Two grown-men trying to murder a 10-year old self-development guru

Rating: 3/10 (13 April 2020)

While the original is rightly considered an all-time classic family film, the sequel is nothing more than a lazy cash-grab. It staggers me that John Hughes could just rewrite the exact same story and think it would be acceptable. The only significant difference from the original is that the main characters become even more slapstick and many scenes are just plain stupid as a result. It's a shame to see great actors like Catherine O'Hara and Joe Pesci reduced to this.
Culkin is still very cute and likeable but his character is so unbelievably corny in this movie that it makes some of his scenes painful to watch. Many of his lines feel like they were taken from a cheap self-help book or a fortune cookie. His scenes with Marley in the original were moving and authentic; his scenes with Brenda Fricker aka Pigeon Lady are just forced and contrived. Speaking of Pigeon Lady, surely they could have at least tried to make her resemble an actual homeless person? She looks like a well-fed piano teacher from Surrey.
I really wish I hadn't watched this movie; it's such a shame when these dreadful sequels take the gloss off a great film. It's only Culkin who prevents me giving this a basement rating.