Charming, amusing and a little dark

Rating: 7/10 (13 April 2020)

As much as I dislike John Hughes' work, I really do enjoy Home Alone and consider it one of the best Christmas films of my lifetime. Macauley Culkin steals the show with a charming lead performance, even if his character is a little cheesy at times (this gets a hell of a lot worse in the sequel).
The rest of the cast is very strong, and there are some really nice scenes involving John Candy and Catherine O'Hara. The humour can be a little dark at times, and the finale is actually quite awful when you think about it- two grown man literally trying to kill a child. But if you're not enjoying this as light-hearted slapstick, you should probably avoid any film made before 2010. Good family fun that still feels fresh 30 years on.