Home alone... review

Happy Day 2 of Blogmas! After watching (the greatest Christmas film of all time) Home Alone last night, I couldn't help but think about how amazing and nostalgic this movie is! So, for Day 2 of Blogmas, here is a review of the iconic Home Alone!

Incase you haven't seen this movie, when bratty 8-year-old Kevin McCallister acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, his mother makes him sleep in the attic. After the McCallisters mistakenly leave for the airport without Kevin, he awakens to an empty house and assumes his wish to have no family has come true. But his excitement sours when he realises that two con men plan to rob the McCallister residence, and that he alone must protect the family home.

Home Alone is THE Christmas classic! A year will not go by without myself and all the family watching this movie. It is one of the most iconic movies from the 90’s, with timeless characters, comedy and mischief. I must have seen this film over 30 times and it still never gets old, I can re-watch it and re-watch it again.

Let’s start with the premise of the movie. Extremely silly, filled with slapstick and clownish action but is centred around heart, family and the Christmas spirit. Whilst this move is not without its wackiness, what makes this movie so special is it's complete lack of ego. At no point within this film are we expected to believe that any of these things happening to Kevin could truly happen in the real world, but that is what makes the movie so fun and entertaining. Isn't that what a movie is supposed to be? Transporting us to a world bursting with imagination, moments filled with laughter and most importantly oozing festive cheer. Home Alone has the perfect balance of craziness and buffoonery that is bookended with family chaos and most importantly, love. It is not without its beautiful heartfelt moments.

The actors and the characters they played are an absolute highlight of this movie! Literal ICONS! Catherine O’Hara, Joe Pesci, Macaulay Culkin, just to name a few! And the characters these actors portray will forever go down in history as some of the most recognisable Christmas characters of all time! O’Hara’s famous “KEVIN!”, Pesci’s golden tooth and Culkin’s entire performance will be remembered for as long as the world is still spinning.

Now, we can't talk about Home Alone without discussing the amazing booby traps! Here is a list of my top 3 contraptions (please do not try any of these at home, I can't say I didn't think about trying some when I was younger).

1. The Ice Stairs! You may think that those traps are some of the least inventive, but I think they create some of the best physical comedy scenes in the whole movie! The way Harry yells as he is flown down the stairs and Marv using his crowbar to hoist himself up off the floor is incredible and one of my favourite parts of the whole film!

2. Burning Harry's Hat! Whilst the lighting of the hat is funny, and Harry's reaction is legendary, it is the way he then throws himself into the snow that makes it so funny!

3. The Whole Marv In The Basement Scene! This includes the iron, the stairs and the nail! Marv get's the bad end of the stick in terms of the booby traps, but it is comedy gold, and never gets old!

Please! If you haven't watched Home Alone yet, make sure you watch it over the festive season! Even watching it 31+ years after its release does not make this movie any less incredible, and I already can't wait to get to watch it again next year!