Home Alone...after all these years
Home Alone
Rewatching this film with kids who are now of an age to
enjoy and equally fantasize with Kevin is awesome. One of the things that
really makes this film cook is how painfully real the family angst is in the
opening scene leading up to Kevin being left behind. Those arguments, those
awful things said in heated moments are real, shameful and wonderfully human. They
add depth and reality to a film that is could be misunderstood by its marketing
to just be a cutesy holiday film. Credit John Hughes there – that man bled beautiful
and often painful reality onto the screen with perfectly timed comedy to
diffuse the darkness.
The fantasy that follows the opening mishap can be defined
by the classic morality line of “be careful what you ask for”. It’s played to
great effect by the entire cast. What Hughes gets out of Macauly Culkin defined
childhood for almost an entire generation.
The film isn’t without its speed bumps. The father (John
Heard) is a bit too quick to give up on the pursuit of Kevin when his
whereabouts and wellbeing are still in question. Mom (the wonderful Catherine
O’Hara) is appropriately freaking out. There’s also the weird moment of Kevin
being saved by the neighbor near the end of the film, then being allowed to
return to be home alone again…well, it fit the plot and allowed for a
spectacular reunion moment between Mom and Kevin, so I guess that can slide. 
The fun and game interchange between the bad guys (Joe Pesci
and Daniel Stern) and Kevin are fun and hit all the right notes. When I watched
this film as an adult (before my kids were born), I thought it might have all
gone on a bit too long. After listening to my kids howl with delight in the
ways Kevin outsmarts the bad guys, I’m reminded of why it works – and am in
agreement with my kids.
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