A christmas staple for most, it's been *AT LEAST* 15 years since I last watched home alone, and I couldnt quite remember why I ever stopped having it in my christmas movie rotation. Its a John Hughes pic from his near perfect run of 1983 - 1993, Its got a star studded cast with the likes of Joe pesci and John Candy...Not to mention Makauley Culkin here in a fairly early role that would cement his status as a lovable child actor of the 90s.
And yet; rewatching this year after a long absence...while I absolutely appreciate it for what it is and can EASILY see why people watch this one year on year. I didnt quite click with it in the same way that I do for other festive themed works from Hughes like 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' or 'National Lampoons Christmas Vacation'
The script is pretty rock solid, its got a nice 3 act structure that nicely mingles the festive, with light comedy, slapstick and it isnt afraid to get a little bittersweet in places. it balances all the elements out nicely and delivers the perfect 'holiday cheer' boost that a lot of the christmas movies seem to fumble a bit. Its great!.. That being said...
Two things stop me from outright loving it, one being that our characters, for the most part are a little flat in terms of character depth. with Harry and Marv (our bumbling burglars for this picture) being a little one note and blunt. im not saying that had to be complex characters for me to get on with them, but maybe just SOMETHING a little more than 'they're dumb burglars' probably would have made me feel a bit more involved...Kevin as a character has a bit more nuance, but by the middle of the 2nd act this has basically boiled down to 'rambunctious kid' or 'I miss my family' sadness. and theres no middle ground really, he's in one mode or the other till the end.
The rest of the family feel more real by comparison, but also are on screen less and dont quite feel like they fit into the rest of the story. It sticks the landing ultimately...but I just wish there was a bit more going on to really truely keep me glued to the screen...
And the other problem, is length. This things 15 minutes short of 2 hours and I really...REALLY think it could have been 90 minutes and done. I didnt need to see Kevin go shopping, its a nice touch...But I didnt NEED it. I didnt need to see the wet bandits skulking the neighbourhood 3-4 times before the final robbery attempt. Once or twice would have more than set that up for me. Theres a lot of scenes of people just running around, or sitting looking sad, and while *some* of that is nice, I feel it does slow the film down quite a bit, and when the film seems to be trading on fast paced fun, pausing things for a slow 5 minute sequence of the burglars wandering around the outside of the house was a detractor for me.
Clocking in at an hour and 45 also explains why it hasnt really been on regular rotation at christmas for previous years. Being one of the busiest times of year, a 90 minute picture tends to fit in better with my schedules. Once you start to break an hour and 40 I have to plan my day around watching whatever it is im going to be watching...So it was less a case of 'I didnt like it' and more 'I didnt have an afternoon to work through this thing'.
outside of my script grumbles, the cine and direction are the usual John Hughes standard. Crisp, clean shots that have a clear vision behind them. The man just *got* christmas as an artistic medium. He just KNOWS how to set a shot up to look rich, and warm, and welcoming...its superb work. Only enhanced by some of John Williams best work being married up to a jukebox soundtrack of 50s and 60s christmas bops. AND an astounding cast who really help bring a realism to the piece.
I enjoyed 'Home Alone', but I didnt LOVE it. I think kids proabably would get more out of it than I do (obviously; its a kids film...) But I think this is one of those movies where, if its on in the background, i'd dip in and out of it. If I had a whole day around christmas with nothing to do, i'd probably chuck it on....But I dont think i'd actively CHOOSE it, It wouldnt be the first christmas film for me to check off on my list...Good, but there are better.
source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/home-alone/
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