Better than Ebert thinks...

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2011)

Home Alone is a nostalgic film for me, having watched it religiously when I was a young kid growing up. Roger Ebert gave this film a 2.5 out of 4. He calls the film unrealistic and says that it goes in another direction from the original premise.
Home Alone plays on the scary scenario every kid fears at some point in their life. Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is forgotten at home in Chicago when his family rushes off to the airport for their trip to Paris. Soon after, Kevin is visited by home invaders Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci) and it's up to him to stop them.
Ebert complains that this film deviates from the main premise and simply brings in stunt doubles and fills the film with wacky traps that would otherwise cost the McCallister's tens of thousands of dollars to accomplish what Kevin does. While this is not far from the true, you're supposed to suspend some disbelief when watching this.
I enjoy Home Alone because an 8-year old handles two grown up burglars. I don't enjoy watching people getting hurt, but I think in this case, there is an exception. The moral of the story is that even when you're young, you can still be responsible and handle your home from being invaded. It shows that it's wrong to rob people and that even children can be heroes.
However, I find that the sequel is much better than this and it's due to the far superior story setup. Kevin being left home alone was a great initial start and opening up to the opportunity of a follow up story.
To review this film without the mention of Macaulay's acting is a crime. Macaulay portrays Kevin with amazing talent and it's great for the simple fact that the 90s weren't really big for their child actors as far as I can remember. Macaulay is able to hit all ends of the acting spectrum showing being scared, showing emotion, and showing confidence and hilarious comedic relief, too. He was a great actor and I was sad to only see a few of his films before he retired.
Another great point about Home Alone being a cult classic is the musical score provided by legendary John Williams. He gives the film the final emotional touch that allows us to forever remember Home Alone as being a classic film and never forget Macaulay's performance. Somewhere in My Memory has always been a favourite track of mine by Williams and it's just a great piece of music on top of a great film.
This film is a classic for me, and I would never say that this isn't a wonderful film, despite being a tad bit unrealistic. But, the fact is, most films exaggerate and force you to suspend disbelief. Don't allow for this film not to be a favourite because you don't think this sort of thing could happen.