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Everybody has a favourite Christmas movie from their childhood, and it usually indicates their age. For me, and for millions of others who grew up in the 1980s and 90s, the ultimate festive film is HOME ALONE (1990). Directed by Chris Columbus and written/produced by John Hughes, it became an instant classic. The image of our hero, Kevin McCallister, screaming at the camera with his hands clasped to his face has been woven into the fabric of popular culture. The slapstick, the music, the right of passage, the surprising and possibly shocking levels of extreme violence and a polka-playing John Candy are but some of the things that make this movie so memorable. But not just HOME ALONE, no sir. Like WAYNE’S WORLD (1992) and THE TERMINATOR (1984), it is very difficult to imagine this film without its sequel, HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK (1992), which is just as good.
With the same cast, directly linear plot and continuing themes, they could well be viewed as two halves of the same film, like KILL BILL (2003-4) or CHE (2004). Just with Daniel Stern in it.
For those of you who never had a childhood, HOME ALONE is about a young boy named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who, after a big ol’ barney with his family, wakes up on Christmas morning to find they’ve vanished! In fact they went on holiday without him, but he thinks that he wished them away, and now he’s going to have the time of his life… or IS he? For little does Kevin know that local hoods Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) AKA the Wet Bandits plan to rob his house… and only he can stop them.
The sequel has an almost carbon-copy opening of Kevin arguing with his family, but instead of being left behind, he ends up on the wrong plane and finds himself… wait for it… LOST IN NEW YORK! While maxing out his dad’s credit cards, he bumps into Harry and Marv (now the Sticky Bandits) again as well as new antagonists, the staff of the New York Plaza Hotel, including cult icons Tim Curry and Rob Schneider (though in Schneider’s case, ‘cult’ may have been spelled wrong).
It has to be said, Culkin is brilliant in these movies. He was a scene stealer in the previous years UNCLE BUCK (1989) and he’s utterly watchable in his first starring vehicle. With his cherubic smile, decent eyebrow action and apparent lack of inner monologue, he’s a likeable tyke that you wholeheartedly get behind. Unless you’re like my family, who all wanted Harry and Marv to catch young Kevin and systematically remove his teeth. ‘Tis the season!
To be fair, its hard to dislike The Wet Bandits, as Pesci and Stern are so gung-ho in their performances. Screaming, gurning, indulging in the kind of slapstick violence that The Three Stooges would cringe at. They must have enjoyed it, as they were thirsty for more in the sequel, and this is AFTER Pesci won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in GOODFELLAS (1990). But is it slapstick or extreme violence? Let’s have a look at what happens to our nefarious ne’er do wells. In no particular order:
Frequent falling down concrete stairs; heads set on fire; electrocution; hands badly burned; bare foot impaled on nail; iron falls on face from several stories up; paint cans swung into faces; massive iron pole swung into faces; massive iron pole dropped onto faces; tarantula placed on face; shovel smacked into face; BB gun shooting into face; bricks thrown from top of building into face; bare feet stepping on sharp Christmas tree ornaments; being shot in the groin, arse and face by staple gun; crushed against a wall by falling tool cabinet; catapulted onto parked car; sliding (genitals first) into cabinet full of paint cans then having said cabinet and cans fall down on top of body; colliding at speed with Tim Curry, falling off a building through scaffolding onto concrete floor then having scaffolding, bricks and various cans of paint/kerosene fall on top of body; attacked by pigeons.
So yes, pretty violent, but funny. Plus being thieves, they deserve it, which is a defense that Eli Roth can never use. But I will defend the violence to the hilt, because its straight up funny, kids love it, and it’s been frequently imitated and never duplicated. BABY’S DAY OUT (1994), MOUSE HUNT (1997) and 101 DALMATIANS (1996) are just a few to use the formula of ‘big bully chases little guy, gets comedically pummelled.’ Even before then we had TOM & JERRY and LAUREL & HARDY, both of which include a surprisingly high amount of characters being stabbed, set on fire or being blasted with blunt instruments.
But HOME ALONE 1 and 2 (we do not speak of 3, 4 or, dear God in Heaven, 5!) are Christmas films, and as such the overall themes are that of love, family and forgiveness. Old Man Marley (played ever so sweetly by Roberts Blossom, who sadly died in 2011), whom Kevin believed was a killer, is himself misunderstood, estranged from his loved ones and in need of forgiveness. Thanks to a chat with our hero, he is reunited with his family, not before saving Kevin from the murderous Harry and Marv. This subplot was so moving that they did EXACTLY THE SAME THING in the sequel. This time it’s an old WOMAN (Brenda Fricker) who Kevin misjudges, is estranged from her loved ones, is redeemed after a chat with Kevin then saves him from the murderous Harry and Marv.
What LOST IN NEW YORK has that the first film doesn’t, though, is muthalovin’ Tim Curry, yo. Ably assisted by Rob Schneider and Dana Ivey as the bumbling hotel staff, they all get a crack at some slapstick tumbling and, echoing a moment from the previous film, get the funniest scene in the movie when Curry and co. are interrogated by a video cassette.
And then there’s the music. John Williams (that’s JOHN WILLIAMS!!) composes another famous score, that would end up being used in Christmas adverts for decades to come. The strings and twinkly festive chimes convey the joy and sadness, not just of Kevin’s plight, but of the festive season in general. It is Williams’ music under-pinning the snow covered scenery that helps the film maintain the seasonal aesthetic which charms us throughout. As the music swells upon the return of Kevin’s mother (the terrific and always underrated Catherine O’Hara) and they embrace as a family reunited, well its just lovely, isn’t it? Then we look out the window and see Old Man Marley cuddling his hitherto lost grand daughter. I’ll be damned if this reporter doesn’t wipe a tear from his eye every time.
And that, dear reader, is why HOME ALONE 1 and 2 are my favourite festive films. In my view, they’re the best Christmas movies period. And if you disagree, I may well place a tarantula on your face and twat you with a snow shovel, because a film told me to.
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal.
