History Film / UncleBuck

* AnAxeToGrind: Buck threatens Bug by talking about a hatchet he keeps with him. Tia thinks he's just bluffing. Buck then takes the hatchet out of the trunk for them to see.

* GroinAttack: Buck threatens Bug with this in a ''very'' roundabout way, while showing off his [[AnAxeToGrind hatchet]].

* BaitAndSwitch: Buck drops an expensive plate. Obviously it'll shatter into a million pieces, right? Wrong. It stays in one piece[[spoiler:, until Buck mumbles “[[TemptingFate Unbreakable, huh?]]” and whacks it against the piano]].
* BedmateReveal: [[spoiler: When Buck bursts in on Bug at the house party, he sees the girl Bug is trying to DateRape is ''not'' Tia.]] [[Awesome/UncleBuck He goes ahead with his plan anyway.]]

* CharacterTitle

* DoorHandleScare: Buck finds out his niece has snuck out to a party and goes after her. We see her boyfriend making out with someone in a room when the door handle jiggles. But the [[SubvertedTrope door is locked]] and the two continue. Then [[DoubleSubversion a power drill comes through the handle]] and the door opens to reveal Buck. [[spoiler: But the girl is not the niece.]]

* EverybodyHasStandards: [[spoiler: Bug may not have been [[AttemptedRape attempting rape]] on Tia at the time, but Buck still goes ahead with making Bug pay for his lechery. Because (A) this implies Bug is cheating on Tia, and (B) no girl deserves to be in this situation.]]

* GiantFood: For Miles's birthday, Buck makes a stack of pancakes which are nearly three feet in diameter for breakfast, and has to use a ''snow shovel'' to flip them!

** Later, Buck soberly admits [[spoiler: to Tia the reason he still looks out for her is because he's just like her: he realized he needed to get his act together.]]

-->'''Miles''': Are you married?
-->'''Buck''': No.
-->'''Miles''': Why not?
-->'''Buck''': It's a long story.
-->'''Miles''': Do you have any kids?
-->'''Buck''': No.
-->'''Miles''': Why not?
-->'''Buck''': It's an even longer story.

* PrecisionFStrike: When Buck knocks the pots and pans down at the end. [[spoiler: SHIT!]]

** Admittedly, the kids didn’t seem too enthused about there being a clown in the first place so they probably didn’t mind.

* BigFun: Since he's played by John Candy, it's no surprise that Buck is one of these, a fun-loving guy who's (mostly) good with kids. However, as some of these other tropes show, he is not to be trifled with and can turn menacing when he feels he needs to.

* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Tia Russell.

[-[[caption-width-right:300:Who knew Creator/JohnCandy could be so terrifying?]]-]

* NiceHat: Buck has a few.

* BookEnds: At the beginning of the film, Maisy grouses at Tia for swearing, [[spoiler:and at the tail end of the film before he's about to leave the Russel house, Buck accidentally sends tons of hanging cookware tumbling to the floor, at which point he cries "Shit!"]]

* TheAllegedCar / CoolCar: Buck's jalopy (he calls it "The Beast"), which [[Series/KeepingUpAppearances backfires like clockwork]]. It becomes cool when we see what's in the trunk.

Spawned a sequel TV sitcom that premiered in September 1990 on CBS, starring Creator/KevinMeaney as Buck, who becomes guardian of the three children after their parents are killed in a car accident. Panned by critics, it didn't even finish its first season before being cancelled, after airing only 16 of 22 filmed episodes. A second TV sitcom premiered in 2016 on ABC, this time with an all-black cast in an attempt to ride the coattails of ''Series/{{Blackish}}''. This version was also panned by critics and only lasted 8 episodes.

* BeautyMark: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]; the assistant principal's mole is anything but beautiful.
-->'''Buck:''' [[Awesome/UncleBuck Take this quarter, go downtown, and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face! Good day to you, madam.]]

* IgnoreTheDisability: Buck introducing himself as "Buck Melanoma, Moley Russell's wart." See BeautyMark, above.

* BookEnds: At the beginning of the film, Maisy grouses at Tia for swearing, [[spoiler:and at the tail end of the film, Buck accidentally sends tons of hanging cookware tumbling to the floor, at which point he cries "Shit!"]]

* BookEnds: At the beginning of the film, Tia grouses at her siblings for swearing, [[spoiler:and at the tail end of the film, Buck accidentally sends tons of hanging cookware tumbling to the floor, at which point he cries "Shit!"]]

* DisproportionateRetribution: Tia lies to Shanice about how Uncle Buck is cheating on her with another woman, just so she can spite him for the petty crime of embarrassing her at school and chasing away Bug for her own well-being. Partly justified, as Tia's just a teenager and has a self-centered worldview where her only concern is what little social life she has at her new school.

* KickTheDog: Tia has loads of this under her belt, from mockingly blaming her mother for her grandfather's heart attack to sabotaging Buck's relationship with Shanice.

* OverlyLongGag: When Miles "questions" Buck when they first meet. This is a ''portion'' of [[Funny/UncleBuck the full conversation]], which takes about five minutes:

** "A lot of people hate this hat. It angers a lot of people, just the sight of it. Ah, I'll tell you a story about that on the way to school." Unfortunately we don't get to hear the story. The hat in question is a leather Ushanka, which is associated with Russia (at the time of filming, the Soviet Union), so it's not hard to see why people didn't like it, but we never get to hear why someone like Buck would wear it.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: Buck is just trying to fix the washing machine, but it doesn't look (or sound) like that to the nosey neighbor. She mistakes him for a rapist.

* OverlyLongGag: When Miles "questions" Buck when they first meet. This is a ''portion'' of the conversation, which takes about five minutes:

The title character in this Creator/JohnHughes picture is Buck Russell, a fun-loving, unemployed slob with CommitmentIssues. When his sister-in-law's father has a heart attack, he is [[JumpedAtTheCall called on]] to watch his brother's children, including teenage DeadpanSnarker Tia. HilarityEnsues.

* NotSoDifferent: Buck admits he was just like Bug in his youth, and the two have extremely similar names.

Spawned a sequel TV sitcom that premiered in September 1990 on CBS, starring Kevin Meaney as Buck, who becomes guardian of the three children after their parents are killed in a car accident. Panned by critics, it didn't even finish its first season before being cancelled, after airing only 16 of 22 filmed episodes. A second TV sitcom premiered in 2016 on ABC, this time with an all-black cast in an attempt to ride the coattails of ''Series/{{Blackish}}''. This version was also panned by critics and only lasted 8 episodes.

* InsultBackfire
-->'''Tia:''' His name is Bug.\\
'''Buck:''' What's his last name, Spray?\\
'''Tia:''' You should talk, ''Buck''.

* DeathGlare: Uncle Buck gives this to the Assistant Principal when she starts bad-mouthing Maizy as a "bag egg, twiddler, dreamer and silly-heart".

* OverlyLongGag: When Miles "questions" Buck when they first meet. This is a ''portion'' of the conversation, that takes about five minutes:

* AnAxeToGrind: Buck threatens Bug by talking about a hatchet he keeps. Tia thinks he's just bluffing. Buck then takes the hatchet out for them to see.

* BedmateReveal: [[spoiler: When Buck bursts in on Bug at the house party, he sees the girl Bug is trying to DateRape is ''not'' Tia.]] [[Awesome/UncleBuck He goes ahead with it anyway.]]

* CurseCutShort / GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Buck leaves a lengthy message on Chanice's answering machine describing their private nicknames for her breasts, and her buttocks, and then...