When I think about Christmas movies, I think of Home Alone.
By: The Cinematic Aficionado
Tags: Film, Home Alone, Christmas Movies, Film Reviews, Christmas

Story

Young Kevin McCallister is left at home when his family go on a trip to Paris and must defend his home from a home invasion.

The story is absolutely hilarious. While I was watching this movie I said out loud, “This is the best movie about neglectful parents ever.” And I stand by it. The fact that this boy’s parents LEFT HIM AND FLEW TO PARIS is absolutely astounding to me in a horrifying hilarious way, but hey, we got a really entertaining movie.

Macaulay Culkin CARRIES this movie. He has boundless charisma and because of that the scenes where he is alone work just as well as the scenes where he is acting alongside other people. In fact, you miss him when he isn’t on screen. Whenever the location switches to his family in Paris, your mind almost instantly pivots back to Kevin and what he is doing.

The fact that this movie as Goodfellas came out two months before this one, is information I did not know until I typed this and that is the most shocking thing I have read this week., YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THE SAME MAN WHO WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRYIGN IN GOODFELLAS, HAD HIS ASS HANDED HIM IN THIS MOVIE?? Mad ting.

Writing/Direction

The movie is written in a way that makes it plausible for an 8-year old to come up with such elaborate tricks and schemes. It’s a little cartoonish and unrealistic at times but that is exactly what this kind of movie is supposed to give us. And I have to say that I forgot that most of the slapstick comedy that the film is known for, happens in the last 30 minutes of the film. And that is my one gripe, it takes to long to get to the actual home invasion which is what a lot of us came to the movie for. However, I understand that the film has to set up the situation. And besides, if it gave us that at the very beginning, what else would have been left?

John Huges crafted a film filled with different types of moments, sad ones, funny ones, heartwarming ones and hopeful ones. And they all come together without compromising the tone of the movie.

CGI/Set Design

There is little to no CGI in this movie and it makes everything all the better. You actually had Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern in these situations (no joke the thought of that made me laugh) and while the actors were not really hurt (for the most part) the fact that they were actually surrounded by this much chaos and confusion in real-time in interesting in and of itself.

Score/Soundtrack

The score is the definition of jolly. There are so many popular Christmas songs and I can guarantee that you will sing along to at least one of them while you watch this movie. ‘White Christmas’, to ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’. The songs are the kind you associate with Christmas movies and the season and a whole.

Overall Thoughts

I first watched Home Alone way back in the early 2000s and thought it was absolutely hilarious. And it’s good to know that I still feel the same over 10 years later. This is probably THE quintessential Christmas movie for me (more so than Elf.) My siblings and I watched it countless times throughout the years and we still make references to it now. It has heart, comedy and leaves you with that warm fuzzy feeling. Which is exactly what I want in my Christmas movies.