Great diagnosis, Dr Valdez! Now I'm interested, what would be your recommended remedy? If Hughes had gone nastier with the Uncle Buck character (e.g., with Chevy Chase or Steve Martin), it would have made more sense that the sister in law didn't trust him. But how to balance that against the teenager and children characters without making it seem cruel? Are you thinking a Home Alone approach, where the kid heroes outwit and conquer the bad guy adult? Or... some other way to engineer a redemption arc?
Thanks, Joy! If Hughes couldn't get Bill Murray--who like the filmmaker, was from the Land of Lincoln--and settled on casting John Candy, I would've written his sister-in-law as much more uptight. It might be enough that the last time Buck was at the house, he said the wrong thing, or broke something. An uptight woman who needs to control her environment would also make her children harder to corral once she left the state. Almost losing her father would force her to acknowledge there are things she can't control and to appreciate the family who are there for her. A bit more attention to that character would've helped a lot. There really isn't anything about Candy that would make him so detestable, and like substance abuse or other vices, gambling isn't something you can hrow out there without unpacking.
So, instead of making him more unlikable, give clearer reasons why *she* would distrust him and set up their interpersonal conflict more realistically, and then Candy's natural friendliness works for the role. Nice, I could see that working.
Yes, because the sister-in-law is the one with the family emergency who sets the whole plot in motion, that character needed more attention. Laurie Metcalf would've been great in that part instead of the goofy neighbor. I think once your lead is cast, you have to make sure what you wrote makes sense for him or her. It isn't like Hughes took months to rewrite a script, or didn't know Candy's strengths and weaknesses, having worked with him twice already.
Great diagnosis, Dr Valdez! Now I'm interested, what would be your recommended remedy? If Hughes had gone nastier with the Uncle Buck character (e.g., with Chevy Chase or Steve Martin), it would have made more sense that the sister in law didn't trust him. But how to balance that against the teenager and children characters without making it seem cruel? Are you thinking a Home Alone approach, where the kid heroes outwit and conquer the bad guy adult? Or... some other way to engineer a redemption arc?
Thanks, Joy! If Hughes couldn't get Bill Murray--who like the filmmaker, was from the Land of Lincoln--and settled on casting John Candy, I would've written his sister-in-law as much more uptight. It might be enough that the last time Buck was at the house, he said the wrong thing, or broke something. An uptight woman who needs to control her environment would also make her children harder to corral once she left the state. Almost losing her father would force her to acknowledge there are things she can't control and to appreciate the family who are there for her. A bit more attention to that character would've helped a lot. There really isn't anything about Candy that would make him so detestable, and like substance abuse or other vices, gambling isn't something you can hrow out there without unpacking.
So, instead of making him more unlikable, give clearer reasons why *she* would distrust him and set up their interpersonal conflict more realistically, and then Candy's natural friendliness works for the role. Nice, I could see that working.
Yes, because the sister-in-law is the one with the family emergency who sets the whole plot in motion, that character needed more attention. Laurie Metcalf would've been great in that part instead of the goofy neighbor. I think once your lead is cast, you have to make sure what you wrote makes sense for him or her. It isn't like Hughes took months to rewrite a script, or didn't know Candy's strengths and weaknesses, having worked with him twice already.
Great analysis… Thanks Joe!✌️CPZ
Thanks, Zeke! I appreciate you.