Fluffy Holiday Mayhem With a Warm Heart

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2012)

When the action hits its climax, this treads a dangerous line between cartoon violence and the real thing, but a powerful dose of John Hughes sentimentality and a side of Christmas spirit mostly smooth things over. Macaulay Culkin's acting in the lead is utterly unbearable for anyone over the age of ten, and the cache of gimmicks and booby traps that fuel his story often asks far too much of the audience. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern make up for that as a duo of over- amplified burglar stereotypes, played with a wink and a nudge at just the right moments, and Catherine O'Hara shines in a rare straight role as the flustered mother an ocean away from her youngest child. Straightforward and light for the majority of its run time, the film works best when it remembers to pluck the heartstrings with a few season-specific character moments and subplots.