What a Birthday Cake!

Buck Russell [to young Miles, who is gawking at his birthday breakfast]: You should see the toast. I couldn't even get it through the door.

Uncle Buck is a fun movie that shows what can happen when a bachelor uncle has to babysit his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her younger brother and sister. But the film is worth mentioning because of the amazing birthday breakfast. To celebrate his nephew's birthday, Buck (John Candy) decides to prepare a special breakfast treat: a huge cake made out of five enormous pancakes. Each flapjack is about three feet in diameter, and to make them, Buck flips them over on the griddle with a snow shovel. He places a thick slab of butter on top of the stack, drenches everything in maple syrup, and lights a single candle in the middle. When birthday boy Miles (Macaulay Culkin) enters the kitchen and takes in this wonderful creation, he grins with absolute delight. It's an oh-too-sweet feast that only the young (and the young at heart) can fully appreciate.

Released: August 16, 1989

Written and directed by John Hughes

Starring John Candy as Buck Russell, Macaulay Culkin as Miles Russell, Jean Louisa Kelly as Tia Russell, Amy Madigan as Chanice Kobolowski, Gaby Hoffman as Maizy Russell, Elaine Bromka as Cindy Russell, Garrett M. Brown as Bob Russell

Buck Russell: How many times a day does the dog eat? Cindy Russell: How many times do you think? Buck Russell: I don't know, four or five. Cindy Russell: He eats once a day.

Fun fact: For the scene in which Miles interrogates Uncle Buck in rapid-fire fashion, John Candy pasted the dialogue on top of his head so that Macaulay Culkin could read his lines quickly and not trip over his own words.