-loving Uncle Buck soon charms his younger relatives Miles and Maizy with his hefty cooking and his new way of doing the laundry. But his carefree style doesnt impress everyone including Tia (Jean Kelly) his rebellious teenage niece and Chanice (Amy Madigan) his impatient girlfriend. Uncle Buck is the last person you would think of to watch the kids. But with a little luck and a lot of love he manages to surprise everyone in this heartwarming family comedy. System Requirements:Starring: John Candy Jean Kelly Gaby Hoffmann Macaulay Culkin and Amy Madigan Director: John Hughes Produced by John Hughes & Tom Jacobson; written by John Hughes; running time of 100 minutes; Closed Captioned. Copyright: 1989 Universal Pictures Cast/Crew Bios Film Highlights Interactive Menus Production Notes Widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio Anamorphic Widescreen Subtitles: Spanish Track Info: English: Dolby Digital Surround French: Dolby Digital Surround Spanish: Dolby Digital SurroundFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 025192031724 Manufacturer No: 61020317
John Candy has one of his finest opportunities in this film by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club) about a perpetual screw-up (Candy) who gets his act together enough to watch over his brother's kids effectively. The late actor scores big points resurrecting elements of his more decadent persona from SCTV days, but he also has some persuasively touching, sentimental moments. Hughes's direction is not as focused as it was only a few years before, but there's no mistaking his touch. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, production notes, biographies, Dolby sound, optional Spanish and French soundtracks. --Tom Keogh
Home Alone
by Chris Columbus
from 20th Century Fox
Now and forever a favorite among kids, this 1990 comedy written by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club) and directed by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire) ushered Macaulay Culkin onto the screen as a troubled 8-year-old who doesn't comfortably mesh with his large family. He's forced to grow a little after being accidentally left behind when his folks and siblings fly off to Paris. A good-looking boy, Culkin lights up the screen during several funny sequences, the most famous of which finds him screaming for joy when he realizes he's unsupervised in his own house. A bit wooden with dialogue, the then-little star's voice could grate on the nerves (especially in long, wise-child passages of pure bromide), but he unquestionably carries the film. Billie Bird and John Candy show up as two of the interesting strangers Culkin's character meets. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are entertainingly cartoonish as thieves, but the ensuing violence once the little hero decides to keep them out of his house is over-the-top. --Tom Keogh
Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) has become the man of the house, overnight! Accidentally left behind when his family rushes off on a Christmas vacation, Kevin gets busy decorating the house for the holidays. But he's not decking the halls with tinsel and holly. Two bumbling burglars are trying to break in, and Kevin's rigging a bewildering battery of booby traps to welcome them!
Home Alone 2 - Lost in New York
from 20th Century Fox
This somewhat unpleasant 1992 sequel to the blockbuster Home Alone revisits the first film's gimmick by stranding Macaulay Culkin's character in New York City while his family ends up somewhere else. Again, the little guy meets up with colorful people on the margins of society (including a pigeon woman played by Brenda Fricker) and again he gets into a prop-heavy battle with Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The latter sequence is even worse than the first film in terms of violence inflicted on the two villains (director Chris Columbus, who also made the first film, can't seem to emphasize the slapstick over the graphic effects of the fight). The best running joke finds a concierge (Tim Curry) at the swank hotel where Culkin is staying trying and failing to prove that the boy is on his own. --Tom Keogh
Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is back! But this time he's in New York City with enough cash and credit cards to turn the Big Apple into his own playground! But Kevin won't be alone for long. The notorious Wet Bandits, Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), still smarting from their last encounter with Kevin, are bound for New York too, plotting a huge holiday heist. Kevin's ready to welcome them with a battery of booby traps the bumbling bandits will never forget!
Saved!
by Brian Dannelly
from MGM (Video & DVD)
Classic teen comedy mixes with cunning satire in Saved!. Fervent Christian Mary (Jena Malone, Donnie Darko) believes God wants her to save her gay boyfriend by sleeping with him. But he gets sent to an anti-gay indoctrination camp while she ends up pregnant--which starts to drive a wedge between Mary and her snotty best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore, How to Deal). Meanwhile, they're both interested in the son (Patrick Fugit, Almost Famous) of their Christian school principal (Martin Donovan, Trust). Saved! respects faith but gleefully mocks the excesses and absurdities of contemporary organized religion, particularly its suburban, let's-speak-the-language-of-the-kids manifestations. The actors, including Macaulay Culkin (yes, from Home Alone) and Mary Louise Parker (Fried Green Tomatoes), play their parts with sincerity, which makes the fusion of humor and heart succeed. A delightful movie. --Bret Fetzer
Two thumbs up! Ebert & Roeper and the Movies Nothing short of brilliant. PremiereGood girl Mary (Jena Malone) and her best friend Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore) are at the top of the food chain at American Eagle Christian High School. But all that is about to change in this subversively funny (USA Today) teen comedy about hype hypocrisy and h