Great comic revival movie

Rating: 9/10 (30 March 2002)

This is a great comic story that launched a new child star into the Hollywood stratosphere, and understandably so.
This film does show off Macaulay Culkin's brilliant comic execution. Apparently, it was partly the result of John Hughes being impressed with Macaulay's performance in UNCLE BUCK, and was devised as a vehicle for him. What makes this film superior to its imitators and successors is that Kevin is allowed to show comic skills and still come across as a genuine kid. For example; he wants to watch adults only movies, but he freaks out when he actually sees them. He wants to shave like his dad, but howls when he applies after-shave lotion. And so on. The christmas scene in the church is a nice humanitarian touch that later Hollywood kids movies lacked. The character isn't just a minature adult in a child's body. This gives the story a lot more personality and depth than the other films of its kind.
In fact I think Macaulay demonstrated with this film, the interview scene in UNCLE BUCK, The Nutcracker and other performances that he was (and possibly still is) the best comic actor of his generation. (Well, a tie between him and Joseph Gordon-Levitt at least).