Anthony's Film Review - Home Alone (1990)

Home Alone is sufficiently entertaining with an original story idea...

Parents have many fears regarding their own children. When I was growing up, I remember seeing my parents worry about leaving me home alone. After all, it's against the law, and crooks could break in and do some harm. As serious as that sounds, I didn't have a problem when the family comedy Home Alone came out in 1990. It actually looked pretty funny, even though I knew what it would be about.

Home Alone doesn't involve a kid being left home alone intentionally. Rather, it's accidental. The kid in this story, eight-year-old Kevin McCallister, lives in a big house with a huge extended family. There are so many people that, when everyone could be late for their family Christmas trip, they're all scrambling to get to the airport. In the chaos, Kevin is left behind.

Most of the movie is focused on Kevin as he is going through life all by himself. He's thrilled to have the house all to himself. There are some interesting moments, like when Kevin scares a pizza delivery man with audio from a movie just so he could get the pizza without paying for it. Of course, Kevin does go out, too, like to a church or supermarket.

All of this leads to the last part that people remember this movie for. Two burglars named Harry and Marv, played respectively by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, decide to strike Kevin's home. However, the kid is ten times smarter than he looks. He places elaborate and creative booby traps throughout the house. It is quite fun to see Harry and Marv suffer from everything they step into. It's worth sitting through the first part of the movie so that you can get to this part of the movie.

The last thing I'll say regards the child star. Macaulay Culkin does a good job in his role as Kevin. He seems likable enough that I would wait to see what he would do next. And who could forget his trademark scream with both hands in his cheeks? If it weren't for Culkin, the movie might feel a bit dull. That's pretty much how I feel about Home Alone. It's a delightful comedy with a nice story idea and a memorable child star to match.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Home Alone, visit the Internet Movie Database.

In addition, check out my reviews of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Home Alone 3.