# Uncle Buck: the three mystery men in the mail slot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2011, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136 "2011-04-04T12:23:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/1 "2011-04-04T12:23:09Z")
Watched Uncle Buck this weekend. TiVo’s scheduler gave it two and a half stars, which is dead wrong in my book: Uncle Buck is comedy gold. The movie occasionally veers into the surreal for comedic effect (e.g. the clown getting punched down and then bizarrely levitating back to vertical for another hit). One such instance is when Macaulay Culkin is peering through the mail slot, trying to spot Amy Madigan; instead, he keeps seeing nothing (she coincidentally sidesteps the slot each time he’s looking through), except on one occasion, when he opens the mail slot and finds himself face to face with three men who appear nowhere else in the movie. Who are these three men? Are they supposed to be somebody famous, either present day (i.e. 1989, when UB was released)? or are they just random men thrown in for another surreal comedy moment? ---
**Author:** ![foxymoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@foxymoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foxymoron)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/2 "2011-04-04T13:17:12Z")
One of my favorite movies! I always figured the mail slot guys were either just a funny visual meant to round out the scene, or, more likely IMO, muscle sent by a loan shark (or similar) looking for Buck. One of the fellas is [credited on IMDB](Scary man in mailbox slot (uncredited)) as “Scary man in mailbox slot.” ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/3 "2011-04-04T13:17:12Z")
I always thought it was a reference to _Home Alon_e, which Macaulay Culkin starred in, but I see _Uncle Buck_ came before that. I assume then it’s just supposed to be imaginary robbers. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/4 "2011-04-04T14:44:11Z")
It’s just a scary flight of imagination for the kid. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/5 "2011-04-04T16:28:46Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The movie occasionally veers into the surreal for comedic effect (e.g. the clown getting punched down and then bizarrely levitating back to vertical for another hit). You left out the best part: that even his MAKEUP goes all kiddywumpus from being punched. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/6 "2011-04-04T16:40:32Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > It’s just a scary flight of imagination for the kid. That’s what I always thought to. [John Candy at his best](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GGL3oCZkyY) ---
**Author:** ![atomeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@atomeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomeg)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/7 "2025-07-05T20:09:33Z")
Good call – evidently it worked the other way around: Hughes got the inspiration for Home Alone when filming this moment: “the idea for _Home Alone_ apparently came to Hughes while Culkin was shooting the scene. As Culkin’s character was already displaying a healthy sense of skepticism and resourcefulness, Hughes stretched out that one scene into a two-hour comedy about a boy left alone to defend his house from burglars.” [How a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in Uncle Buck inspired a Christmas comedy blockbuster - AV Club](https://www.avclub.com/how-a-blink-and-you-ll-miss-it-moment-in-uncle-buck-ins-1837285504#:~:text=As%20The%20Independent,Christmas%20movie%20history). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/8 "2025-07-05T20:18:51Z")
> [@atomeg](#): > > Good call – evidently it worked the other way around: Welcome to the SDMB! ---
**Author:** ![Jables78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@Jables78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jables78)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/9 "2025-12-24T21:33:38Z")
Only just noticed, the girl sitting next to Maisy in the classroom is Vada from My Girl (1991, starring Culkin ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncle-buck-the-three-mystery-men-in-the-mail-slot/577136/10 "2025-12-24T21:41:12Z")
I watched Uncle Buck after I returned from the hospital where I spent two weeks recovering from surgery. Bad mistake. I was laughing so hard at the scene where Buck punches the clown I literally thought I was going to bust a stitch.