Day 7: Home Alone
For pure childish fun in a world of irresponsible, cruel and dysfunctional adults, there is no better matchup than Chris Columbus and John Hughes—and yes, I’m talking Home Alone.
Macaulay Culkin became the icon for latchkey as Kevin McCallister. Since the 1990s children have learned how to defend themselves from robbers by watching Home Alone.
Culkin famously takes Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci) through a residential hell that would have sent less vindictive crooks running to a more, well, empty house.
The juxtaposition between the terror and Christmas gives the movie its charm. Culkin plays Kevin as an imp more than a human child. He is fearless and clever. A seemingly magical quality exudes from the planning and execution of Kevin’s tortures. Pretty much everything works as the nearly certain jeopardy of a child abandoned by clueless parents gets transferred to those who would be villains in a darker film. The recovery of the home prior to the family’s all to nearly unconcerned return also presents as magic.
Columbus and Hughes also insert enough emotional schmaltz and Christmas cheer to keep Home Alone from becoming a human version of Child’s Play.
Home Alone shows just how broad Christmas appeal can stretch.
Home Alone Again with the Google Assistant
This year Fox teamed with Google to create a very short version of Culkin home alone again, only this time with Google as his digital Alfred (butler for those of you know familiar with Batman).
Starting today and for a limited time, Google Assistants can take their owners back to some of the most memorable moments from the film with quotes from favorite scenes. To get in on the fun, say “Hey Google…”
- “Did I forget something?” to hear the iconic “KEVINNNNN!” scream.
- “How much do I owe you?”or “It’s me Snakes. I got the stuff,” to recreate a back-and-forth dialogue from the movie Kevin watches, “Angels with Filthy Souls.”
- “The Wet Bandits are here” to hear what Kevin would do in his most heroic moment.
- “I’m the man of the house” and relive the famous scene when Kevin puts aftershave on his face.
Enjoy this video from Google and Fox:
And enjoy Home Alone on some device sometime this holiday season.