The all-time classic holiday movie: ‘Home Alone’
You can’t resist Kevin McCallister’s captivating survival tale
During the Christmas season in my country, the national TV airs the iconic movies “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2” almost every Sunday morning. It’s become a holiday tradition to enjoy these films at home.
I watched these two movies so much as a kid that I memorized the plot and the lines. It’s no wonder these films are iconic — I bet that many of you also feel connected to them because they evoke memories of the Christmas holidays.
I agree that “Home Alone” deserves the title of the greatest family comedy film ever. Even 30 years after its premiere, I still find “Home Alone” incredibly enjoyable to watch.
Macaulay Culkin starred in only one of the film’s numerous sequels himself. “Home Alone 3” and the subsequent films no longer featured Culkin as the main character, shifting child stars to less effect.
I think that “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2” remain the most iconic. Moreover, these two films in particular have left many memorable moments behind for kids of the 1990s era.
It would be a good idea for me to feature “Home Alone” in my film review for this Christmas and New Year’s edition. This movie, among other great films from that era, holds a special place in the hearts of children, especially during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The movie follows the antics of Kevin McCallister, a young American boy left behind when his family goes on vacation to France.
Kevin’s adventures while home alone make for an entertaining watch. Instead of wallowing in tears over his family’s trip to the Eiffel Tower, Kevin takes on an interesting journey.
As a mischievous and clearly intelligent kid, Kevin enjoys the adventure of being home alone without his parents there to stop him from doing… anything! However, he has to face the threat of two burglars trying to break into his house.
Initially, he’s terrified when he realizes two burglars are targeting his home and that he, alone, will have to deal with them. But Kevin is not one to be outsmarted; he devises clever schemes to thwart the menacing intruders.
In that situation, Kevin channels his mischievous imagination as a child. From deceiving them into thinking the house is still occupied by adults to setting up trap after trap, he ingeniously makes the burglars regret their cruel intentions.
In the end, the two criminals find themselves ensnared in Kevin’s cleverly laid traps inside the house.
From getting shocked by electricity to their hair catching fire, their hands blistering, having their faces crawled over by a tarantula and stepping on glass shards, the dastardly duo endure numerous agonies inflicted by Kevin’s traps.
“I’m up here, you morons. Come and get me!”, Kevin’s iconic line taunts as he sees the two criminals stumble while trying to chase him.
Not only do the scenes stir various emotions from frustration to pity, from laughter to heartfelt moments, but the expressions delivered by Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern, who portrayed the two burglars, also evoke emotions from the audience.
Later in the second movie, Kevin finds himself separated from his family again. But this time, not at home; instead, he boards the wrong plane and ends up in New York (fortunately, with his father’s credit card accidentally in tow). There are numerous iconic scenes as Kevin “gets lost” in New York.
When I watched it, I felt like I wouldn’t enjoy my time as much if I were in Kevin’s situation — being “alone” in New York. I’d probably cry my eyes out, desperately searching for my family. But it was exhilarating to see Kevin adventuring and having fun on his own, even though he was still pursued by the dangerous burglars.
Culkin truly immersed himself in the role of the mischievous and clever kid who troubles the two burglars. It’s evident that the remakes, starting from “Home Alone 3”, lacked the same impact.
Directed by Chris Columbus, who would later direct the first two Harry Potter films, the two movies seemingly made it challenging for Culkin to shake off his character as Kevin.
Even today, I still associate Culkin with his role as the clever kid, Kevin, in “Home Alone”.
The humor in “Home Alone” remains timeless even after 30 years. I still watch it quite often on a streaming platform, and it still makes me laugh uncontrollably.
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