Frantic Faves is a way for me to review some of my favourite films. Instead of regular reviews which focus on new theatrical releases, Frantic Faves allows me to go back in time and review films I love that may have been forgotten or undervalued by the masses. Ultimately the segment is just like this site, another exercise in self-satisfaction and a means for me to write about the things I enjoy.
© 20th Century Fox
Written by: John Hughes
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Released: 1990
Eight year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas and has to defend his home against Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), two idiotic burglars preying on the rich neighbourhood houses.
In all honesty the plot of this film means nothing, the real magic of the movie comes from the memories of Christmas as a child. Home Alone to me is the greatest Christmas movie of all time. When Home Alone came out I was 12 years old. I can’t remember the first time I saw it, but I know that I loved it from the very beginning. The film just taps into the magic that Christmas holds for a child, and whilst the holiday loses that magic as you get older, the film still manages to make me feel like a child every time I watch it. It makes me remember growing up in a village in England, getting up early to open some presents, going out and playing with friends in the cold, and eating a delicious turkey dinner that night.
Every Christmas my family congregates over at my aunt and uncle’s place to watch my young cousins open their presents. I haven’t gone in years. Instead I stay home and watch Home Alone and Die Hard 2. To me they’re the perfect Christmas movies. Home Alone makes me feel like a kid again, and whilst I’m disappointed in myself that I no longer love or enjoy Christmas, watching Home Alone goes some way to alleviate those feelings. And because I’m stuck in the sweltering heat of Australian summer each Christmas, it also makes it feel a little more like Christmas time. For a guy who grew up in England the heat simply doesn’t feel right. Christmas is meant to be cold. And dark. The short days of the English winter helps to set the mood. The cold, dark and rain/snow is what makes it Christmas. Without those elements it’s just another day. That’s why Home Alone and Die Hard 2 with their snow, decorations, and hymns are the perfect Christmas movies.
Aside from the overriding nostalgia for Christmas that Home Alone instills in me, it also appeals to the adventurous child in me. That sense of adventure and fun that all kids feel is displayed perfectly in Kevin’s precocious actions defending the family home. The traps he sets and the banter he engages in with Harry and Marv plays to the cheeky and impudent child that I wished I was, and that’s ultimately a testament to Macaulay Culkin. The film was apparently written by John Hughes for Culkin, but director Chris Columbus still auditioned 200 other kids to make sure that Culkin was the right choice. He clearly was. The way he’s able to deliver lines is remarkable. Especially when you consider how stunted the delivery of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson is in the first few Harry Potter films. One of my favourite parts of the film is when Kevin goes shopping and the girl at the checkout quizzes him. The back and forth between the two is natural, effortless, and funny, and I can’t think of any child actor who’s displayed that level of talent. If you couldn’t tell by now I’m a HUGE fan of Macaulay Culkin.
FINAL RATING: 8/10 (I’m no longer doing letter grading, it’s too hard to equate them)
CONCLUSION
A lot of films from my childhood that I have fond memories of don’t appeal to me as an adult. I used to love Flight of the Navigator, Mary Poppins, and Pete’s Dragon, but now I can barely stand a minute of them. The child actors in them being the primary source of my disdain. Home Alone doesn’t suffer from this problem because of the talent and performance of Macaulay Culkin, and is in fact one of my all-time favourite films (currently ranked #9 on my Flickchart).
I don’t care that the premise is far-fetched, Home Alone makes me feel like a kid every single time I watch it, and I’ve watched it a lot. Conservatively I think I watch the film at least six times per year, at least. That would put my total number of viewings at approximately 114. The film has never got boring or tired in the 19 years since it’s release, and I can see me watching this until the day I die. Any film which makes me recall my formative years with such fondness will always be something I want to see.
