Home Alone

Movie Title--  Home Alone

Release Year--  1990

Running Time--  1 Hour and 43 Minutes

Director--  Chris Columbus

Cast--  Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, Roberts Blossom, Devin Ratray, John Candy, Kieran Culkin

When 8 year old Kevin McCallister is accidentally left behind when his family flies to France for Christmas decides to defend his home against burglars while everyone is away.

The McCallister family have all gathered at the home of Peter (John Heard) and Kate (Catherine O'Hara) McCallister on the eve of the family's big Christmas trip to Paris.  A police officer (Joe Pesci) is standing in the foyer trying to find the homeowner so he can have a word with him but the hustle and bustle of the children in the house is getting him no where.  Peter and Kate's son Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is one of the younger members of the family and is told he can not watch a movie that the older children are watching, so he goes to complain to his mother who tells him to go into his room and pack his suitcase.  Kevin realizes he doesn't know how to pack a suitcase but is blown off and ridiculed by his older siblings and cousins.  

When the pizzas arrives, the police officer invites the pizza boy and soon Peter shows up and the officer asks him about his plans for the Christmas holiday.  Peter responds by telling the officer they are going to Paris for Christmas and they have the affordable kind of security; locks on the doors and automatic timers to turn the lights on.  The officer then leaves, along with the pizza boy after being paid.

Kevin comes into the kitchen to get pizza and learns that his older brother ate all the cheese pizza that was ordered for him just because he knows that Kevin doesn't like the other toppings on his pizza.  At that point, Kevin snaps and attacks Buzz (Devin Ratray), causing a huge chain reaction, ending in chaos and Kevin being sent to the third floor to go to bed.  Kevin tells his mother that he never wants to see any of them again and that he wishes that his family would just disappear.

During the night a storm blows in and knocks out the power in the neighborhood.  The family is awoken by express vans at their front door to haul them to the airport.  Amongst the chaos, Kevin is forgotten and only when Kate is on the plane flying to Paris does she realize that Kevin is not with them.

Kevin wakes up to find the house completely empty and the cars still parked in the garage.  He realizes he is alone and believes that he had actually made his family disappear.  He is overjoyed at the fact that he is alone but that joy soon turns to fear when he hears Harry, who had disguised himself as a police officer to stake out homes to rob and his partner Marv (Daniel Stern) try to break in.  Kevin temporarily scares them away, then goes to hide under his parent's bed.  He finally summons up enough courage to call himself the man of the house and goes outside when he is met with his neighbor, "Old Man" Marley (Roberts Blossom) who is rumored to have killed his entire family in 1958, running him back into the house.

On Christmas Eve, Kevin overhears Marv and Harry discussing breaking into his house and decides to rig it with traps to stop the burglars and protect his home.

I have loved this film since I was a child.  It is super entertaining and appropriate for just about every age.  As an adult it is easy to see how silly it is; what 7 year old child would have the mind to think up everything Kevin does in this film?  Don't get me wrong, kids are smart and they have big imaginations but there was a lot of ground for this child to cover and did, to save the day.  But even seeming a little silly now, if you get past all of that, it is actually very good.

No matter what age you are, I think this is a good film to sit down and watch together as a family.  The children will get a good laugh and I am sure for any of the people out there that were children when this film was released (like me) it will be a very nostalgic view.  Get together as a family for this one and Don't Forget the Popcorn!