THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Christmas movies remain timeless every holiday season as most succeed in being fun adventures, while also reminding viewers that Christmas is about togetherness, how we appreciate the presence of our loved ones. It is an ongoing debate on what is the best of the genre but a common answer is Home Alone.
PLOT
The film shows the McCallister family who are about to go on vacation to France for the holidays. On the prior night at a Chicago suburb, Kevin, the youngest son of Peter and Kate, throws a fit for being the subject of ridicule by most of his family. When disputing with his older brother Buzz during dinner, he gets so upset that he wishes that his whole family disappeared. This wish unintentionally becomes a reality as the family rushes to the airport after oversleeping, accidentally leaving him behind. They overslept in the first place because a power outage reset their alarm clocks. When he realizes they're gone, he is surprised but glad about it. He enjoys his newfound freedom as he breaks all the rules such as: watching R rated movies, going through his Buzz's room without permission and eating too much junk food. Kate does not realize her son is absent on the plane until mid-flight. Back in Chicago, burglars Harry and Marv aka 'The Wet Bandits' plan to rob the neighborhood as Harry discovered that every family in the neighborhood is out of town. They are unaware that Kevin is still home but when he discovers their presence, he is able to create illusions with stuff around the house, having them believe his family his never left. His cover is eventually blown when Harry notices him walk on the sidewalk to his house after a grocery trip. When they see he's alone, they plan to rob the house no matter what. At this point, he begins to miss his family and wish for them to return. He goes to church at night to see a choir but encounters the elderly neighbor Marley he's afraid of. They end up having a polite conversation as he turns down negative rumors about him and both unexpectedly give each other advice; Marley tells Kevin not to be afraid while the boy encourages him to reconcile with his estranged son. Kevin does go home before the bandits return and sets up booby traps before they get to him. When they arrive, he first shoots them with Buzz's bb gun through the kitchen's doggy door, causing them to split up. Both stairs are slippery causing them to fall. When Harry tries to open the front door, his hand gets burnt. Marv breaks into the basement, but an iron falls on his head. He loses his shoes and socks when stepping on tarred stairs and as he continues, his foot steps into a nail. When going to the windows, his feet injuries get worse as he steps on the Christmas tree ornaments. When Harry goes back to the kitchen door, he opens it but his head is burnt by a blowtorch. With both of them in the house, they slip on micro machines, get hit with cans of paint and trip on wires. When Marv gets Kevin by the leg, he plants Buzz's pet tarantula on his face, scaring him in the process. They attempt to follow Kevin to his treehouse by by zipline. He cuts the zipline as they were climbing, causing them to fall. He goes to the neighbor Murphy's house but they catch up. Before they could hurt him, he is saved by Marley as by hitting both villains with his shovel. The bandits are quickly arrested by the police Kevin had previously called and they are quickly identified for their crimes due to Marv's trademark of flooding other homes. The next morning, it is Christmas day and Kevin's wish comes true. His mother Kate returns first as she went out of her way hitching a ride with a band, after a plane trip from Texas to Pennsylvania, apologizing for leaving him behind. The rest of the family returns as well due to the fact that they waited until the next available morning flight from France to Chicago was open. Before the film ends with Buzz yelling in shock of his destroyed room, we see Kevin wave at Marley who reunites with his family as well.
THOUGHTS
Like many older Christmas films, I have been seeing this film since childhood and my opinion remains the same that this one is such a blast. Director Chris Columbus and writer John Hughes gave us a movie that somehow gets better every viewing, making it timeless. Due to being so damn funny, you are laughing at the shenanigans the characters are going through but then you appreciate the film's message on how Christmas is about togetherness, where we appreciate our loved ones no matter how bad things get. The point of watching movies is to enjoy yourself and this one of many that does it so well. If you don't love John Williams' score that quickly puts you in the holiday spirit, I am not sure if we're friends. I mean it’s hard not to love the track ‘Somewhere in My Memory’. I also can't help but give a shoutout to the cinematography by Julio Macat especially in the opening because as that progresses, we see every prop Kevin will use throughout the movie. Speaking of Kevin, Macaulay Culkin will remain the number one reason to watch this movie every holiday season. Because he was a kid at the time, he was so relatable in his predicament. No one likes to not be taken serious and his attitude ruins his chance, but his amazing intelligence shows there is more than meets the eye. What makes me laugh the most besides his iconic scream when putting on aftershave, is that he can make all of his booby traps but cannot pack his own suitcase. I also think it's crazy that only we see his worth but his family doesn't. Through his perspective, the message of togetherness is a success because here (and in the sequel), he learns the hard way that you got appreciate what you have before it's gone. You even like him more when he chooses to be brave and defend his house before calling the police, rather than quickly calling them. I will continue to love this movie with all my heart but even a great one like this has flaws. First off, it is insane how 11 kids did not notice the Murphy kid as they boarded the van. If they did, they would've woken up Kevin and if Peter double checked the tickets remembering he accidentally threw away Kevin's, than just maybe they would've made it in time. When Kevin opens Buzz's foot locker, it looks pretty organized but he is wrong to put a Playboy magazine at the top because his mom could've spotted that easily if she snooped around. I'll get to praise Marley later but if he was out and about at night during the Wet Bandits' first attempt to break into the McCallisters house, how come he didn't see them? If he spotted them, he would've called the police. The gag of the fake movie 'Angels with Filthy Souls' is hilarious but I am surprised how the pizza guy doesn't call the cops either. I am impressed about the traps but did Kevin really stay up to clean up the mess? Because if he did, it would be neat if we saw a sequence of that. Other than that, this movie is still timeless. It is very hard to like Kevin's family because hey, they literally forgot about him. When it comes to his parents, for some reason, John Heard got me laughing so hard on how gullible he presents Pete. The fact that he's so certain that everything was fine before his wife screams 'KEVIN' on the plane just gets me every time. Speaking of Karen, Catherine O'Hara easily makes her likable because she quickly redeems herself with determination to get back to her son. It is hard to focus on the rest of the family because there's one too many to count but we get a shine on two other relatives. From the first second Gerry Bamman's Uncle Frank calls Kevin a jerk for the mess he made during dinner, you easily hate him as much as Kevin does because you don’t call a kid a jerk at all. Devin Ratray is on point making Buzz such a douche of a brother. You are glad he respects his brother for being okay on his own but he is so over the top with his attitude in the opening as well, you get why Kevin don't like him either. I mean seriously, you don't eat someone else's pizza. From the buzz cut alone, he’s like a clone of Biff Tannen from Back to the Future. John Candy isn't in this movie a lot but he still gets a giggle out of me as Gus Polinski. I am always laughing when he talks about his parenting experience to Karen, as he technically worse than her based on what he says. Roberts Blossom succeeds in making Old Man Marley the unexpected guardian angel. We are easily intimidated from his stares as Kevin is scared of him but we're blown away on the gentle soul he had all along. This is a friendship I love more than Han Solo and Chewbacca from Star Wars or Steve Rogers and Bucky in the MCU because it is here where we get the best depiction to never judge people before ever knowing him. I love how they both took each others' advice, giving the encouragement they never thought they ever needed until than. I am always choking up when Marley rescues him because you're just relieved that someone cares about this kid, besides his mother. The wave they give each other at the end chokes me up again because I know deep down, that was their way of saying 'thank you' to one another. Last but not least, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern basically make the movie as the Wet Bandits. They are clearly a dynamic duo as Harry is the smarter one and Marv appears to be more gullible. They're the kind of guys that are bad and they know it, hence Marv loves his trademark because he actually wants to have fun with what he does. The pain and fear they go through the entire third act is what defines this movie and remains hilarious to this day. I mean come on, their facial expressions seal the deal that I am still laughing just thinking about it. Overall, Home Alone is easily one of the most fun movies to watch during the holidays. If you love Christmas or a clever comedy, than this is right up your alley.
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