Nobody Knows Hollywood

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...

No this isn't a review of a secret reboot of Christmas Vacation - sorry, the moose outside should have told you this is just a re-watch on my part. I’ve seen this film several times, but decided to introduce it to my kids (now six and eight years old). This put me in a closer than ever empathetic point of view with Clark Griswold. Does the film still work? Sure. The original Vacation is an 80’s classic and reflected many things our family felt about our own vacations – thankfully we travelled in a cool chevy van with wall to wall carpeting instead of a metallic green station wagon truckster thing. But even though the film works, it’s a long way from great. It’s biggest problem is a weak script – which is hard to say about a John Hughes script, because of my deep respect and admiration for so much of his work. There are numerous strong, funny and iconic moments. Clark’s goals are noble. His love of family and desire for the perfect Christmas make him very lovable. There’s...