‘Tis the season in the Berk family home. That means I’ll be subjected to a variety of holiday films, some that I love and some I won’t dare write about. Luckily, Home Alone is a film that I’ve loved since I was 8-years-old. My wife pulled it up on-demand, though we own it as well, and we watched it again. Even after all these years, I’d say Home Alone is Must See.
Home Alone definitely holds up after all these years.
Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is an 8-year-old who is good at getting himself into trouble. On the eve before a trip to Paris with his family, he gets into a fight with his brother and ends up in the attic bedroom as punishment. The family awakens late and leave in a rush, but manage to forget all about Kevin. He thinks he’s wished his family away, and has to deal with being the man of the house. The plot gets thicker when burglars working the neighborhood attempt to break into his home.
Really, the best part of this film is the finale. Watching Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as the wet bandits get their butts handed to them by an 8-year-old is just plain old Christmas fun. I don’t remember how old my daughter was when she first watched this. Yet, it did lead to her first bad word as she uttered in Wal-Mart, “Why the hell’d you take your shoes off?” Apparently, that line stuck in her brain and she couldn’t resist blurting it out. It made us laugh and now every time I watch this movie that’s what I remember. It’s a line from my favorite segment of the film so it brings extra laughs now.
A wish that comes true
Of course, the film is an interesting Out of the Bottle story from Kevin’s perspective. The story plays out the same as a usual OOTB. A character makes a wish for a different life, a spell is cast that grants the wish, and by the end of the film the character learns the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. In Home Alone, it’s hard to argue exactly what causes the power to go out; Magic or happenstance. Either way, from Kevin’s point-of-view he made a wish that came true and it’s not till he learns to appreciate his family that he gets them back. It’s an interesting take on an archetype that often wants us to believe in magic.
Final Thoughts on Home Alone
Home Alone is a movie I watch every year at this time. Honestly, I’ll probably catch segments of it at least two more times before Christmas. It’s a family favorite that somehow stays entertaining even though I can quote 90% of it. There are other films that fall into this category and will force their way into my 366 this year. I’ll attempt to explain what I like about them in my reviews rather than my normal suggestions of watching it or not. I assume that it’s likely these films either have been tried and loved or hated at this point. If you’ve skipped Home Alone, give it a try!
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