"Home Alone"

To start, I have to be honest and say that until recently I had never watched “Home Alone” before. Released in 1990, the movie follows eight-year old Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, in the few days before Christmas after he is accidentally forgotten and left home alone by his family who leaves for Paris. Kevin assumes that he has made his family disappear since that night before he wishes not to have a family anymore. Throughout the film he runs into a lot of trouble, and Kevin’s repetitive shocked expression is hilarious and so incredibly iconic that when anyone thinks of this movie they most likely think of a similar expression. Many people start off their holiday season by watching their favorite Christmas movie, and “Home Alone” is always high on the list.

The thing I found most confusing about this movie was the fact that the McCallister family was able to completely forget their own child until they got on their plane to France. I understand that they did a headcount before they left and accidently counted the nosy neighbor kid as one of the many brothers, sisters and cousins, but still! Just do not forget your own children. Besides this I found the movie very humorous and a great movie for not only the holidays but any time of year.

I absolutely loved the pranks and the overall cleverness that Kevin shows throughout the movie. I was not really expecting that from a character that young, but I found his use of household items to defend his home from burglars hilarious. The reunion of the family coming home on Christmas morning to see Kevin is very sweet, and seeing the creepy old neighbor who is actually nice reunited with his son is a great way to close the movie. I now realize I have been missing out on a great holiday classic that I know I will watch again and again.

5/5 Anchors