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When it came right down to it, Kevin McCallister had a few more sadistic leanings than your average eleven-year-old. And it turns out, that we rather like that in a young hero, especially during the season of giving. And make no mistake, Kevin had plenty to give, in the way of bowling balls, staple guns, BB guns, and that old archaic standby, a good old blast of fire – all in the name of protecting his beloved family home. His violent antics won the hearts of millions of moviegoers who made 1990’s Home Alone one of the most successful movies of all time. 

 

Sure, it never hurts to have a producer with the track record of John Hughes, or the similarly talented Chris Columbus handling the directorial chores, but when it came right down to it, all eyes were on an impish newcomer named Macaulay Culkin who managed to steal the show in the role of Kevin and become one of the biggest child stars ever – not to mention increase Hughes’ bank account substantially.

 

Looking back, it was probably a very bad idea to leave a little boy home alone for the holidays, but it wasn’t intentional. Kevin was just a victim of a serious mix-up. When a family of fifteen is planning a Paris getaway for the holidays, something is bound to get left at home, and in this case, it was Kevin – thanks to an overnight punishment of being sent to the attic that causes his family to overlook his absence in the midst of a frenzy to get to the airport on time. Hey, it could happen.

 

It isn’t until the family is well along in their trans-continental flight that mom realizes her baby boy has been neglected. While she tries desperately to get back to the states, Kevin realizes that a little solitude might not be such a bad thing. He does what any little kid might do under similar circumstances – stuff his face with junk food, watch movies he shouldn’t be watching and turning the house into his own personal playground. But even with all of these newfound liberties, boredom is bound to set in, and for Kevin the whole ordeal seems to mature him a little. Soon, he is cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and, well, acting responsibly. But trouble is right around the corner, thanks to two bumbling thieves (played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) who intend to rob the McCallister home.

 

But first, they are going to have to get past some pint-sized ingenuity in the form of some hilariously cruel booby traps that Kevin has placed in their path. Soon, robbery takes a back seat to survival skills as they are tormented relentlessly at each turn.   Battered, bruised, and burned, they are eventually rescued by the police and placed under arrest right before Mom arrives home and in a touching and tearful reunion assures her son that nothing like this will ever happen again. Yeah, right.

 

Home Alone might have been just another sappy Christmas movie (and there was no shortage of sap, mind you) had the movie balanced this sentimentality with some evilly sadistic slapstick. Audiences made it one of the highest grossing films of all time and a sequel or two were right around the corner.