EACH DAY UNTIL CHRISTMAS, WE’LL PROFILE A TITLE WORTHY OF YOUR HOLIDAY VIEWING PLEASURE.
HOME ALONE (PG)
Article by Adam Mast
A confession; I wasn’t a very big fan of HOME ALONE when it first opened way back in 1990. I was so smitten with PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES and CHRISTMAS VACATION (both of which were also penned by the great John Hughes), that HOME ALONE just felt a little flat to me by comparison. Obviously, I eventually came around.
Directed by Chris Columbus (who, at the time, was known more for his screenwriting skills–he wrote GREMLINS and THE GOONIES) and starring a cute and precocious Macaulay Culkin, HOME ALONE would go on to take the box-office by storm with it’s Christmassy tale of a young boy left to fend for himself after his family inadvertently leaves him–you guessed it–home alone during a very chaotic Christmas. Little Kevin McCallister doesn’t seem very bothered by the mishap though. That is, until a couple of burglars try to break into his house.
With its cartoony violence (co-stars Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are relentlessly put through the ringer during the final act), warm and fuzzy sentimentality, and high energy direction, it should come as no surprise that HOME ALONE has emerged as a holiday classic, and after watching it on several occasions, it’s easy to see why Culkin–who was coming in fresh off of his scene stealing work in John Hughes’ UNCLE BUCK–was the most sought after child in the movie business in the early 90’s.
HOME ALONE celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and it’s as popular now as it’s ever been. Thank goodness I came around. As it currently stands, I can’t imagine a holiday season without a viewing of this cinematic Christmas standard.
TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
DAY 7- RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER– CLICK HERE
DAY 6- GREMLINS – CLICK HERE
DAY 5-MEET JOHN DOE– CLICK HERE
Day 4- IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE – CLICK HERE
Day 3- DIE HARD – CLICK HERE
Day 2- ELF – CLICK HERE
Day 1- KRAMPUS – CLICK HERE
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