Esqueceram de Mim

'Home Alone' has succeeded in establishing itself as a Christmas tradition, spawning off three sequels (including a made-for-television flop), and a whole franchise in and of it.

Macaulay Culkin plays Kevin McCallister, the average American child. He has an attitude almost expected of a Chris Columbus film from the eighties. He lives with a large family, which, right now, being around Christmas time, is about quadrupled, flooded by relatives' children, all of whom pick on poor, poor Kevin (sympathy long lost later into the film).

One day Kevin wakes up from his sleep to find his wish has come true: his parents (John Heard and Catherine O'Hara) have disappeared. Enthralled by this, he proceeds to do everything and anything he was not allowed to do before, including eating ice cream in the morning, watching violent gangster films, jumping on the bed, wrecking his brother's room, and having some fun with a BB gun. Unfortunately for Kevin, his parents have not just disappeared - they have accidentally left him at home before going to Paris!

Trouble really starts when two pesky burglars, Harry Lime (Joe Pesci) and Marv Merchants (Daniel Stern), decide that their next burglary will be at the McCallister residence. Little do they know Kevin is more than prepared, arming the house with an array of booby-traps that would impress top spies in the American government.

John Hughes, writer/director/producer of my favorite comedy, 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles,' wrote this film, and it is no wonder. It is just like Hughes' humor. It mixes emotion, belly laughs and a warm-hearted ending all into one little bundle called a movie. John Hughes' films, in my experience, are usually very good, mainly because he approaches films at a very classic level. He doesn't resort to crude, kid jokes, like 'The Master of Disguise' or 'The Tuxedo,' to name a few recent flops. He almost always levels everything out perfectly in his scripts, and nothing is different here. Also, he places Kevin and co. in a large brick home in a large neighborhood in Chicago; a home that very much resembles those in 'Planes.' and 'Uncle Buck' (I would not be surprised if it is the same home).

As for the acting.

Macaulay Culkin is not at his best here. His best performance would have to be in an earlier John Hughes film named 'Uncle Buck,' where he had more of a cute charm than an acting charm. Here, he could barely act his way out of a plastic bag. Fortunately, with great performances by John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, Pesci and Stern, his bad acting is long forgotten by the time we become absorbed into the film.

John Heard and Catherine O'Hara bring Kevin's parents to life. They seem almost complete opposites. Kevin's father, Peter (Heard), is very calm and laidback. His mother, Kate (O'Hara) is extremely nervous almost all the time, fretting throughout the film. She is aggravated very easily and, like all mothers, her instinctive nature to care for her child is what drives her to the point she goes to in the film.

And then there's Pesci and Stern. My favorite lot of the film. They perfectly blend humor, pain and aggravation to the film.

Pesci's character Harry is very strict, easily agitated and picks on Marv for a great many things. Marv, the stereotypical 'tall, stupid one,' is completely stupid. He does things that would make a hamster blush. Yet he is the character I have found many like the most, mainly because he is so stupid you have to feel sorry for him. Stern brings a great trait to the character of Marv, and I am very pleased he got the part. It's a hard choice to decide which baddie is better, so I just say I like them both the same.

All in all, 'Home Alone' is probably the best Christmas movie to rise out of the film industry in the last twenty years. It seamlessly blends humor, pain, emotion, human instinct and some great booby-traps all into one little bundle. This film has stood the test of time greatly.

4.5/5 stars -

An eight year old boy is left home alone at Christmas when his family leave for a France vacation, not realizing he isn't on the plane with them. Two crooks attempt to rob the family home, and it is up to Kevin to protect the place! Home Alone is one of my all time favourite Christmas movies, I couldn't get enough of it as a kid growing up. There was something powerful as a child seeing another child around the same age face the bad guys and be able to defeat them.

Home Alone is basically about a family that leaves for vacation, but in the rush of getting out on time they forget that young Kevin McCallister was not with them on their way to the airport. So while they take off for Paris, Kevin wakes up to find that he is all alone in this gigantic house. It's all fun and games at first for Kevin, until he discovers that a pair of thieves plan on robbing his house thinking that the place is empty. Whiz kid Kevin sets up a number of booby traps and set ups that severely injure the bandits. Examples include one of the thieves named Harry getting his head set on fire, the other Marv gets hit in the head with an iron. These kind of stunts could kill a person in real life, but the magic of movies allows the bandits to shake it off and continue their mischief.

The acting in Home Alone is top notch! Macaulay Culkin is brilliant as Kevin McCallister, the scared yet empowered young boy who takes on the "Wet Bandits". Those bandits are played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern who add so much to the film with their performance. And you get some good screen time from stars such as Catherine O'Hara, John Heard and even John Candy. The traps that Kevin sets are smart and witty, and the location shots are perfect for the tricks he has planned for Harry and Marv.

All in all Home Alone is a classic film not only for Christmastime, but all year round. This should be seen by everyone at least once.

8/10

"Home Alone" is a hilarious film about a young boy (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidently left home during the Christmas holidays after the rest of his family goes to Europe. At first Culkin loves the situation, but soon he is scared to death when he learns that burglars Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are targeting his house. However, Culkin is pretty smart for an eight-year-old and he has plans for them when they attack. Chris Columbus' direction is smart and so is the over-achieving screenplay. This film has a little bit of something for everyone and the fact that the backdrop is the Christmas holidays, only makes it that much more special. All the performers do well and in the end the film also does. 4 stars out of 5.

The overwhelming success of 'Home Alone' (it spawned two sequels), is enough to guarantee that most people will love this story of a family that departs for Paris on the Christmas holidays, mistakenly leaving an eight-year old boy to fend for himself. And fend he does, when burglars threaten to break in unless he can rig enough booby-traps to keep them out.

That's the simple plot in a nutshell. Macaulay Culkin seems to have no problem carrying most of the film with a wide variety of looks, gestures and expressions--but for my money it's Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci who get the main laughs as the bumbling burglars intent on outwitting the kid's traps.

Others in the cast don't have as much to do but do well enough by their roles, particularly Catherine O'Hara and John Heard as the parents who only discover on the plane that Kevin is missing. The laughs are steady, the color photography is great and the slight story is probably every boy's fantasy of what it might be like to be left home alone. Add to that the holiday flavor of Christmas and a pleasant musical score by John Williams and you have the makings of a classic.

The proof is in the pudding--they must have done something right!!

Home Alone is one of the best slapstick comedies I have ever seen.

The comedy is top-notch, the slapstick is fantastic.

It's not just that, the direction, editing, and pacing are immaculate.

And obviously Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern are phenomenal here, I can't imagine them being played by anyone else, they are just perfect.

Some of these edits wouldn't be in films like this today.

But this movie is also delightful, dare I say even a little heartwarming, it's the perfect Christmas movie to watch every year.

I'm gonna give Home Alone an A+.