Heartwarming / Uncle Buck

• Buck promising Tia that he won't tell her parents about her running off to a party.
  • Even better: when Buck picks her up, he tells her he doesn't want to talk about it, just get her home. True to word, he doesn't bring it up until she asks him about it. He had the perfect opportunity to give her an I Warned You, but he didn't. Why? Because he's a version of Tia who didn't have someone to set him straight in his teen years, and he's exercising the empathy he wishes someone showed him.
  • In a moment of pure humility, Buck asks Tia for advice on how to fix his broken relationship with Chanice, saying that he doesn't know what to do and could sincerely use her help. Throughout the whole movie, Tia feels desperately neglected, and it's implied that a lot of her acting out is an attempt to get attention and be heard. Buck recognizes this and treats Tia as an adult, and it's clear that finally having someone genuinely listen to and value her makes her feel supported and safe in a way she hasn't in a long time.
  • In a twisted way, the nature of Buck and Tia having their 'fun' with Bug as he's tied up in the back of Buck's car. As deranged as it is, it not only reflects Buck's Papa Wolf tendencies, but it's notably the one activity where Tia and her uncle truly bond.
• Tia reconciling with her mother.
• Buck standing up for Maizy against her vice principal.
• Chanice calling herself Buck's friend, in spite of their currently rocky relationship.
  • Chanice agreeing to watch the younger kids with little complaint when Buck tells her Tia has disappeared, even as she tells him their relationship is done. The second he says his niece is missing, her prickly demeanour fades to concern.
  • Building on the above, Chanice realizes that Buck really has changed for the better when he agrees that he'll never speak to her again if she agrees to watch Miles and Maizy while he searches for Tia. She decides, with a little prompting from Tia, to give him another chance, and the end of the film implies that they're not only back together, but taking things more seriously than ever.
• Despite being a Tearjerker, the scene where Buck looks through the family albums. Instead of being trimmed out, all parts of him have been folded from view. This is likely a hint that his family hoped to one day mend their relationship with him.
• Although he doesn't get much sleep, Buck agrees to let Maizy sleep in bed with him just so she can have a good night's rest.
• At the very end of the film as the rest of the Russels see Buck off, Tia is the last one to go inside, and she smiles and waves to Buck in the second-to-last shot. It's such a far cry from the sullen jerk she was throughout the rest of the film, and it shows how much she Took a Level in Kindness.
• Though he's their last possible choice to take care of the kids, when Bob calls and asks for his help, Buck jumps up to help. He's a little out of place, doesn't really understand how big a commitment it's going to be, but he doesn't hesitate to help his brother out.

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