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{{Infobox Film
{{Taxobox
| name = Uncle Buck
| name = Cuban Rock Iguana<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS|ID=173919 |taxon=''Cyclura nubila''|accessmonthday = September 7|accessyear = 2008}}</ref>
| image = Uncle buck.jpg
| image = Iguana_at_the_Iguanas_island_near_Cayo_Largo_shot_01.jpg
| caption = The movie poster for ''Uncle Buck''.
| image_width = 250px
| director = [[John Hughes (film director)|John Hughes]]
| image_caption =
| producer = John Hughes<br />[[Tom Jacobson]]
| status = VU | status_system = IUCN2.3
| writer = John Hughes
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| starring = [[John Candy]]<br />[[Jean Louisa Kelly]]<br />[[Macaulay Culkin]]
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[reptile|Sauropsida]]
| music = [[Ira Newborn]]
| ordo = [[Squamata]]
| distributor = [[Universal Pictures]]
| released = {{flagicon|USA}} [[August 16]], [[1989]]
| familia = [[Iguanidae]]
| runtime = 95 min.
| genus = [[Cyclura]]
| country = {{flagicon|United States}} [[United States]]
| species = '''''C. nubila'''''
| language = [[English language|English]]
| binomial = ''Cyclura nubila''
| budget = [[United States dollar|$]]15,000,000 (estimated)
| binomial_authority = ([[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1831)
| amg_id = 1:51682

| imdb_id = 0098554
}}
}}
'''''Cyclura nubila''''', also known as the '''Cuban Rock Iguana''' or '''Cuban Iguana''' is an endangered species of [[lizard]] of the genus ''[[Cyclura]]''. It is the largest of the West Indian [[cyclura|rock iguanas]], one of the most globally [[endangered]] groups of lizards in the world. This species is one of the largest native land vertebrates in the [[West Indies]] and contains one subspecies found on the "Sister Islands": [[Little Cayman]] and [[Cayman Brac]].


{{Cleanup|date=June 2008}}
Primarily [[herbivore|herbivorous]], the Cuban Iguana is distributed throughout the rocky southern coastal areas of mainland [[Cuba]] and its surrounding islets with a [[feral]] population thriving on Isla Magueyes, [[Puerto Rico]]. Unlike most [[iguanid]]s, females guard their nest sites and often nest in proximity to [[Cuban Crocodiles]]. It makes it's home within or in close proximity to prickly-pear cacti.
'''''Uncle Buck''''' is a [[1989 in film|1989]] [[comedy-drama]] starring [[John Candy]], [[Amy Madigan]], [[Jean Louisa Kelly]] and [[Gaby Hoffmann]], and co-stars [[Macaulay Culkin]], [[Jay Underwood]], [[Laurie Metcalf]]. [[William Windom (actor)|William Windom]], [[Mike Starr (actor)|Mike Starr]] and [[Anna Chlumsky]] have cameo roles. The movie was written and directed by [[John Hughes (film director)|John Hughes]]. It received a [[MPAA film rating system|PG]] rating from the [[Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] and a 12 rating from the [[BBFC]].


== Plot ==
Although the wild population is in decline due to [[predation]] by [[feral]] animals and habitat loss because of human agricultural development, recovery is ongoing by means of ''[[in-situ]]'' and ''[[Ex-situ conservation|ex-situ]]'' captive-breeding and headstarting conservation programs. The species was involved in a study concerning evolution and [[animal communication]] and its captive-breeding program served as a model for other endangered lizards in the West Indies.
Bob Russell ([[Garrett M. Brown]]), his wife Cindy ([[Elaine Bromka]]), and their three kids, 8-year old Miles ([[Macaulay Culkin]]), 6-year old Maizy ([[Gaby Hoffman]]) and 15-year-old Tia ([[Jean Kelly]]), recently moved from [[Indianapolis]] to [[Chicago]]. Tia resents Bob and Cindy for the move.


Bob and Cindy are in bed one night when Cindy's aunt calls and tells them that Cindy's father has had a heart attack. Bob and Cindy immediately make plans to go to Indianapolis to visit Cindy's father. After hearing this, Tia angrily tells Cindy that she would have a heart attack too if her family moved away from her [away from Indianapolis]; Tia really wanted to go back to Indianapolis. And then Tia's bedroom door is slammed in Cindy's face.
==Taxonomy==
The [[genus|generic]] name (''[[Cyclura]]'') is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] ''cyclos''&nbsp;(κύκλος) meaning "circular" and ''ourá''&nbsp;(οὐρά) meaning "tail", after the thick-ringed tail characteristic of all ''Cyclura''.<ref name="Sanchez">{{cite web | last = Sanchez | first = Alejandro | title = Family Iguanidae: Iguanas and Their Kin | work = Father Sanchez's Web Site of West Indian Natural History Diapsids I: Introduction; Lizards | publisher = Kingsnake.com | url = http://www.kingsnake.com/westindian/metazoa10.html | accessmonthday = November 26 |accessyear = 2007}}</ref> Its [[species|specific]] name, ''nubila'', is [[Latin]] for "gray" but in this instance is a [[Latinisation (literature)|Latinized]] form of the name of [[John Edward Gray]], the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[zoology|zoologist]] who first described the Cuban Rock Iguana as a species in 1831 as opposed to the animal's base color.<ref name="iucn"/><ref name="hollingsworth">{{cite book | last = Hollingsworth | first = Bradford D. | title = The Evolution of Iguanas an Overview and a Checklist of Species | work = Iguanas: Biology and Conservation | publisher = University of California Press | pages = 37 | date = 2004 | isbn = 9780520238541 }}</ref>


With Cindy and Bob going to Indianapolis, the problem is who the babysitter will be. They choose Bob's brother Buck ([[John Candy]]) to babysit Tia, Miles, and Maizy, even though Cindy doesn't like that idea. Cindy thinks Buck is a sloppy guy who doesn't know how to do anything.
In 1977, biologists recognized ''Cyclura nubila'' as a species with two subspecific forms, the [[Blue Iguana]] (''Cyclura nubila lewisi'') and the Lesser Caymans Iguana (''[[Cyclura nubila caymanensis]]''), despite an admitted lack of scalation counts.<ref name="hollingsworth"/><ref>Schwartz, A. and Carey, M. (1977). ''Systematics and evolution in the West Indian iguanid genus'' Cyclura. Study of Fauna from Curaçao and Caribbean Islands. 53(173):15-97.</ref> After years of research comparing scale counts on the heads of Caribbean iguanas, including those found on [[Little Cayman]], [[Cayman Brac]], [[Grand Cayman]], Cuba, and the [[Bahamas]], as well as [[mitochondrial DNA]] analysis performed by Dr. Catherine Malone of [[Texas A&M University]] to re-examine the [[phylogeography]] of the different species revealed this original classification to be inaccurate and currently only one subspecies is recognized: the Lesser Caymans Iguana (''Cyclura nubila caymeanensis'').<ref name="hollingsworth"/><ref name="malone"/><ref name="Malone2">Malone, C.L. (2000). ''Phylogenetics, biogeography, and conservation of Caribbean iguanas (Cyclura and Iguana)''. PhD. Dissertation. Texas A&M University</ref><ref name = "Malone3">Malone C.L., Wheeler T.C., Davis S.K., and Taylor J.F. (2000). ''Biogeography and Systematics of the Caribbean rock iguana (Cyclura): implications for conservation and insights into the biogeographic history of the West Indies''. Journal of Molecular Phylogenetic Evolution 17:269-279</ref>


While Cindy and Bob are in Indianapolis, Buck takes over the house, and Buck tries to do the best he can with the kids while he's having problems with Chanice Kobolowski ([[Amy Madigan]]), who has been his girlfriend for the past 8 years. Buck entertains Miles and Maizy, who come to love him, but Buck has problems with Tia. Tia doesn't like how overprotective of her Buck is.
==Anatomy and morphology==
The Cuban Iguana is a large species of [[lizard]] with a body length of {{convert|46-52|cm|in|sp=us}}, when measured from the snout to the vent (or base of the tail).<ref name="hollingsworth"/> Animals in excess of {{convert|1.6|m|ft|sp=us}} (when measured from snout to tip of the tail) have been recorded at the Wildlife Sanctuary within the [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base]] (GTMO), Cuba.<ref name="gitmo"/><ref name="Nelson">{{Cite journal| last=Nelson | first=Robert | title=A Safe Haven For Wildlife: Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Provides Sanctuary For Iguana | journal=Currents: Navy Environmental News | date=01 August 2001 | year=2001 |url=http://www.enviro-navair.navy.mil/currents/fall2001/Currents%20Fall%202001-web.pdf| accessmonthday = August 23 |accessyear = 2007}}</ref> Males are larger than females, with skin color ranging from dark gray to brick red, whereas females are more olive green, and have dark stipes or bands.<ref name="schettino"/> Limbs are black with pale brown oval spots.<ref name="schettino"/> Young animals tend to be uniformly dark brown or green with faint darker striping or mottling in the form of five to ten diagonal traverse bands on the body.<ref name="schettino"/> These bands blend in with the body color as the iguana ages.<ref name="schettino"/>


Buck meets Tia's boyfriend, Bug ([[Jay Underwood]]). When Buck scares Bug away from her with a hatchet he claimed he wanted to show him (proclaiming to be so proficient with the weapon he's been known to "circumsize a gnat"), an infuriated Tia gets revenge on Buck by making Chanice think Buck is flirting with Marcie Dahlgren-Frost ([[Laurie Metcalf]]), the woman who lives across the street from the Russells, and Chanice leaves Buck.
The Cuban Iguana's eyes have a golden [[Iris (anatomy)|iris]] and red [[sclera]] giving them excellent vision, with the ability to detect shapes and motions at long distances.<ref name="Brames">{{Cite journal| last=Brames | first=Henry | title=Aspects of Light and Reptile Immunity | journal=Iguana: Conservation, Natural History, and Husbandry of Reptiles | publisher=International Reptile Conservation Foundation | volume=14 | issue=1 | year=2007 |pages=19–23 }}</ref> As these iguanas have only a few [[Rod cell|rods]] or [[photoreceptor cells]] they have poor vision in low-light conditions, which accounts for their [[diurnal]] activity. These lizards also compensate for this by having cells called "double [[Cone cell|cone]]s" which give them sharp color vision and enable them to see [[ultraviolet]] wavelengths.<ref name="Brames"/> This ability is highly useful when basking so the animal can ensure that it absorbs enough sunlight in the forms of UVA and UVB to produce [[vitamin D]].<ref name="devosjoli"/>


After that, Tia goes out to see Bug, who only wants to make out with her, and that's the only reason why he wants her. Tia refuses it, and leaves Bug. After paying a visit to Bug, and scaring him again by drilling a hole in the door knob, Buck finds Tia, and Tia admits that Buck was right about Bug. Buck opens the trunk of his car to show Tia that he has tied Bug up and put Bug in the trunk.
Cuban Iguanas have evolved a white photosensory organ on the top of their heads called the [[parietal eye]], also called the third eye, pineal eye or pineal gland.<ref name="Brames"/> This "eye" has only a rudimentary retina and lens and cannot form images.<ref name="Brames"/> It is however sensitive to changes in light and dark and can detect movement.<ref name="Brames"/>


Buck makes Bug apologize to Tia with subtle threats of drilling his teeth out, and then Buck gets Bug out of the trunk, and while Bug is still tied up, Buck gets out a club and a golf ball and hits the ball, which hits Bug on the head as Bug is hopping away instead of running because he's still tied up.
Primarily [[herbivorous]], Cuban Iguanas are presented with a problem for [[osmoregulation]]: as plant matter contains more [[potassium]] than animal matter and as it has less nutritional content per gram than meat, more of it must be eaten to meet the lizard's metabolic needs.<ref name="Hazard">{{ cite book| last=Hazard | first=Lisa C. | title=Sodium and Potassium Secretion by Iguana Salt Glands | work=Iguanas: Biology and Conservation | publisher=University of California Press | pages=84–85 | date=2004 | isbn=9780520238541 }}</ref> As the Cuban Iguana is not capable of creating liquid urine more concentrated than its bodily fluids, it excretes nitrogenous wastes as urate salts in the same manner as birds, through a [[salt gland]]. <ref name="Hazard"/> As a result, the Cuban Iguana has developed this lateral [[nose|nasal]] gland to supplement renal salt secretion by expelling excess potassium and [[sodium chloride]].<ref name="Hazard"/>


Buck and Tia then leave Bug, who is still tied up. By this time, Buck has finally earned Tia's love and respect. Tia talks to Chanice, and admits that she set Buck up to look like he was flirting with Marcie. Chanice reunites with Buck.
==Diet==
Like all ''Cyclura'' species the Cuban Iguana derives 95% of its diet from consuming leaves, flowers and fruits from as many as 30 different plant species such as wild [[thyme]], [[thistle]], [[prickly pear]] cactus (''Opuntia stricta''), fruits and flowers of black mangrove, leaves of red mangrove, [[olive]]s, and various grasses.<ref name="isg2">{{ Cite journal | last=Thorbjarnarson | first=John | title=Observations on the Population of Cyclura nubila nubila Inhabiting the Mount Cabaniguan Wildlife Refuge, Las Tunas, Cuba | journal=Iguana Specialist Group Newsletter | volume=7 | issue=1 | pages=10–12 | date= 26 May 2004 | year=2004 | url=http://www.iucn-isg.org/newsletters/pdf/ISG_News_7(1).pdf| accessmonthday = August 23 |accessyear = 2007 }}</ref> Additionally, 50% of the [[large intestine]] of the Cuban Iguana consists of a colony of [[nematode]]s, which contribute to the digestion of its high [[cellulose]] diet.<ref name ="schettino"/><ref name="isg2"/> This diet is rarely supplemented by animal matter, although individuals have been observed eating the corpses of birds, fish and crabs.<ref name="perera">{{ cite web | title=Cuban Iguana: Cyclura nubila nubila | work=Iguana Specialist Group | url=http://www.iucn-isg.org/actionplan/ch2/cuban.php | accessmonthday = August 23 |accessyear = 2007}}</ref>


Later, Cindy and Bob return home because Cindy's father is doing just fine. After Tia lovingly embraces Cindy, Cindy says that things will change so Tia won't be so resentful of Cindy and Bob anymore.
==Mating==
Male Cuban Iguanas have femoral pores on their thighs, which are used to release [[pheromones]], females lack these pores making the animals [[sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]].<ref name="winker">{{cite web| last = Winker | first = Carol | title = Iguanas get royal attention | date = 2/8/2007 | url = http://www.blueiguana.ky/zzzbirp20070208a.htm | accessmonthday = August 23 |accessyear = 2007}}</ref> Sexual maturity is reached at an age of two to three years for these animals.<ref name ="iucn"/> Although observed as being gregarious while immature, the males become aggressive, and vigorously defend territories in competition for females.<ref name="isg2"/> Females seem to remain more tolerant of each other, except after laying their eggs.<ref name ="schettino"/><ref name="isg2"/>


==Cast==
Mating occurs in May and June, with individual clutches of 3&ndash;30 eggs usually laid in June or July, in nests excavated in pockets of earth exposed to the sun after the [[Cuban Crocodile]]s lay their eggs and away from where the adult populations live.<ref name ="iucn"/><ref name ="schettino"/><ref name="isg2"/> According to field research, the females return to the same nesting sites annually to deposit their eggs in the same nests.<ref name="isg2"/> The nests are built in proximity to each other and this may be due to the fact that suitable nesting sites are becoming rare.<ref name ="schettino"/><ref name="isg2"/> At the San Diego Zoo, a female built a nest at the end of a long chamber she excavated in the sand.<ref name ="schettino"/> She stood near it for weeks vigorously defending it by shaking her head and hissing at anyone who approached it, demonstrating that these animals may guard their nest sites.<ref name ="schettino">{{cite book | last=Schettino | first=Lourdes Rodriguez | title=The Iguanid Lizards of Cuba | publisher=University Press of Florida | location=[[Gainesville, Florida]] | pages=428 | date=1999 | isbn=9780813016474 }}</ref>
*[[John Candy]] as Buck Russell, the main character. He is a very clumsy but caring person, and he wins the heart of Miles and Maizy, his nephew and niece. He loves bowling, and has a personalised gold bowling ball. Tia often hates him for scaring her boyfriend, Bug, whom he thinks only wants to have sex with Tia.
*[[Jean Louisa Kelly]] as Tia Russell, the oldest child. Tia has a rebellious personality, and gets revenge on her family for moving to Chicago, while she wanted to stay in Indianapolis. Her boyfriend is Bug.
*[[Gaby Hoffmann]] as Maizy Russell, the youngest of the Russell children. She is rumored to be a troublemaker like Tia, but Buck disgraces this rumor. She is the sister of Miles Russell.
*[[Macaulay Culkin]] as Miles Russell, the middle and only male child. Because he is new, he claims that a 6th grade bully chased him out. He is the older brother of Maizy.
*[[Amy Madigan]] as Chanice Kobolowski, Buck's girlfriend. She runs Kobolowski Tires where Buck was supposed to begin working when his brother asked him to watch his kids.
*[[Elaine Bromka]] as Cindy Russell, the mother of Maizy, Miles, and Tia. She does not like her brother in law, Buck, and is the neighbor of Marcie.
*[[Garrett M. Brown]] as Bob Russell, the father. He is the brother of Buck, and moved to Chicago, where Buck lives.
*[[Laurie Metcalf]] as Marcie Dahlgren-Frost, the Russells' neighbor. She has married at least twice, and doesn't want her married name, Frost, to be lost in marriage.
*[[Jay Underwood]] as Bug, Tia's boyfriend. Bug made a joke with Buck, who in turn threatened him with a ritual killing.


==Distribution==
==Production==
[[John Hughes (film director)|John Hughes]] claims that the scene wherein [[Macaulay Culkin]] speaks with [[Amy Madigan]] through the mail slot in the front door was what gave him the idea for ''[[Home Alone]]''. The film was shot almost entirely on the campus of [[New Trier High School|New Trier West High School]] in Northfield, Illinois. The house set was constructed in the gymnasium. The piano music at the beginning of the film is by [[Hugh Harris (musician)|Hugh Harris]], it is taken from his 1989 song "[[Rhythm of Life]]"; the full song is played at the end of the [[film]].
[[Image:Zoo UL, Cuban Iguana.jpg|thumb|right|In the Labem Zoo]]
The Cuban Iguana is naturally distributed on Cuba and throughout as many as four thousand islets surrounding the Cuban mainland in rocky coastal areas.<ref name="hollingsworth"/><ref name ="schettino"/><ref name="perera"/> Relatively safe populations are found on some islets along the north and south coasts and in isolated protected areas on the mainland.<ref name ="iucn"/> These include Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve in the west, Desembarco del Granma National Park, Hatibonico Wildlife Refuge, Punta Negra-Quemados Ecological Reserve, and Delta del Cauto Wildlife Refuge, all in eastern Cuba.<ref name ="perera"/> Because of this wide distribution, accurate information about the number of distinct subpopulations of Cuban Rock Iguanas is unable to be determined.<ref name="hollingsworth"/><ref name ="perera"/> The population on the U.S. Naval Base at [[Guantánamo Bay]] has been estimated at 2,000-3,000 individuals and the animals are treated well and protected by US Forces stationed at the base.<ref name ="iucn"/><ref name="gitmo">Frantom, Todd, 2005. Cuban Sanctuary. All Hands, June 2005</ref><ref name="Nelson"/> An unusual incident occurred when a detainee in the prison assaulted a guard with a bloody tail torn from a Cuban Iguana in May 2005.<ref name="Globe">{{cite news | title = Gitmo guards often attacked by detainees | language = English | publisher = Boston Globe | date = 01 August 2006 | url = http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2006/08/01/gitmo_guards_often_attacked_by_detainees/| accessmonthday = September 06 |accessyear = 2008}}</ref><ref name="Murdock">{{cite news |last= Murdock|first=Deroy | title = Gitmo detainees really are nasty guys | language = English | publisher = Deseret News | date = 05 August 2006 | url = http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640199878,00.html| accessmonthday = September 06|accessyear = 2008}}</ref>


Towards the end of the film when Buck gets a golf club and ball from the trunk of the car, places it on the grass to fire a shot at the fleeing Bug, the "club swing" shot was filmed on the grassy school bus turn around on the NTW school campus, but Bug fleeing shot was filmed in the parking lot of a small grocery store in Glencoe, IL, where other segments of the movie were filmed but never used in the final version. These two perspectives of the same scene were more than 3 miles apart. For the scene in which Miles rapidly interrogates Buck about the fine details of his life, [[John Candy]] had the prompter set up on his back so that [[Macaulay Culkin]] could maintain the scene's breakneck pace.
The Cuban Iguana makes its burrow in proximity to [[cacti]] or [[thistle]], sometimes even within the cactus itself.<ref name ="isg2"/> These thorny plants offer protection and their fruit and flowers offer the iguanas food.<ref name ="schettino"/><ref name="isg2"/><ref name="isg1">{{Cite journal | last = Cabadilla | first = Luis | title = Burrows and Morphology of Cuban Iguanas(''Cyclura nubila'') Inhabiting Cruz del Padre Cays, Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago, North of Matanzas | journal = Iguana Specialist Group Newsletter | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | pages = 7 | date = May 26, 2004 | year = 2004 | url = http://www.iucn-isg.org/newsletters/pdf/ISG_News_7(1).pdf| accessmonthday = August 23 |accessyear = 2007 }}</ref> In areas without cacti, the lizards also make their burrows in dead trees, hollow logs, and caves.<ref name ="schettino"/><ref name="isg1"/>


==Box office performance==
In the mid 1960s a small group of Cuban Iguanas was released from a zoo on Isla Magueyes, southwest of [[Puerto Rico]], forming an independent free-ranging feral population.<ref name="christian">Christian, K. A. 1986. Aspects of the life history of
During its opening weekend in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], ''Uncle Buck'' grossed $8.7 million in 1,804 theaters, ranking #1 at the box office.<ref name=mojoweek>{{cite web|url=Uncle Buck (1989) - Weekend Box Office Results |title=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=unclebuck.htm |accessdate=2007-11-21 |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref> It stayed the #1 film for a total of 4 weeks in a row.<ref name=mojoweek/>
Cuban Iguanas on Isla Magueyes, Puerto Rico. Caribbean Journal of Science, 22, 159–164.</ref><ref name="mayaguez">{{Cite journal | last =Powell | first =Larkin | title =Puerto Rico field course provides unique opportunity for learning | journal =FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE STUDENT FOCUS | publisher=University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources | volume =4 | issue =1 | pages =1 | year =2006 | url = http://snr.unl.edu/undergraduate/downloads/FWStudentFocus/studentfocus2006_spring_legalfold.pdf
| accessmonthday = August 23 |accessyear = 2007}}</ref> As of the year 2000, there has been talk of removing or relocating this population of iguanas. This feral population is the source for 90% of the captive Cuban Iguanas held in private collections and was the source for part of a study on animal communication and evolution.<ref name="Martins">Martins, E.P. and J. Lamont. (1998). ''Evolution of communication and social behavior: a comparative study of Cyclura rock iguanas''. Animal Behaviour, 55:1685-1706.</ref>


The film grossed a total of $66.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.5 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $79.2 million. In [[1989]] it was the 18th top grossing film in the United States and Canada, and the 20th top grossing film worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=Uncle Buck (1989) |title=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=unclebuck.htm |accessdate=2007-11-21 |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref>
The study compared the head-bob displays from the source population on Cuba with these animals on Isla Magueyes.<ref name="Martins"/> The durations and pauses were longer with the feral population by as much as 350%.<ref name="Martins"/> By way of comparison, the Blue Iguana of Grand Cayman (a species which diverged from the Cuban Iguana) differed from those of the animals on Cuba by only about 20%.<ref name="Martins"/> The rapid change in display structure between the colony of animals on Isla Magueyes and those on Cuba illustrated the potential of small founding population size as a catalyst to evolution with regard to [[Animal communication|communication]] or display, in this case the difference was only by six generations at most.<ref name="Martins"/>


As of November 2007, ''Uncle Buck'' is Macaulay Culkin's highest grossing film outside of the ''[[Home Alone]]'' series.<ref>{{cite web|url=Macaulay Culkin Movie Box Office Results |title=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=macaulayculkin.htm |accessdate=2007-11-21 |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref>
==Conservation==
[[Image:Kubanische echse.jpg|thumb|right|In the wild]]
The Cuban Iguana is well established in captivity, both in public and private collections.<ref name="devosjoli"/> Many zoological parks and private individuals have established these animals in captive breeding programs, minimizing the demand for wild-caught specimens for the pet trade.<ref name="devosjoli">
{{cite book | last =De Vosjoli | first =Phillipe | coauthors = David Blair | title =The Green Iguana Manual | publisher =Advanced Vivarium Systems | date =1992 | location =Escondido, California | isbn = 7488690404 }}</ref> However, in the wild this is a vulnerable species found on the [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name ="iucn">
{{IUCN2006|assessors=Alberts, A. & Perera, A.|year=1996|id=6045|title=Cyclura nubila nubila|downloaded=25 August 2007}}</ref> The total population of this subspecies in Cuba is estimated at between 40,000 and 60,000 individuals and the population on Isla Magueyes is estimated at over 1,000.<ref name ="iucn"/> According to Dr. Allison Alberts, an [[ecologist]] with the [[San Diego Zoo]] and lead researcher in Cuba, among the many wildlife species at GTMO, “The Cuban Iguana is one of the largest, undoubtedly the most visible, and certainly the most charismatic. It seems that no one completes a tour of duty at GTMO without getting to know these [[prehistoric]]-looking giants.”<ref name="Nelson"/>


===Reasons for decline===
In general the species is in decline, more quickly on the mainland than in other areas.<ref name="iucn"/> The Cuban Iguana is now absent from the northeastern [[Havana]] coast, the Hicacos peninsula and Cay Largo, where it was known to be very abundant some 30-40 years ago.<ref name="iucn"/> The Cuban mainland populations have been declining at a rate of greater than 1% per year for the last ten years.<ref name="iucn"/>


Populations of Cuban Iguanas are being impacted by direct predation by feral animals such as rats, cats, and feral pigs which eat their eggs.<ref name="iucn"/> Their habitat in some areas is being degraded by overgrazing of farm animals and development.<ref name ="iucn"/><ref name ="malone">{{ cite book | last=Malone | first=Catherine | last2=Davis | first2=Scott | title=Genetic Contributions to Caribbean Iguana Conservation | work=Iguanas: Biology and Conservation | publisher=University of California Press | pages=45–57 | date=2004 | isbn=9780520238541 }}</ref>


== The TV Show ==
===Recovery efforts===
[[Image:peso.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Depicted on a 1985 commemorative [[Cuban peso]]]]
In 1985 the Cuban government issued a commemorative peso depicting a Cuban Iguana on the "head" side of the coin in an attempt to raise awareness for this animal.


In [[1990]], a television show named ''Uncle Buck'' was broadcast on [[CBS]]. It starred [[Kevin Meaney]] as Buck, a slob who drinks and smokes. When his brother and sister-in-law die in a car accident, Buck is named as the guardian of Tia, Miles, and Maizy. The show while not received well by TV critics, did quite well on Monday nights. However when the show was moved to Friday, in an attempt by CBS to establish a comedy night there, the shows ratings quickly fell and it was canceled.
In 1993 the San Diego Zoo developed an experimental program known as "head-starting" for newly hatched Cuban Iguanas with funding from the National Science Foundation’s Conservation and Restoration Biology Program.<ref name="Nelson"/><ref name="alberts">{{cite book | last=Alberts | first=Allison | last2=Lemm | first2=Jeffrey | last3=Grant | first3=Tandora | last4=Jackintell | first4=Lori | title=Testing the Utility of Headstarting as a Conservation Strategy for West Indian Iguanas | work=Iguanas: Biology and Conservation | publisher=University of California Press | pages=210 | date=2004 | isbn=9780520238541 }}</ref> "Head-starting" is a process by which the Cuban Iguana's eggs are hatched in an incubator and the animals are protected and fed for the first 20 months of their lives.<ref name="Nelson"/><ref name="alberts"/> The purpose is to get the animals to a size where they are more capable of fleeing from or fighting off predators.<ref name="Nelson"/><ref name="alberts"/> This technique was originally used to protect hatchling [[sea turtles]], [[Galapagos Land Iguana]]s, and ''[[Ctenosaura bakeri]]'' on the island of [[Utila]], however Dr Alberts used it for the first time on a ''Cyclura'' species with the Cuban Iguana.<ref name="alberts"/> The purpose was to not only help the Cuban Iguana population, but also to act as an experiment as the population was not as critically endangered as other species of ''Cyclura''.<ref name="alberts"/>


==Trivia==
The program proved successful with the iguanas reacting to predators, foraging for food, and behaving like their wild-born counterparts.<ref name="alberts"/><ref name="isg1st">{{ Cite journal | title=Taxon Reports | journal=Iguana Specialist Group Newsletter | volume=1 | issue=1 | pages=3 | year=1998 | url=http://www.iucn-isg.org/newsletters/pdf/WIISG_News_1(1).pdf | accessmonthday = August 23 |accessyear = 2007 }}</ref> This program has been implemented with great success on other critically endangered species of ''Cyclura'' and ''[[Ctenosaura]]'' throughout the West Indies and [[Central America]], notably the [[Cyclura collei|Jamaican Iguana]], Grand Cayman Blue Iguana, [[Cyclura ricordi|Ricord's Iguana]], [[Cyclura cychlura inornata|Allen Cays Iguana]], [[Cyclura rileyi rileyi|San Salvador Iguana]], and [[Cyclura pinguis|Anegada Iguana]].<ref name="Nelson"/><ref name="alberts"/>
{{Trivia|date=December 2007}}
A short biography about [[Macaulay Culkin]] claims that, upon the film's release, a child asked Culkin if he really lived with actor [[John Candy]], to which Culkin replied, "Yes I do. He's upstairs microwaving my socks right now."
On the back of the DVD cover for the 1998 DVD release, Jean Louisa Kelly was referred to as "Jean Kelly" (not to be confused with the actor, [[Gene Kelly]]), although Jean Louisa Kelly's given name is a two-word name.


==References==
==References==
<references />
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikispecies|Cyclura nubila}}
*{{imdb title|id=0098554|title=Uncle Buck}}
* [http://cyclura.com/status/cuban.htm Cuban Iguana at Cyclura.com]
*[http://www.fast-rewind.com/unclebuck.htm Uncle Buck at the 80s Movie Gateway]
* [http://www.iguanafoundation.org/article.php?articleID=50 International Iguana Foundation Article on Cuban Iguanas]
*{{amg movie|id=1:51682|title=Uncle Buck}}
* [http://php.indiana.edu/~emartins/Melissa/alberts2.html Guided by Nature: Conservation Research and Captive Husbandry of the Cuban Iguana]
*{{rotten-tomatoes|id=uncle_buck|title=Uncle Buck}}
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-82645 Cuba: Its Tropical Islands and Animals. Retrieved October 16, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online]
*{{mojo title|id=unclebuck|title=Uncle Buck}}
*{{imdb title|id=0098937|title=Uncle Buck (TV series)}}


{{John Hughes Films}}
{{Iguanidae}}


[[Category:Cyclura]]
[[Category:1989 films]]
[[Category:Iguanidae]]
[[Category:Comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:CBS network shows]]
[[Category:Films directed by John Hughes]]
[[Category:1990s American television series]]
[[Category:1990 television series debuts]]
[[Category:1990 television series endings]]
[[Category:Television programs based on films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Films set in Chicago]]
[[Category:Culture of Indianapolis, Indiana]]


[[es:Cyclura nubila]]
[[de:Allein mit Onkel Buck]]
[[pl:Legwan kubański]]
[[fr:Uncle Buck]]
[[it:Io e zio Buck]]
[[nl:Uncle Buck]]
[[fi:Hassu setä Buck]]
[[pl:Wujaszek Buck]]

Revision as of 16:04, 12 October 2008

Uncle Buck
The movie poster for Uncle Buck.
Directed byJohn Hughes
Written byJohn Hughes
Produced byJohn Hughes
Tom Jacobson
StarringJohn Candy
Jean Louisa Kelly
Macaulay Culkin
Music byIra Newborn
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
United States August 16, 1989
Running time
95 min.
CountryUnited States United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15,000,000 (estimated)

Uncle Buck is a 1989 comedy-drama starring John Candy, Amy Madigan, Jean Louisa Kelly and Gaby Hoffmann, and co-stars Macaulay Culkin, Jay Underwood, Laurie Metcalf. William Windom, Mike Starr and Anna Chlumsky have cameo roles. The movie was written and directed by John Hughes. It received a PG rating from the MPAA and a 12 rating from the BBFC.

Plot

Bob Russell (Garrett M. Brown), his wife Cindy (Elaine Bromka), and their three kids, 8-year old Miles (Macaulay Culkin), 6-year old Maizy (Gaby Hoffman) and 15-year-old Tia (Jean Kelly), recently moved from Indianapolis to Chicago. Tia resents Bob and Cindy for the move.

Bob and Cindy are in bed one night when Cindy's aunt calls and tells them that Cindy's father has had a heart attack. Bob and Cindy immediately make plans to go to Indianapolis to visit Cindy's father. After hearing this, Tia angrily tells Cindy that she would have a heart attack too if her family moved away from her [away from Indianapolis]; Tia really wanted to go back to Indianapolis. And then Tia's bedroom door is slammed in Cindy's face.

With Cindy and Bob going to Indianapolis, the problem is who the babysitter will be. They choose Bob's brother Buck (John Candy) to babysit Tia, Miles, and Maizy, even though Cindy doesn't like that idea. Cindy thinks Buck is a sloppy guy who doesn't know how to do anything.

While Cindy and Bob are in Indianapolis, Buck takes over the house, and Buck tries to do the best he can with the kids while he's having problems with Chanice Kobolowski (Amy Madigan), who has been his girlfriend for the past 8 years. Buck entertains Miles and Maizy, who come to love him, but Buck has problems with Tia. Tia doesn't like how overprotective of her Buck is.

Buck meets Tia's boyfriend, Bug (Jay Underwood). When Buck scares Bug away from her with a hatchet he claimed he wanted to show him (proclaiming to be so proficient with the weapon he's been known to "circumsize a gnat"), an infuriated Tia gets revenge on Buck by making Chanice think Buck is flirting with Marcie Dahlgren-Frost (Laurie Metcalf), the woman who lives across the street from the Russells, and Chanice leaves Buck.

After that, Tia goes out to see Bug, who only wants to make out with her, and that's the only reason why he wants her. Tia refuses it, and leaves Bug. After paying a visit to Bug, and scaring him again by drilling a hole in the door knob, Buck finds Tia, and Tia admits that Buck was right about Bug. Buck opens the trunk of his car to show Tia that he has tied Bug up and put Bug in the trunk.

Buck makes Bug apologize to Tia with subtle threats of drilling his teeth out, and then Buck gets Bug out of the trunk, and while Bug is still tied up, Buck gets out a club and a golf ball and hits the ball, which hits Bug on the head as Bug is hopping away instead of running because he's still tied up.

Buck and Tia then leave Bug, who is still tied up. By this time, Buck has finally earned Tia's love and respect. Tia talks to Chanice, and admits that she set Buck up to look like he was flirting with Marcie. Chanice reunites with Buck.

Later, Cindy and Bob return home because Cindy's father is doing just fine. After Tia lovingly embraces Cindy, Cindy says that things will change so Tia won't be so resentful of Cindy and Bob anymore.

Cast

  • John Candy as Buck Russell, the main character. He is a very clumsy but caring person, and he wins the heart of Miles and Maizy, his nephew and niece. He loves bowling, and has a personalised gold bowling ball. Tia often hates him for scaring her boyfriend, Bug, whom he thinks only wants to have sex with Tia.
  • Jean Louisa Kelly as Tia Russell, the oldest child. Tia has a rebellious personality, and gets revenge on her family for moving to Chicago, while she wanted to stay in Indianapolis. Her boyfriend is Bug.
  • Gaby Hoffmann as Maizy Russell, the youngest of the Russell children. She is rumored to be a troublemaker like Tia, but Buck disgraces this rumor. She is the sister of Miles Russell.
  • Macaulay Culkin as Miles Russell, the middle and only male child. Because he is new, he claims that a 6th grade bully chased him out. He is the older brother of Maizy.
  • Amy Madigan as Chanice Kobolowski, Buck's girlfriend. She runs Kobolowski Tires where Buck was supposed to begin working when his brother asked him to watch his kids.
  • Elaine Bromka as Cindy Russell, the mother of Maizy, Miles, and Tia. She does not like her brother in law, Buck, and is the neighbor of Marcie.
  • Garrett M. Brown as Bob Russell, the father. He is the brother of Buck, and moved to Chicago, where Buck lives.
  • Laurie Metcalf as Marcie Dahlgren-Frost, the Russells' neighbor. She has married at least twice, and doesn't want her married name, Frost, to be lost in marriage.
  • Jay Underwood as Bug, Tia's boyfriend. Bug made a joke with Buck, who in turn threatened him with a ritual killing.

Production

John Hughes claims that the scene wherein Macaulay Culkin speaks with Amy Madigan through the mail slot in the front door was what gave him the idea for Home Alone. The film was shot almost entirely on the campus of New Trier West High School in Northfield, Illinois. The house set was constructed in the gymnasium. The piano music at the beginning of the film is by Hugh Harris, it is taken from his 1989 song "Rhythm of Life"; the full song is played at the end of the film.

Towards the end of the film when Buck gets a golf club and ball from the trunk of the car, places it on the grass to fire a shot at the fleeing Bug, the "club swing" shot was filmed on the grassy school bus turn around on the NTW school campus, but Bug fleeing shot was filmed in the parking lot of a small grocery store in Glencoe, IL, where other segments of the movie were filmed but never used in the final version. These two perspectives of the same scene were more than 3 miles apart. For the scene in which Miles rapidly interrogates Buck about the fine details of his life, John Candy had the prompter set up on his back so that Macaulay Culkin could maintain the scene's breakneck pace.

Box office performance

During its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, Uncle Buck grossed $8.7 million in 1,804 theaters, ranking #1 at the box office.[1] It stayed the #1 film for a total of 4 weeks in a row.[1]

The film grossed a total of $66.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.5 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $79.2 million. In 1989 it was the 18th top grossing film in the United States and Canada, and the 20th top grossing film worldwide.[2]

As of November 2007, Uncle Buck is Macaulay Culkin's highest grossing film outside of the Home Alone series.[3]


The TV Show

In 1990, a television show named Uncle Buck was broadcast on CBS. It starred Kevin Meaney as Buck, a slob who drinks and smokes. When his brother and sister-in-law die in a car accident, Buck is named as the guardian of Tia, Miles, and Maizy. The show while not received well by TV critics, did quite well on Monday nights. However when the show was moved to Friday, in an attempt by CBS to establish a comedy night there, the shows ratings quickly fell and it was canceled.

Trivia

A short biography about Macaulay Culkin claims that, upon the film's release, a child asked Culkin if he really lived with actor John Candy, to which Culkin replied, "Yes I do. He's upstairs microwaving my socks right now."

On the back of the DVD cover for the 1998 DVD release, Jean Louisa Kelly was referred to as "Jean Kelly" (not to be confused with the actor, Gene Kelly), although Jean Louisa Kelly's given name is a two-word name.

References

  1. ^ a b [Uncle Buck (1989) - Weekend Box Office Results "http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=unclebuck.htm"]. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-11-21. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); External link in |title= (help)
  2. ^ [Uncle Buck (1989) "http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=unclebuck.htm"]. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-11-21. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); External link in |title= (help)
  3. ^ [Macaulay Culkin Movie Box Office Results "http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=macaulayculkin.htm"]. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-11-21. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); External link in |title= (help)

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Uncle Buck.
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