Home AloneBeing on your own can be an opportunity for freedom and fun, or it can be a terrifying sink-or-swim ordeal that requires growing up fast. Home Alone is a comedy about eight-year old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), who awakens one morning to find his family has accidentally left him at home after a hectic departure to Paris for Christmas week. Kevin is exuberant at being relieved from the family that had recently made him feel ignored and alienated. But he soon discovers that to survive until the next year, he'll have to contend with a pair of bumbling bandits looking to pilfer his home: Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern).
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The first thing the audience might notice about the McCallister homestead is that, like Harry points out, it is more affluent than even the other homes on Lincoln Street in this Chicago suburb. The McCallisters--and their extended family--are busy packing for their trip to Paris, and even Kevin's parents--Kate (Catherine O'Hara) and Peter (John Heard)--have little to no time to spend with Kevin. From the McCallister's manner of dress to their home and assorted decor, it is no wonder Harry finds the house so appealing. While Kevin does have to deal with some truly spiteful siblings--like the crass Buzz (Devin Ratray)--and an unusually crusty Uncle Frank (Gerry Bamman), Kevin is a bit spoiled. It's clear that he's skated by on his impish charm before, but his outburst over the purloined cheese pizza leads to his petulant Christmas wish that his family would just disappear. When he wakes up the next morning to find it actually happened, he runs amok with glee, like a kid who found out school has been cancelled forever. But Kevin, still being the semi-spoiled boy that he is, indulges in looting his brother's life savings, eating a massive bowl of ice cream while watching the violent "film within a film" called "Angels with Filthy Souls", and jumping on the bed. Even Kevin's prank on the pizza guy is more than a bit puerile--it's a bit cruel, even if it is pretty funny all the same. It isn't until Kevin begins to realize that since he's alone, no one will be there to protect him after Harry and Marv first attempt to break in, scaring them off the first time but ending up more scared in the process. It's from this point on that the "growing up" starts, and Kevin has to learn to look out for himself--as much as an upper-middle class kid in a fancy house has to do that. He begins to play out the role of an adult--the "man of the house", as he puts it--acting the part of his father in some ways. This includes grooming himself after a shower, leading to the iconic face-slapping scene after he discovers that aftershave burns when applied to a freshly shaved face. (But really, Kevin, eight's a bit young to be shaving.) He looks after himself by shopping for supplies--from a toothbrush (he inadvertently shoplifts) to TV dinners and even fabric softener--all for twenty dollars! (Remember: this was 1990.) All of these are essentially rituals for Kevin so that he can feel like his home still has the presence of parental security, even if he has to fill the bigger shoes himself.
Released in 1990, Home Alone is a movie whose plot wouldn't work today, what with cell phones and so on. Much of the dilemma for Kevin's parents--notably his mom, who is driven into a panic--comes from the fact that there is virtually no way to get in contact with him to ensure he is safe. Home Alone goes to great pains to ensure that any possible means of preventing the ultimate showdown between Kevin and the burglars is thwarted. The reason the McCallisters are rushed to get to the airport in the first place is due to a power outage which also managed to disable the phones for a couple of days. Fair enough justification for why they can't just call home; but when Kate calls the surprisingly ineffectual police department back in the States, their efforts to secure Kevin's safety and monitor the street in the wake of the "Wet Bandits" crime wave is pretty sloppy. Kevin has some awkward--even terrified--encounters with an elderly and quiet man (Roberts Blossom)--who Buzz calls "Old Man Marley" and describes him as a serial killer. This emphasizes that while Kevin is trying to convince himself that he's got things under control, his exaggerated terror at the snow-shoveling good Samaritan says otherwise. There's a surprising lack of concern for Kevin's well-being by his entire family, with the exception of his mother, who goes to great lengths--and at great expense--to get home as fast as humanly possible. She manages to get shipped all around the U.S., before being offered the kindness of a traveling troupe of polka practitioners, led by Gus Polinski, "the Polka King of the Midwest" (John Candy). But Kate's go-to responses in her slog to get back to Kevin are those of an impatient--borderline entitled--upper-class mother. She tries to buy tickets off of others headed back to America, and snapps at a concierge in Scranton's airport, because he can't get her a flight. (I have to assume that it is due to her panic and sleep deprivation that she doesn't think to rent a car for herself.) Her predominant attitude has been that because "it's Christmas", she should be able to get what she wants: to go home to her son. Like Kevin, Kate has some growing up to do, and her lesson comes from the charity of Gus.
Home Alone remains one of the most commercially successful movies of all time; it's popularity kept it in the theaters well beyond the Christmas season, and made an overnight sensation out of Macaulay Culkin. Kevin is a charming little scamp, a kind of live action Bart Simpson, who is a little too smart for his age. This leads to humorous moments where he says things which are unlikely to come from the lips of an eight-year old without irony. Written and produced by John Hughes, and directed by Chris Columbus, Home Alone has many of the signature flourishes of both filmmakers' styles--from the light-hearted conflict of young kids facing off against wicked adults in The Goonies, to the Chicago backdrop and snappy dialogue of films like Uncle Buck. While many of the characters (with the exception of the police department) are convincing, Harry and Marv are decidedly caricatures of burglars, complete with crowbars and loot bags. This builds to a "Looney Tunes" kind of confrontation, marking the final set piece of Home Alone--with Kevin as a surrogate for Bugs Bunny, complete with "fourth-wall breaking" nods to the audience. Kevin turns his desirable home into a series of complex traps and pitfalls for the two bumbling burglars. They stumble and injure themselves on the inside and outside of it--the irony is that the traps only seem to aggravate the two crooks--and the climactic encounter plays out like a "Three Stooges" routine. But for all the absurdity and comic silliness, Home Alone remains a touching Christmas story, one which emphasizes the important lesson of valuing your family--not just during the holidays--and appreciating them while you have the chance.
Recommended for: Fans of a charming and funny Christmas story--a silly and (generally) age-appropriate film targeted to younger audiences. The sense that Home Alone is intended for kids is felt in the way it sympathizes more with Kevin than his parents, and banks sharply toward slapstick at the climax.
Released in 1990, Home Alone is a movie whose plot wouldn't work today, what with cell phones and so on. Much of the dilemma for Kevin's parents--notably his mom, who is driven into a panic--comes from the fact that there is virtually no way to get in contact with him to ensure he is safe. Home Alone goes to great pains to ensure that any possible means of preventing the ultimate showdown between Kevin and the burglars is thwarted. The reason the McCallisters are rushed to get to the airport in the first place is due to a power outage which also managed to disable the phones for a couple of days. Fair enough justification for why they can't just call home; but when Kate calls the surprisingly ineffectual police department back in the States, their efforts to secure Kevin's safety and monitor the street in the wake of the "Wet Bandits" crime wave is pretty sloppy. Kevin has some awkward--even terrified--encounters with an elderly and quiet man (Roberts Blossom)--who Buzz calls "Old Man Marley" and describes him as a serial killer. This emphasizes that while Kevin is trying to convince himself that he's got things under control, his exaggerated terror at the snow-shoveling good Samaritan says otherwise. There's a surprising lack of concern for Kevin's well-being by his entire family, with the exception of his mother, who goes to great lengths--and at great expense--to get home as fast as humanly possible. She manages to get shipped all around the U.S., before being offered the kindness of a traveling troupe of polka practitioners, led by Gus Polinski, "the Polka King of the Midwest" (John Candy). But Kate's go-to responses in her slog to get back to Kevin are those of an impatient--borderline entitled--upper-class mother. She tries to buy tickets off of others headed back to America, and snapps at a concierge in Scranton's airport, because he can't get her a flight. (I have to assume that it is due to her panic and sleep deprivation that she doesn't think to rent a car for herself.) Her predominant attitude has been that because "it's Christmas", she should be able to get what she wants: to go home to her son. Like Kevin, Kate has some growing up to do, and her lesson comes from the charity of Gus.
Home Alone remains one of the most commercially successful movies of all time; it's popularity kept it in the theaters well beyond the Christmas season, and made an overnight sensation out of Macaulay Culkin. Kevin is a charming little scamp, a kind of live action Bart Simpson, who is a little too smart for his age. This leads to humorous moments where he says things which are unlikely to come from the lips of an eight-year old without irony. Written and produced by John Hughes, and directed by Chris Columbus, Home Alone has many of the signature flourishes of both filmmakers' styles--from the light-hearted conflict of young kids facing off against wicked adults in The Goonies, to the Chicago backdrop and snappy dialogue of films like Uncle Buck. While many of the characters (with the exception of the police department) are convincing, Harry and Marv are decidedly caricatures of burglars, complete with crowbars and loot bags. This builds to a "Looney Tunes" kind of confrontation, marking the final set piece of Home Alone--with Kevin as a surrogate for Bugs Bunny, complete with "fourth-wall breaking" nods to the audience. Kevin turns his desirable home into a series of complex traps and pitfalls for the two bumbling burglars. They stumble and injure themselves on the inside and outside of it--the irony is that the traps only seem to aggravate the two crooks--and the climactic encounter plays out like a "Three Stooges" routine. But for all the absurdity and comic silliness, Home Alone remains a touching Christmas story, one which emphasizes the important lesson of valuing your family--not just during the holidays--and appreciating them while you have the chance.
Recommended for: Fans of a charming and funny Christmas story--a silly and (generally) age-appropriate film targeted to younger audiences. The sense that Home Alone is intended for kids is felt in the way it sympathizes more with Kevin than his parents, and banks sharply toward slapstick at the climax.