Home Alone

UK Release Date. 7 December 1990
Certification. PG

Running Time. 1 hour 43 mins
Director. Chris Columbus
Cast. John Candy, Macaulay Culkin, John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern.
Rating. 68%

Review.

Writer and producer, John Hughes initially explored the pressure of holiday travel and the need to be with family in the 1987 comedy Planes, Trains And Automobiles. In Home Alone, Hughes returns to the subject matter, this time from the perspective of an eight-year-old child, left home alone at Christmas.

With his family set to spend Christmas in Paris, eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is inadvertently left behind. The novelty soon starts to wear off when a couple of hapless burglars target the McCallister residence. In an attempt to defend the family home, Kevin stages a series of elaborate booby traps around the house. Repeated viewing of Home Alone over the years has revealed how few of these set pieces the film actually contains, which is a shame. These set pieces are the film's highlight.

Joe Pesci (Harry) and Daniel Stern (Marv) are on top form in their roles as the burglars, the would-be infamous Wet Bandits. Both actors give standout performances with great comedic effect.

Home Alone's flaws are typical of many a John Hughes production. The implausible storyline requires a substantial suspension of disbelief. The film runs out of steam and ends abruptly. Kevin's siblings and extended family are grotesque caricatures whereas Kevin is precocious, immodest and beyond the point of sitcom cute. John Hughes wrote the part of Kevin McCallister for Macaulay Culkin after directing the child star, alongside John Candy, in Uncle Buck. 

But in saying that, Home Alone remains the perfect film to watch on Christmas Eve with cookies and hot chocolate.