Review 233: Home Alone

Home Alone is a wonderful Christmas movie and one of those movies I just watch every year on Christmas and one of John Hughes' best films,

Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is an 8-year-old boy the youngest of five children and is frequently bullied by his older brothers and sisters. After events transpire between him and his family, he wishes he had no family when his mother (Catherine O'Hara) is punishing him for what he feels are unjustified reasons. She warns him to be careful what he wishes for. He wakes up the next day to discover he is the only one left in the house. He thinks his wish came true and that he is finally alone without his obnoxious family. In reality, he was left home by mistake. His family is en route to France for a holiday trip. While his parents realize their mistake and scramble to get back to the United States, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), a pair of thieves who are called the "Wet Bandits", attempt to rob the house and Kevin is forced to hold them back with a collection of homemade booby traps.

The plot is a beautiful work of genius, one of the reasons this film has been so popular since it's release is because basicly it's a modern retelling of it's a wonderful life and that applies to both the lead actor and the supporting cast were both sides wish each other never existed but when they are apart they realize they really do love each other and want to be together for Christmas. Plus watching a couple of dumb burglars getting beaten up by a kid is hilarious fun.

Another reason why I think this film is so popular is because it shows us what it's like to be the youngest one in the house: At the beginning of the movie Kevin is the kind of like the pigeon of the family ridiculed by his siblings and cousins and throughout the film he goes from that to a really grown up and independent young man.

It's also a coming of age story: as Kevin is left Home Alone, he does all these adult things e.g. he washes himself, orders a pizza, goes shopping, does the washing and as we probably all know defending the house from a couple of burglars and just mainly hanging around.

The way the story portrays Kevin' coming of age story is very clever e.g. the scene were he goes out to buy a toothbrush and his families next door neighbor, "Old Man" Marley (Roberts Blossom) shows up in the very same shop and Kevin pannicks and leaves without paying, that scene not only show the responsibility Kevin has to go through as an adult but also it's meant to put a stone in your mouth, kinda amp up the stakes and add the the sense that he's a dangerous man (I'm not going to reveal anything else as I don't wanna spoil anything).

Latter in the movie Kevin goes to a church and watches a choir perform. He also meets Marley and we kind of learn that they have their own problems and it's also a scene in which Kevin really grows as a character and kind of reflects on his mistakes and kind of figures out what he has to do not just to defend his house from Harry and Marv but also to make it up to his family.

Director Chris Columbus' direction is sensitive, the cinematography is wonderful and beautifully captures the sense of of urban surroundings of Chicago (I also like that setting by the way), the production and costume design is brilliant (it's nothing Oscar worthy but the overall look is so warm and inviting) the score by John Williams is beautiful and is easily one Williams' finest pieces of work, it's well paced, there are some fantastic gags (the ways Kevin outsmarts Harry and Marv are ingenius), the make up is rich, the slapstick stunt work is well choreograhed and well coordinated, the props are great, the sound effects are top notch and the ending was superb.

This film has got to be one of the most warmly acted Christmas movies of all time, literally the whole cast was wonderful but Macaulay Culkin carries this movie on his two shoulders, he just steals the show. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are hilarious as Harry and Marv and play their characters with an excellent blend of stupidity and menace. Catherine O'Hara and John Heard are terrific as Kevin's mom and dad respectively, Roberts Blossom is sensitive as Old Man" Marley and... what can I say the rest of the cast is just wonderful.

Home Alone is not just a childhood fav of mine, it's a Christmas Classic, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.