Released: 20 November 1992
Director: Chris Columbus
Distributor: 20^th Century Fox
Budget: $28 million
Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara, Tim Curry, and Brenda Fricker

The Plot:
While jetting off to Florida for Christmas, an airport mix up separates young Kevin McCallister (Culkin) from his mother, Kate (O’Hara), and his family, leaving him to deal with vengeful burglars Harry (Pesci) and Marv (Stern) in the Big Apple.

The Background:
Widely considered one of the greatest Christmas movies, Home Alone (Columbus, 1990) was dreamed up by writer and producer John Hughes and brought to life by Chris Columbus. Macaulay Culkin beat over two hundred children for the breakout role in the critical and commercial hit, which became an instant Christmas classic. The first of its many sequels entered development just one year after the first film landed, with Culkin receiving a lucrative payday for returning, alongside a share of the film’s gross. Once again, the shoot was difficult for star Joe Pesci, who suffered serious burns during filming, and the film was a commercial success even if its final gross fell short of the first film. The third highest-grossing film of 1992, Home Alone 2 was nevertheless met by largely negative reviews. The cartoonish violence, sentimental hook, and central concept were all noted to be lazy, derivative repeats of the first film, though the performances were praised and it has since been regarded more favourably, especially compared to the later, unrelated sequels.

The Review:
It’s been a year since the McAllisters and their chaotic extended family left Kevin home alone and things are very much the same as before in their opulent and inexplicably luxurious family home. That is to say that the house is full of kids and adults rushing back and forth in a mad panic trying to pack and prepare for another family vacation, this time to Florida and at the expense of the McAllister patriarch, Peter (John Heard). Everyone slips right back into their previous roles exactly as depicted in the last film, with Peter unwittingly causing the family to sleep in by unplugging the alarm clock and Kevin’s uncle, Frank (Gerry Bamman), being as aggressive and dismissive towards Kevin as ever. Some things have changed, however; Kevin isn’t as bratty as before and his relationship with his mother is much improved. Kate makes more of an effort to listen to and include him and goes out of her way to ensure that Kevin makes it to the airport this time, acutely aware of her previous mistake and desperate to keep it from happening again. Despite reaching a mutual respect at the end of the first film, Kevin is still at odds with his older brother, Buzz (Devin Ratray). Still resentful towards his little brother and happy to demean him at every turn, Buzz delights in humiliating Kevin in front of the entire school, including the parents and staff, by pulling a mean-spirited prank during his choir solo, one that’s entirely unfunny but which has everyone in the audience in stitches. Kevin naturally lashes out, causing a ruckus, and the two are taken to “family court” to discuss the issue. While, on the surface, this seems more productive and fairer than what we saw in the last film, where Kevin’s family condemned him without giving him a chance to defend himself, it’s a kangaroo court, at best, and Buzz easily sways the family into believing he regrets his prank. Naturally frustrated that his family expects him to apologise, Kevin once again bemoans his unfair treatment and chastises his family’s ignorance. Still, he successfully makes it to the airport this time, despite not wishing to spend his Christmas in Florida due to his sudden love of Christmas trees.

Unfortunately for Kevin, things go awry at the airport. Thanks to Peter, the family’s again in a mad rush to reach their flight and, thanks to messing about putting batteries in his Talkboy tape recorder and lackadaisical airport security, Kevin accidentally boards the wrong flight and ends up in New York City. After quickly overcoming his surprise and a brief flash of fear, Kevin takes in the sights of the city and heads to the luxurious Plaza Hotel. Posing as “the father” and using his dad’s credit card and cash, Kevin secures a swanky room and all the treats he could want. Kevin’s arc in this movie is, like much of Home Alone 2, copy and pasted wholesale from Home Alone except he’s now in the city. Given complete freedom to do whatever he wants, Kevin indulges in sweets, bad movies, and a trip to Duncan’s Toy Chest, where he chats with the proprietor, Mr. Duncan (Eddie Bracken), and showcases an empathy beyond his years. Kevin even repeats that same routine of fear, misunderstanding, and befriending of a misjudged local, in this case an unnamed vagrant (Fricker) with a love of pigeons. Unlike the last film, though, Kevin’s not just relishing the chance to do whatever he wants without consequence; he’s living the Christmas vacation he feels he desires, one that caters to his every whim. However, the presence of a lone child in the Plaza Hotel foyer raises the suspicions of the hotel concierge, Mr. Hector (Curry), who immediately tries to confirm that Kevin’s….well, it’s not entirely clear what Mr. Hector is trying to discover, actually. He exhibits the same strangely confused reaction at seeing a kid by himself, but it’s not entirely clear why he’s so sceptical. Thanks to Kevin’s quick thinking, the youngster throws Mr. Hector off his scent with a blow-up doll and a convenient recording of Uncle Frank yelling at him, securing Kevin the hotel’s co-operation for a short time out of fear of reprisals from his unseen father. However, thanks to Kate and Peter reporting Kevin’s absence to the police, Peter’s credit card comes up as stolen, verifying Mr. Hector’s suspicions and leading him to more aggressively confront the mischievous youth. Though Kevin again holds them at bay with a convenient ruse, he’s forced to flee the hotel, believing he faces criminal charges for credit card fraud, and wanders the dangerous streets of New York, the fun suddenly sucked out of his impromptu vacation.

In a film (and franchise) full of coincidences, Kevin’s old enemies, Harry and Marv (now calling themselves the “Sticky Bandits”) also end up in New York following a jail break. Fugitives and desperate for a quick, big score to abscond to safer shores, the two rule out petty theft or any big-time jobs and instead target Duncan’s Toy Chest, believing that it’ll be an easy score since no one would be stupid enough to rob a toy store on Christmas Eve. Ever year, Mr. Duncan donates the store’s profits to a local children’s hospital, in cash and in person, meaning all the crooks have to do is hide out in the store until it closes and rob the place. Unfortunately, there’s a glaring plot hole with this plan: Mr. Duncan tells Kevin he plans to donate the money at midnight but the money’s still there when the Sticky Bandits come out of hiding. Anyway, it’s a moot point as Kevin shows up to interfere with their plot. Earlier in the film, the three just happened to cross paths despite the vastness of the city and Kevin was horrified to find his enemies out and about and hungry for revenge. Thanks to the busy city streets and some quick thinking, Kevin evaded the Sticky Bandits and got to safety, but not before learning of their appalling plan to screw over sick children. Harry and Marv are exactly the same as before: malicious and bumbling. Harry may be the smarter of the two, chastising Marv’s foolishness and loose tongue, but he’s hardly the sharpest tool in the drawer. Like Kevin, Harry and Marv have learned from their previous experiences, however. Not only do the crooks have no desire to go back to prison but they’re acutely aware of how adept Kevin is at setting up traps, meaning they’re far more likely to be cautious when chasing him rather than simply barging in head-first. This doesn’t help them in the slightest when it comes to chasing Kevin as they still fall afoul to his many traps and tricks, but there are fleeting moments when it seems like the two might pose a significant threat this time around. While they’re happy to simply steal some cash and get out of the country, they can’t pass up the chance to get a measure of revenge on the kid who sent them to jail and they become fixated on this. This leads to their inevitable torture and downfall when they could’ve simply targeted a different toy shop or schemed up a slightly different plan and potentially have avoided being scarred for life.

Unlike Home Alone, Kate doesn’t get a big side plot this time around. She, Peter, and the kids are stuck in Florida, their vacation ruined not just by Kevin’s absence but the inclement weather. Since they have no idea of where Kevin is until Peter’s credit card gets flagged, they can’t do anything but wait at their surprisingly lowkey hotel, though they immediately get the next flight to New York once the Plaza Hotel alerts the police. We don’t get to see this flight and we also get far fewer reactions from Kate and the others at Kevin’s plight; she simply expresses concern for his safety and that it. That is, of course, until she meets Mr. Hector and finds out what a botched job he and his long-suffering bellhop, Cedric (Rob Schneider), did at keeping Kevin safe and secure at the hotel. Flustered and desperate to appease the enraged Kate, Mr. Hector’s forced to shut his yap and acquiesce to the McAllister’s every whim to avoid any reprisals more severe than a slap to the face and Kate braves the cold, dangerous streets to try and find Kevin. This is a far cry from her cross-country travels and the guilt-ridden reflections of the first film, meaning the bulk of Home Alone 2 is spent following Kevin and drinking in the awe of the hustle, bustle, and sights of New York City. At first, this is portrayed as a beautiful and awe-inspiring location and Kevin is amazed at everything he sees, but his wonder turns to fear when he’s left wandering the streets and Central Park at night, surrounded by surly vagrants and dark shadows. He reacts with fear whenever he sees the Pigeon Lady, creeped out by her grim façade, ragged clothes, and the pigeons clinging to her, but quickly comes to realise that she’s not bothering anyone and was trying to help him. He bonds with her in the same way he bonded with Old Man Marley (Roberts Blossom) in the last film, learning there’s a deeply emotional and tortured soul beneath the repulsive visage and again learning that he’s been unfair to his family and shouldn’t have taken them for granted. It is, as I said, essentially the same character arc he underwent in the first film. Even the musical cues, much of the dialogue, and a lot of the trap sequences are mirrors of Home Alone’s and I don’t think Home Alone 2 does enough with its new setting to differentiate itself from the original as a consequence.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Similarly, every theme and character arc seen in Home Alone 2 is a repeat of what we saw in Home Alone. Kevin’s siblings and family may not be as explicitly aggressive or dismissive towards him (except for Buzz), but they still all laugh at Buzz’s prank and take the older boy’s side after the fact. Kate is far more protective and aware of Kevin this time, but only when it comes to planning their trip and ensuring Kevin isn’t left behind. When she and Peter begrudgingly report Kevin’s disappearance to the cops, there’s a sense that Kate’s despondent not just because of the same emotional turmoil she faced in the last film (namely, questioning her ability as a mother) but also at the idea of her being judged for letting this happen two years in a row. Kate’s concern is definitely framed as being for Kevin’s welfare (this is clear when she desperately hits the streets trying to find him) but it also seems much more rooted in her desire to not be seen as a bad mother. As before, Peter doesn’t seem all that bothered until they reach the hotel and Mr. Hector proves to be less than useless, and even then he’s more worried about losing Kate or her getting hurt searching for Kevin. All the other McAllister’s return and have even less personality or impact than before. They’re there simply to enforce that this family is way too big and it’s easy for Kevin to be lost in the shuffle. Instead of focusing on Kate’s turmoil, Home Alone 2 follows Cedric’s struggles to find out more about Kevin for his boss and his inability to secure a decent tip from the youngster, and Mr. Hector’s problematic pursuit of investigating his young guest. Again, I’m not sure why Mr. Hector is so suspicious of Kevin; he’s right to be, but I just don’t get what raised that flag for him, especially considering how many guests (including kids) are milling about in the bustling hotel.

As fun as it is living vicariously through Kevin as he explores the city, treats himself to all sorts using his dad’s mysterious wealth, and messes about with his Talkboy, the main appeal of any Home Alone film is the traps and tricks the kids use against the bumbling burglars. Although Harry and Marv are initially confident of their chances at nabbing Kevin and tossing him in the river since he doesn’t have a kitted-out funhouse to torture them in, they run right into an all-new booby-trapped domicile after Kevin photographs them robbing the toy shop and alerts the police. Desperate to retrieve the evidence and get their revenge, they follow Kevin to his uncle’s place, already a death trap thanks to hefty renovations, and endure incredible punishment that surely would’ve killed them a dozen times over. Though wise to some of Kevin’s tricks and testing doorknobs and light switches and even avoiding swinging paint cans, the Sticky Bandits are nevertheless hit in the face by bricks, dropped down several storeys, and set ablaze by Kevin’s malicious traps. Marv absorbs the brunt of the punishment, I’d say, taking a nasty tumble, being crushed by shelves, being electrocuted, and having a bag of plaster land right on his head. Not to be outdone, Harry gets set on fire and partially exploded and the two are crushed by a giant iron bar and a tool chest, their cautious nature giving way to their anger and frustration. Unfortunately, it’s all very much the same as in the last film, just dialled up to be more comical and ridiculous. Harry’s sent flying into the air and crashing onto a car and they two are forced to take what’s clearly a life-ending plummet from a rope to avoid being set on fire! Even Harry packing heat doesn’t help them since his gun gets jammed and the two are ultimately undone simply because they spend too much time growling threats at Kevin, allowing the Pigeon Lady to intervene and subdue the crooks for the cops. Kevin’s relief at seeing his foes be apprehended is doubled after his wish upon a gigantic Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center coincides with Kate remembering that Kevin loves Christmas trees (all of a sudden…) and finally tracking him down. Thanks to Kevin’s note, Mr. Duncan rewards him and his family with a bunch of presents and all seems well…until Peter is handed the bill Kevin ran up during his stay!

The Summary:
Home Alone is far from my favourite Christmas movie. It is, however, a staple of the season for me and I have a lot of nostalgia for it, despite its flaws. As a kid, I always wanted to watch Home Alone 2 but it never seemed to be on and I didn’t watch it until I was in my mid-twenties. Consequently, I have far less nostalgia for the film and find it to be much weaker than the first. This isn’t helped by the fact that Home Alone 2 is essentially exactly the same movie as the first one, just set in New York City. The core concept is the same, many of the characters are unchanged, and the lessons and pratfalls are either copied wholesale or drawing heavily from what we saw before. Just because it worked once doesn’t mean it’ll work again, and I think Home Alone 2 plays things way too safe and relies far too much on slapstick violence, diluting the charm of the original into a poor imitation. The film just doesn’t do enough with its new setting; Kevin has all of New York to play with, but the finale is once again him being chased through a boobytrapped house by the same bungling crooks. The film also suffers from an increased emphasis on Macaulay Culkin; we follow Kevin’s indulgences and exploits far more that in the last film, and it gets a bit dull after a while since he’s literally pulling the same shtick as before. Tim Curry tries to salvage these scenes with his flamboyant performance but it’s both weird and not enough to make the film as enjoyable as the first. It’s a shame as the concept had a lot of potential and seeing what Kevin could get up to in the big city with near-unlimited funds could’ve been fun, but instead it’s just a rehash of the first film with in a slightly expanded environment and far less entertainment value. Honestly, just watch the first film twice and you get the same experience.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

What do you think to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York? How do you think it compares to the first film and is it a Christmas tradition for you to watch this movie? What did you think to the increased screen time for Macaulay Culkin? Do you agree that the film squandered the potential of its larger setting? Were you also disappointed that it copied so much from the first film? What did you think to the new traps and the punishment endured by the Sticky Bandits? What did you think to the other sequels in the franchise? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below and be sure to check out my other Christmas movie reviews!

Released: 16 November 1990
Director: Chris Columbus
Distributor: 20^th Century Fox
Budget: $18 million
Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara, John Heard, and Roberts Blossom

The Plot:
When bratty eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Culkin) acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, his mother, Kate (O’Hara), makes him sleep in the attic. After the McCallisters mistakenly leave without Kevin, he is left to defend his home from career burglars Harry (Pesci) and Marv (Stern).

The Background:
A serious contender for the greatest Christmas movie ever made, Home Alone was the brainchild of writer and producer John Hughes, who conceived of the general premise while on holiday. Hughes parlayed with both Warner Bros. and 20^th Century Fox to give himself a safety net should the film go over budget, and turned to Chris Columbus to direct after the latter had a falling out with star Chevy Chase. Although Hughes pushed for Macaulay Culkin to be cast, Columbus auditioned over two hundred children for the lead role before finally agreeing that Culkin was the best fit, and filming of nighttime scenes was restricted to accommodate his age. Co-star Joe Pesci proved more troublesome to the shoot than the child actor, however, as he was angered by the early starts and struggled to keep himself from swearing. The severity of the film’s stunts also caused some tension during filming, which resulted in Culkin being permanently scarred and a real tarantula being placed on co-star Daniel Stern’s face. Home Alone was a ridiculous success at the time, grossing over $475 million at the box office and being met by largely positive reviews. While the plot and its elaborate traps were criticised, the heart-warming comedy, performances, and Culkin gained the most praise. Over the years, it’s been pegged as a Christmas classic, despite sequels diluting the premise with redundant retreads, and is a Christmas tradition more many, including myself, over the festive season.

The Review:
It’s difficult to think of a movie more synonymous with the Christmas season than this one; maybe Miracle on 34^th Street (Mayfield, 1984) or Santa Claus: The Movie (Szwarc, 1985), but it’s a tough call. It’s one of those Christmas movies that’s always on every year and has become as much of a tradition as crackers and pigs in blankets. The film is a whimsical family comedy, but you wouldn’t really know that from the opening moments; when we’re introduced to the lavish McCallister family home, it’s the definition of chaotic, with screaming kids running everywhere, arguing, and their parents being just as bad. They’re all in a tizzy because they’re leaving for the airport in the morning for a luxurious Christmas getaway to France, and so preoccupied with their own problems that none of them notice (or question) the uniformed police officer desperately trying to get their attention. Although they don’t suspect a thing since this was a simpler time, the cop is actually Harry in disguise, covertly casing the neighbourhood to get a sense of its security precautions, something that McCallister patriarch Peter (Heard) really doesn’t seem all that bothered about. Peter’s happy to rely on his automatic lights and locks and such, which really goes a long way to show you how much this unexplainably rich family takes their home (and everything, for that matter) for granted. All the stress of packing and organising such a huge trip means that matriarch Kate (O’Hara) has even less patience for her youngest son’s bratty behaviour than usual; the smallest of his siblings, Kevin is ridiculed by brutish older brother Buzz (Devin Ratray) and snobby sister Linnie (Angela Goethals) for his helplessness since he’s so reliant on his mother that he can’t even pack his own suitcase for the trip.

There’s a sense that Kevin is frequently forgotten or dismissed even without his extended family in the house; with them there, he hasn’t a chance of being attended to, loses his room to his tight-fisted and grouchy uncle Frank (Gerry Bamman), and is horrified at the prospect of sharing a bed with his young cousin, Fuller (Kieran Culkin), due to his bedwetting. In a house full of noise, Kevin’s only outlet is to be louder than everyone else; he brazenly backchats his mother, offers false apologies when he’s punished for acting out, and causes the ire of his entire family when he rightly lashes out at Buzz for eating his pizza. Despite there being plenty of blame to go around, it’s easier for Kate to punish Kevin by sending him up to the third floor, and Kevin spitefully protests this injustice by wishing that she (and all of them) would disappear and leave him alone. Of course, he has no idea that fate has conspired to make this wish come true; Kevin’s plane ticket was accidentally thrown away while cleaning up his mess, Peter accidentally unplugs the alarm clock and causes them to oversleep and rush around in a panic in the morning, and an annoying neighbourhood kid (Jeffrey Wiseman) throws off Heather McCallister’s (Kristin Minter) head count, meaning nobody notices that Kevin is missing until they’re halfway to Paris (and even then it’s a strange intuition Kate suddenly has for no real reason other than a mother’s instinct). Thus, Kevin’s stunned when he finds his house empty, but this turns to elation when he remembers all the awful things his family has said and done to him, and he immediately indulges his every whim. He robs Buzz’s “life savings” (accidentally trashing his room and setting his pet tarantula loose in the process), orders himself a cheese pizza, eats copious amounts of ice cream and junk food while watching trash TV, and generally has the time of his life, all while narrating to himself and occasionally calling out to his family to punish his behaviour. Of course, it’s not all fun and games for Kevin; he applies aftershave and ends up screaming in agony and is forced to go shopping for a new toothbrush and groceries, overpacking his bags and inadvertently shoplifting after being spooked by his neighbour, Old Man Marley (Blossom), whom he’s terrified of thanks to Buzz’s wild stories of his bloodlust.

Although continuously terrified by the old man’s grim façade, this fear is just the start of Kevin’s troubles; unbeknownst to him, Harry and Marv have systematically been robbing every house in the neighbourhood since everyone’s gone away for the holidays and left their homes vulnerable. Although far from an intelligent crook, Harry is clearly the brains of the operation; he cases out each house, evaluating their potential and noting when their security measures, and chastises the dim-witted Marv for his perverse fixation on flooding houses to earn them a reputation as the “Wet Bandits”. While Harry is methodical and meticulous, Marv is loud and bumbling, focused more on haphazardly filling his swag bag rather than searching for high value items. Harry pegs the McCallister’s as the “silver tuna” (mainly because they live in a palace!) and is astonished to find the house seemingly occupied when they go to enter it. Night after night they are dissuaded by Kevin’s elaborate deceptions, mannequins and pulleys to trick them into thinking the house is occupied. Obsessed with ransacking the house, Harry follows Kevin and quickly deduces that he’s home alone; confident that the two of them and their crowbars can handle one little boy, Harry resolves to use force but even doesn’t account for how adaptable (and cruel) Kevin is when backed against the wall. What follows is an absolute massacre that sees the two thieves beaten up, knocked about, and brutalised by Kevin’s homemade traps, each one driving Harry further and further over the edge. Pesci shines in his role as the bad-tempered thief, and you can really tell from his indistinct mumbling, garbled curses, and rising frustration that he was really living his character’s aggravation with this obnoxious little foe.

As this is going on, the story continuously jumps over to the McCallister’s, whose Christmas vacation is effectively ruined by the realisation that they left Kevin behind; though Buzz and Frank aren’t concerned, the fun and excitement of the trip has been sucked out of everyone else, compounded by them being stuck in an apartment with nothing to do while Peter waits to hear about potential flights. Wracked with guilt and determined to make it back by any means necessary, Kate stays at the airport and wait for a cancellation after every attempt to call their neighbours and elicit the police’s assistance conveniently fails. Although Kate convinces a kindly old couple (Bill Erwin and Billie Bird) to trade some cash and valuables for a plane trip back to the United States, she’s forced to bounce around airports since she can’t get a direct flight back and naturally becomes frustrated from exhaustion and desperation. Luckily for her, friendly polka musician Gus Polinski (John Candy) takes pity on her; after rambling about his band, their success overseas, and their own transportation issues, he offers her a ride in their van, which she gratefully accepts. Although relieved to finally be on her way, and finding kindred spirits in the band since they’ve lost a lot of time with their families while on the road, she’s bombarded by upbeat polka music and endures Gus’s bizarre story of the time he left his own son in a funeral parlour. While this makes for good comedy and helps to humanise Kate after she was such a snappy bitch, I do feel there could’ve been more to this, I assume they were only able to get the late, great John candy for a day or two so he’s just a glorified cameo but I would’ve liked to see Kate spend more time reflecting on her relationship with Kevin with Gus and the band and less time screaming at airport employees. Speaking of humanising, Kevin is surprised to find that Old Man Marley isn’t the grouchy killer he’d been led to believe; while seeking solace in church after regretting taking his family for granted, Kevin speaks with Marley and learns he’s been branded by cruel lies and is actually a kindly old man who’s estranged from his family. The conversation helps Kevin to better understand his own relationship with his family, galvanises his fighting spirit, and sees Marley become an unexpected saviour in the finale, all while reinforcing the true meaning of Christmas: family.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Home Alone is certainly a product of its time and is far from perfect, but it has a quaint charm that only increases with time. Nowadays, this situation would be resolved in a heartbeat as Kevin could easily call or message his family, but that wasn’t really possible in 1990. It also doesn’t help that the power and phone lines are temporarily (and conveniently) knocked out in the opening scene, limiting Kate’s options, or that everyone in their neighbourhood also happens to be out of town at the same time. I can excuse this just by looking at the McCallister’s house and their neighbourhood; this is clearly a wealthy area, populated by the same kind of people as the McCallister’s, so it makes sense that the well-to-do would jet off over Christmas. However, one thing I’ve never been able to believe is that the McCallister’s were able to get up, get changed, load all their shit into the airport buses, get to the airport, and still make their flight in less than an hour! Even if they hadn’t overslept, I find it very difficult to believe that they’d even get to the airport on time; the lack of airport security is somewhat believable as things were different back then but, realistically, they would’ve been stuck in traffic, at the airport waiting for a later flight, or forced to head home anyway since they should’ve gotten there a good two hours early. Does this detract from my enjoyment of the film? Not at all. It’s a fun little eccentricity that, as I say, only gets more amusing the further we get from the antiquated nineties.

Although he’s just a little boy who is apparently incapable of doing anything without parental guidance, Kevin proves to be a capable and adaptable defender thanks to his many toys, his vast imagination, and his devious and sadistic nature. In less than an hour, he draws up a battle plan that sees him planting a nail on the cellar stairs, flash freezing the stone pathways and steps, leaving broken Christmas ornaments by the window, rigging paint cans, irons, and other items to bash the crooks, and even scorches Harry’s head with a blowtorch! Kevin shoots his foes in the face and crotch, sets up Micro Machines to trip them, and even makes use of Buzz’s pet tarantula when in a tight pinch. It’s all very amusing and entertaining stuff but, while Harry and Marv suffer only superficial and comical injuries as the film turns into a live-action cartoon, the implications of these booby traps are staggering as many would surely be fatal in real life! Although Kevin rigs his house with all these traps and pratfalls, he’s smart enough to have a back-up plan that sees him lure the Wet Bandits into a trap after alerting the police, only for the two to intercept him, battered and hungry for revenge. Luckily, Old Man Marley saves Kevin’s bacon and the two are apprehended, easily charged with all their crimes thanks to Marv’s flooding obsession, but Kevin is still left all alone and morose at having apparently wished away his family. Hoping for a Christmas miracle he tidies and decorates the house only to wake up and find it still empty. This is, of course, a fake-out as Kate arrives soon after, mere moments before the rest of the family, and reconciles with Kevin. Even Buzz is impressed that Kevin didn’t burn the house down, briefly showing Him respect before he sees the state of his room, and Kevin has an emotional embrace with his mother that echoes Marley’s own reconciliation with his estranged family, ending the film on a heart-warming note.

The Summary:
Christmas isn’t Christmas without Home Alone, but I do admit that my affection for the film has waned as I’ve gotten older and more cynical. There’s something about live-action, feel-good family movies that just doesn’t age as well as animated films, particularly when it comes to Looney Tunes-style violence that turns what was a grounded (if whimsical) film into a live-action cartoon, somewhat lowering the stakes even when Harry and Marv get their hands on Kevin. It also doesn’t help that I’ve never been a big fan of Macaulay Culkin; sure, he’s just a little boy here and he definitely does well in the role, but his delivery is a bit cringey at times and Kevin is so unlikeable in the opening and obnoxious when left alone that I find it hard to root for him. I enjoy the wish-fulfilment aspects of the film, where Kevin just goes nuts around the house and with food and acting like a grown-up while still being a little kid, and it’s definitely heart-warming seeing both him and Kate (and the rest of the family) realise how much they mean too each other. But, for me, the appeal of the film is the Wet Bandits; Marv might be an idiot, but Harry is so alluring as a cantankerous, scheming thief whose patience is pushed to the limit by Kevin’s traps and antics. Seeing them fall afoul of Kevin’s booby traps is still the best part of the film, even if it does drastically shift the tone, and I enjoyed the imagination and mischievousness behind Kevin’s antics and traps, I just wish that we’d had some inkling of his ability to set these up beforehand. He goes from a bratty, underappreciated kid to a free-spirited child to setting potentially lethal traps pretty quickly, which I guess speaks to how everyone (even he) underestimates him, but I could’ve done with this being fleshed out a little since we were specifically told that he was Les Incompétents. Ultimately, these are minor gripes from a bitter and aging film nerd; kids and youngsters will still find plenty to enjoy here, even if the film is heavily dated in some aspects, and Home Alone is still a staple of the festive season despite its flaws.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What do you think to Home Alone? Is it a Christmas tradition of yours or do you prefer another Christmas movie; if so, what is it? What did you think to Macaulay Culkin’s performance? Did you enjoy seeing his bobby traps in action? What did you think to the Wet Bandits and Kate’s desperate attempts to get home to her son? Have you ever been left home alone? What did you think to the film’s sequels? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below and be sure to check out my other Christmas movie reviews!