THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Home Alone put the beginning of the 1990s on a high note due to being a successful film during the holiday season of the year 1990. Because of its success, it felt bound for a sequel to emerge.
PLOT
Lost in New York takes place an exact year after Kevin McCallister was accidentally left alone for the holidays until his family turned around as quickly as possible. Their next vacation is to Florida. It would seem that the young Kevin would grow a strong bond with his family for what had transpired, but he is still the subject of ridicule by his relatives and not taken serious by his parents. After Buzz (Devin Ratray) embarrasses him at a Christmas pageant, he wishes to have his own vacation without his family. The family rushes to the airport as they overslept again due to Kevin's dad Peter accidentally resetting the alarm clock the night prior. Kevin does wake up in time before the van leaves, but he gets separated and accidentally boards a plane to New York. His fear of being alone disappears due to having his dad's wallet containing credit cards, knowing he'll use it for a hotel. No one from the family recognizes his absence until after landing in Florida. Kevin checks in at the Plaza Hotel and uses a tape recorder to disguise his voice when booking his stay. As the family reports him to be missing, Peter realizes his wallet is missing and his son might have it. This is a blessing in disguise because the credit cards can be tracked wherever they're used. As Kevin checks in, the hotel's concierge grows suspicious of him. He does attempt to access the boy's room but is tricked by him, thinking his dad with him, believing he walked in on him. The following day,he apologizes by offering him a limousine ride that'll take him wherever he desires. He goes to Duncan's Toy Chest but ends up running into the escaped fugitives Harry and Marv, now nicknamed the 'Sticky Bandits'. When going back to the hotel, running away from them in the progress, the concierge confiscates the credit cards when discovering they were stolen. Kevin again is able to run away by tricking the hotel staff that his dad was armed. He would than head to the house of one of his relatives but notices that it's in the process of refurbishment. When the family discovers the card's location, they quickly head to New York. Arriving at the Plaza Hotel, Kevin's parents criticize the staff for scaring him off. Kate goes to search for him on her own while the family check in at the same hotel. At Central Park, the boy encounters an older woman who hangs out with pigeons. He is at first terrified of her, but accepts her once she shows to mean no harm. They hang out at Carnegie Hall and the pigeon lady reveals that she hit rockbottom after a breakup. She even gives him advice on not to make un-keepable promises and that good deeds erase bad ones. Kevin takes the latter with stride as he stops the Sticky Bandits from robbing Duncan's Toy Chest. He throws a brick with a note for the cops to see, which sets off the store's alarm. As they leave, they fall for the kid's first trap of many as Harry flies into the air after he and Marv stepped on a makeshift see saw. When going to his relatives' house, more traps ensue. Before they could get in, he hits Marv with mutliple bricks from a rooftop When he attempts to open the front door, he is shot by a staple gun When Harry attempts to climb a ladder from outside, he slips and falls on concrete due to the ladder's exposure to goop. When he finds a way in as he opens a door, a bag of tools fall over his head. It gets worse for Marv as he falls into a hole in the floor leading to the basement. At the basement, he slips and falls into cans of paint. When attempting to wipe it off from sink water, he is electrocuted by the sink. When Harry turns on the bathroom light, his head is burnt by a blowtorch again and when he puts it out on the toilet, it causes a small explosion he survives. Marv than pulls a rope but gets hit with a bag of plaster above. When the two get together, they both get taken down by a giant pipe, taking them back to the basement. Kevin would than drop the pipe and more cans of paint on them. When they get up to another door, they are crushed by a fallen tool chest. Making it to the roof, they attempt to climb down by rope and get to Kevin quickly. But due to the rope's exposure to kerosene, the boy lights it on fire with a match and when they let go, they fall on concrete and get poured with more cans of paint. They chase the kid down to Central Park but is aided by the pigeon lady who pours birdseeds on them both, allowing them to be attacked by actual pigeons. Kevin sets off fireworks that get the police's attention, spotting the bandits and arresting them as soon as they arrive. Kevin would then go visit the Rockefeller Center, seeing a tree and wishing to see his mother again. This wish comes true as she shows up there as well, remembering his fondness of Christmas trees. They make amends once again and head back to the hotel. The following morning, it is Christmas Day and the children are in awe that they received presents donated by Mr. Duncan from Duncan's Toy Chest. This was done out of thanks to Kevin's actions the prior night. Before the film ends with Pete in shock of Kevin's overspent room service bill, we see his son have one last encounter with the pigeon lady, giving her the present of a dove, promising not to forget about her.
THOUGHTS
Like the first film, I've been watching this film since childhood and I still have a blast as an adult. I may have a soft spot, but I have to admit that most of it is a copy paste of the predecessor: Kevin is away from his family but enjoys it as he didn't get along with them prior. He realizes he misses them before reuniting with them. He encounters two burglars and gets them arrested after beating them up with traps. And lastly, he befriends with someone he is at first terrified of. Kate is also the only one who goes out of her way looking for him. I never noticed it all until I got older, but it is easy to ignore due to its setting. While the replica of the premise is easy to ignore, there were still some plot points I scratch my head about. First off, why are doing another vacation after what happened to Kevin? I know it's neat to go out of state for the holidays but they could've taken a step back and do something local for the sake of not taking a risk. It is funny that it's Peter fault for oversleeping due to unplugging the alarm. But why did he do that? He said he needed his batteries and instead of just unplugging the battery charger, he also unplugs the alarm which was honestly stupid of him. And why the hell does the opening pageant performance continue during Buzz's prank? The conductor and pianist do nothing when seeing it which is disappointing. The McCallister family is even dumber for not only looking back for Kevin in the airport, but also not noticing that Buzz was whispering to his brother, calling him a trout sniffer. Getting a view of New York is always beautiful to see but I don't think Kevin pulled it off before sunset. Putting personal beliefs aside, I thought Donald Trump's cameo at the Plaza hotel was hilarious for being unexpected. My problem with it is that he looks back at Kevin when leaving and does nothing. The man is an actual father,so he should've shown parental instincts and call somebody that a kid was alone. It's clever for Harry and Marv to hide in playhouse sets in the toy store but it is a gamble because people could've bought those houses and they would've been screwed. It is a relief that Kevin avoids them outside the store but it is appalling that no one actually pays attention when he screams. I mean who ignores a screaming kid? There is no way that'd be ignored in real life. It's funny how the two slip and fall on pearls but it would've been funnier if other civilians did too. And lastly, I know Kevin doesn't want his family to know his connections to Harry and Marv but he really should've just went to the police and the Sticky Bandits would've been put away much quicker, rather than the traps. If you somehow are able to ignore all of this, than you're more than likely still enjoying it as I still do. Back to the goods, the cast still keeps me invested after all of these years. Macaulay Culkin succeeds once again with making Kevin a relatable character due to his mischievous yet good hearted personality. I may have called out the film a bit lazy for replicating the beats of the predecessor, but we do sometimes forget what we learn the first time around and it clearly works for Kevin as he appears to make amends with Buzz as well at the end and makes a new friend that helps him appreciate what he has. Speaking of which, I also thought Brenda Fricker was neat as the Pigeon Lady. Like Old Man Marley, she was someone who reminded Kevin to not judge a book by the cover. It moved me in her perspective because homeless people get a bad representation and do not deserve the stereotype of being abnormal. I can't help but smile when she and Kevin hug because from that moment, I know that Kevin won't forget about her, as she won't forget about him. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are still on point being despicable and gullible as Harry and Marv respectively. The hell they go through is a bit cartoonish but still hilarious to this day. Catherine O'Hara is still great at expressing Kate's determination but she got her shine big time when she faints after Kevin scream, which gets me every time. John Heard again keeps Pete more gullible than ever, which is still funny. But his flip out over Kevin's bill, "Kevin! You spent $967 on room service?" will always make me chuckle. The real highlight of the movie is the Plaza scenes as that is what makes the movie feel fresh. Rob Schneider is funny for making Cedric a goof of a bellman, but Tim Curry was a scene stealer for me as the concierge credited as Mr. Hector. The actor does a great job reflecting his character to be suspicious, sly and pompous. He is doing his job calling out Kevin about the stolen credit card, but he overreacts when he attempted to call the police. The biggest laugh for me is how he and staff fall for Kevin's trick as they believe they're encountering an actual thug but it's just audio from the fake film, Angels with Even Filthier Souls. That scene has me dying of laughter for so long I'll watch it over and over, never getting tired of it. In short, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a bit lazy yet still fun sequel. So if you love the first the film with all your heart, you'll likely watch this as quick as possible.
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