In 1990 when this film became one of the all time box office champions, I loved it. I was 14. I’m a bit older now and find the film so implausible that it was hard for me to be engaged with it as I was back then.
The premise has the McCallister family heading off to Paris for Christmas. Due to a power outage, they are running late and in the rush to make their flight they miscount and leave 8-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin, SAVED!) behind. So many plot contrivances have to pile up to make this scenario work that the film lose a lot of credibility. However, when I put myself in the mind frame of Kevin, I was able to sit back and have fun.
The film is really an 8-year-old’s fantasy. Kevin not only is able to survive on his own, but through elaborate booby traps (that no eight year old could have constructed in the hour the film allows) thwarts two burglars named Harry Lime (Joe Pesci, GOODFELLAS) and Marv Merchants (Daniel Stern, CITY SLICKERS). Adding to the tension of the story is Kevin’s mother Kate’s desperate attempts to find help for her son and get a flight back home. Some of the film’s most satirical moments come when Kate (Catherine O’Hara, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN) hitches a ride with a polka band lead by Gus Polinski (John Candy, PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES).
What the film gets right is the point of view of Kevin. He uses being home alone as a way to eat junk, stay up late, watch violent movies and act like he’s the grown-up. Though it’s not in any way plausible, Kevin would think he could defend his house against robbers, so the film makes him able to. Even the booby traps take a lot of coincidence to play out in the right order, but from a younger point of view the logic makes total sense.
Though the larger story is total fantasy, the little moments get things right. The scary old next door neighbor, the basement, the toothbrush, the way Kevin copies the things that adults do because he’s the man of the house are all right. This gives the film its heart and why it wins you over despite its flaws.
Moreover, Culkin is thoroughly charming and really carries the film. In a way, you could believe that this smart kid could actually be doing the stuff he is doing. Kind of. It really took me 15 years of seeing this film dozens of times to really see how unbelievable it really is. That’s because for so long I’ve been seeing the film through the eyes of a teenager who remembered what it was like to be eight. That’s the mindset you have to go into this film with. There’s enough truth buried in the premise to not disregard it totally. And as a kid fantasy it’s just a whole lot of fun.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
