Favorite Holiday Movies: Home Alone (1990)

If your family wants a funny holiday movie to enjoy, pick up a copy of Home Alone. The first movie in the series of four is definitely the best. Read this article and find out why I think it is a must-see movie.

The comic relief in Home Alone works because of two men and a kid. Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci work well together as the bumbling neighborhood burglars, Harry and Marv. They play off of each other with the greatest of ease. Then, there's Macaulay Culkin. As a child, Macaulay Culkin was a natural born comedic actor. His portrayal of Kevin McAllister, the bratty eight-year old son, was believable. One of those believable scenes was the one where his mother marches him upstairs after he causes a disaster in the kitchen. Kevin continues to shoot off his mouth until he finds out that he has to sleep on the third floor alone. Then, he smiles in that mischievous way that kids do and he says that he's sorry. Mom didn't buy it. Good for her. I don't know any mother that would have been taken in by that act.

I don't know of anyone who would accidentally leave their eight-year old son home alone during Christmas vacation, but for Home Alone, that premise works. The parents are distraught while Kevin just thinks that his wish has been granted. He goes about his day as if the family was never coming back. My kids would probably toboggan from the top of the stairs too if they thought we would never return. Kevin is still a kid, but he manages to do the grocery shopping (with coupons no less!) and thwarts some bad guys.

The meat of the film is the traps that Kevin sets to keep the idiotic burglars from robbing his home. To the average adult the traps may seem unimaginative, but Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern will make even adults want to laugh. There are scalding hot doorknobs, the BB gun through the doggy door, and paint cans over the banister. My favorite scene isn't even a trap. Kevin runs for the third floor and Marv (Stern) grabs him by the foot. Kevin sees his brother's pet tarantula crawling on another step and he turns and puts it on Marv. The high-pitched scream that follows is hilarious. I loved it.

Home Alone should be a standard holiday comedy movie. It's filled with great music ("Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree sung by Brenda Lee and "O Holy Night" sung by the children's choir featured in the movie) and even greater gags. Rent it and see for yourself. What's not to like?