Review of Home Alone (1990) by James C — 27 Dec 2018

A sweet and funny Christmas comedy.

Home Alone (1990) gives me nostalgia for my childhood with its lovely message of familial appreciation and childlike mischief. Macaulay Culkin is adorable and hilarious as Kevin McCallister. His antics and silliness carry Home Alone into being an annual Christmas season watch.

I must mention that Joe Pesci is so funny as Harry the robber. His fury grows as you get to watch Pesci do what he does best and seethe with anger. Daniel Stern is also delightful and the dumb oafish robber Marv. His pained anguish has entertained families for decades in Home Alone.

Then, there is Catherine O'Hara is infuriating as Kate McCallister. Her unbelievable idiocy as Kevin's mother is rage inducing. O'Hara is fine in the role, but her character is so stupid, she makes the first quarter of Home Alone hard to watch. The premise of Home Alone is so fragile thin, that you'll just have to suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride. Worst movie mother certainly. The father, Peter McCallister, is okay, but John Heard is hardly even in the movie.

It is worth noting that the most sincere performance comes from the elderly Roberts Blossom as Kevin's neighbor Marley. his sweet worry for Kevin is the heart of the film as is his conversation with Kevin in the church. You really feel for this old man because of Blossom's manner of speech. He feels so genuine in this over the top family comedy. Some of the nicest sentiments are expressed with Blossom in the scene.

Lastly, I have to say that Chris Columbus is such a bland director. He adds little warmth to the movie with his basic direction. Unlike the warm and exciting score from John Williams or the clever and witty script from John Hughes. Columbus could have tried to experiment a bit more with his shots to make the pacing of Home Alone a little faster. He accomplished directing a classic for Christmas that is fun, but the aspects that made Home Alone successful have nothing to do with Columbus, honestly. Culkin and Pesci are the star here with backup from the script and score. That's all.