Home Alone (1990)

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Directed by Chris Columbus.

Starring Macaulay Culkin, John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern.

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Home Alone is the highly successful and beloved family comedy about a young boy named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidentally left behind when his family takes off for a vacation in France over the holiday season. Once he realizes they've left him "home alone," he learns to fend for himself and, eventually has to protect his house against two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) who are planning to rob every house in Kevin's suburban Chicago neighborhood. Though the film's slapstick ending may be somewhat violent, Culkin's charming presence helped the film become one of the most successful ever at the time of its release. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Trade Roughage 1/21/08
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

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"This being a federal holiday and all, I figured there wouldn’t be much to report on from the trades. However, I was very, very wrong. Check out this doozy of an announcement: Oliver Stone is to direct a biopic about George W. Bush, which will be titled Bush and star Josh Brolin in the lead. Obviously, Stone had thought he was making a biopic about America’s worst President twelve years ago with Nixon, but then of course came along Bush the Second. And since he used an actor (Anthony Hopkins) for that film who looked nothing like the subject, this time he’s doing to the same. I only hope that James Brolin gets to play George H.W. Bush. The boys won the box office battle of the sexes as Cloverfield opened with $41 million, the best weekend bow ever for January. That’s almost as much money as Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla debuted with ten years ago. The difference is that it cost $130 million to make while Cloverfield cost only $25 million. And yet with all the crap given to the monster ... " [More]

movie year countdown #23 - 1984 ...
by Risselada in Risselada Blog

loved it.

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"This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown”. To read more about that check out my first Spout filmblog entry.Sixteen CandlesI kind of missed the whole brat pack thing the first couple times around. If it is something that keeps coming around. I dunno. It seems like something that a number of people of my generation seem to indentify with although I was still a small child when most of these movies came out.I guess I wasn't expecting a whole lot and I didn't really get a whole lot. The movie is about as vapid as any current Hollywood teen comedy that I might have accidentally seen. And like most of them also seems to somehow drag you along mindlessly without getting too bored but feeling just as empty at the end. Maybe it's a product of bad television conditioning.I guess John Hughes connected more with me with Home Alone which came out when I was 9-years-old. And I believe Macaulay Culkin was too, so I was obviously the prime audience. I co ... " [More]

#9...(three way tie)
by eagle795 in eagle795 Blog

hasn't rated it.

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"It’s really kind of a twisted concept when you think about it. What kind of irresponsible family leaves their 8 year old home accidentally while they fly off on a vacation? As convoluted as the setup is though, it works. And going on 20 years later I still laugh when the kid takes on the idiot criminals. Cartoon violence brought to life. " [More]

Home Alone by Christmas Movies
by ChristmasMovies in ChristmasMovies Blog

hasn't rated it.

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"I'm not going to say too much about this movie, because its my most loved Chrsitmas Movie of all time (my 'Gone With The Wind' of Christmas movies). Nuff said. " [More]

Movies we loved as children
by indieabby88 in I Love Childrens Movies

lost interest.

"We all had to start somewhere, right? What were movies that you really liked when you were a kid? These could be movies you liked at the time, but hate now, or movies you've always loved. Doesn't matter.My top childhood favorites (In no particular order):1. The Secret Garden2. Fairy Tale3. James and the Giant Peach4. The Princess Bride5. Labyrinth6. Beauty and the Beast7. The Lion King8. Time Bandits9. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen10. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure " [More]

Re: Chicago = Playground Theater
by Risselada in Chicago

loved it.

"It's weird to imagine if they are all from different eras.Gondorf and Hooker are pulling a big one over on Lonnegan. Dr. Richard Kimble is on the run from a U.S. Marshal. The McAllister family is flying out of O'Hare minus one member. Bill is working his last day at the steel-mill. Rob Gordon is making another stupid list and whining about his life. Satan is giving a bus tour of the St. Valintine's Day Massacre. Wayne and Garth are headbanging. "Rocket" Steadman is sucking it up like usual. Tom Stansfield is chasing an owl named O.J. in the year 2003. A baby carriage falls down the stairs. William Gates fucks up his knee. " [More]

Re: Top 5 films from your child ...
by Risselada in Top 5

loved it.

"1. Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back / Return of the Jedi - I was hooked from the start.2. Ernest Goes to Jail / Ernest Goes to Camp / Ernest Saves Christmas - and all of the rest. I used to be obsessed with this guy. I would cut out ads of his head from ABC Warehouse ads in the newspaper and pin them up on a bulletin board.3. Who Framed Roger Rabbit - this is probably the one that was one of the best as a kid but is even better when you are older.4. Home Alone / Home Alone 2 - yeah classic.5. The Addams Family. Yeah I'll concur with you on that one. There was a classic era of Disney cartoony stuff that was pretty fantastic too. Robin Hood, Pete's Dragon, Sword in the Stone, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. " [More]

Re: The meaning of violence
by Risselada in Gorrible

loved it.

"Yeah I've seen Straw Dogs. It was pretty intreguing. I feel like I get to relive a mild version of it every Christmas when when my friends and I have our annual Home Alone party. " [More]

Kevin Alone
by gothere in You should go there

lost interest.

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"Home Alone was in theaters in Europe when I was in school there. My name is Kevin, and when introduced, people would often say, "Kevin, yes, like the movie." Not able to speak anything but English, and having no money or television, I wasn't aware of what was playing in theaters. For the longest time I had no idea what they meant. Finally I asked one of my friends what was up, and they said, "you know, Kevin Alone, the film?" From my knowledge it was Home Alone, I said. Then we put it together. In German (I was in the German-speaking part of Switzerland), one can't have an implied subject as in "Home Alone." Pre-Michael Jaskson Macaulay Culkin played the little boy, whose name in the film as it turns out is Kevin. When distributed in German-speaking areas, they had to add the subject: Kevin. So it would have to be "Kevin Alone" (or perhaps it was "Kevin Home Alone" - I don't recall). As a result I was always associated with this movie while away from home, and this movie to my ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

After shifting from his 1980s teen cycle to general family dysfunction in Uncle Buck (1989), writer/producer John Hughes unexpectedly hit the blockbuster jackpot with the family comedy Home Alone (1990). Placing precocious Uncle Buck supporting player Macaulay Culkin center stage, the Chris Columbus-directed portrayal of a clever eight-year-old accidentally left behind by his vacationing family swiftly moves from the expected forays into ice cream gorging and late-night TV to an extended, Rube Goldbergian defense of his well-appointed suburban home from a couple of dim-witted burglars. With Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern executing some overly painful slapstick as the thwarted criminals, a number of critics objected to scenes of "cartoonish" violence that were a bit too intense, but Culkin's easy, wide-eyed charm won over audiences. The unheralded, inexpensive Christmas-season release went on to become a sleeper hit and one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time, turning Culkin into the top child star of the early '90s. Culkin also starred in the highly popular sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), but by the time the franchise got around to Home Alone 3 (1997), the thrill -- and Culkin -- was gone. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Tags: christmas , family , robbery , house , vacation
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