If you recently felt something close to revulsion when learning about ABC moving forward in remaking John Hughes’ classic comedy Uncle Buck, you’re definitely not alone. The estates of both Hughes and star John Candy recently went public with their disapproval of the upcoming project, which is less surprising than finding out Miles actually brushed his teeth.
Both the families of the director and the actor granted Deadline their statement regarding the Universal TV production.
Disappointment has been expressed by both the John Hughes and John Candy families over the conduct and decision by the ABC Network and Universal Television to develop a comedy series based on the feature film Uncle Buck. Rather than either entity providing advance information to the Estates, the families learned of the project’s potential via the media.The families feel a strong attachment to the original film which symbolized the great and unique collaboration between Hughes and Candy. Recalling that the director was displeased with the first Uncle Buck TV show effort which failed on CBS in 1990, it is well expected that he would not be supportive of this current attempt.
Obviously no one is arguing that Universal TV or ABC was legally obligated to contact the families, but there’s the issue of couth and morals. Or whatever the closest thing to morals is in TV Studio Land. If this series goes forward, it’s obvious that both studios aren’t bothered much by what the estates thought, so what would have been the harm in letting them know ahead of time?
“Dear family, we may unintentionally urinate on part of your late relative’s legacy. Please watch. Please watch. Sincerely, Uni TV & ABC.”
If this kind of story sounds familiar, it’s because 20th Century Fox and NBC recently gave up on a small screen sequel of Cameron Crowe’s 1989 romantic comedy Say Anything in the exact same situation. They reportedly didn’t contact Crowe about their plans, and he actively voiced his intentions of killing it on social media. Turns out, that’s all it took to get the project dropped.
It’s entirely possible that something will change down the line for Uncle Buck, but for now, it will be written by Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley, and will serve as a modern day version of the film’s story. In case you need a reminder, the titular uncle is a childish man who babysits his brother’s kids in a manner that wouldn’t serve as professional childcare. It’s hard to imagine anyone else pulling this part off, as the previous incarnation’s Kevin Meaney wasn’t exactly memorable. Gotta love the way the family’s statement called that version a failure. Time will tell if this will have been worth the effort or not.
