Uncle Buck

The fact that Mike Epps' take on the titular Buck bears little resemblance to John Candy's classic character might be problematic for John Hughes purists. But most viewers probably won't care. After all, Uncle Buck doesn't have quite the same cachet as, say, Hughes' Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, or Pretty in Pink; though it's a cult classic, not too many kids will be familiar with the deadbeat relative. (Even fewer will have seen the short-lived 1990s sitcom of the same name starring comedian Kevin Meaney -- and that's a good thing.)

From the backfiring car and the giant pancakes to the kids poking their sleeping uncle with a stick, it's great to see some of the movie's classic gags make it into this unapologetically modern reboot. But that's where the similarities end. In fact, the pilot nixes any hopes for nostalgia by breezing through the entire film plot in under 30 minutes, clearing the way for these updated Russells to make Uncle Buck all their own. And they do with admirable finesse, though the series' pointed efforts to be edgy (with child actors delivering dialogue such as, "Mom! A prostitute taught me to twerk!") put it squarely into older-teen territory.