| Kevin in the foreground, with Marv and Harry behind him. |
Home Alone is the rather charming story of a kid, Kevin, who gets left at home when his family goes on their winter holidays. Being the youngest in the family, he doesn't really get on with people. Also, he doesn't think much of being away over Christmas. Therefore, after an argument with his mother, he wishes that his family would all disappear.
Bang! They leave in the morning for their plane and Kevin gets left behind in the mad rush for the taxi to the airport. Being as they are very stressed over catching their aerial transport, the family don't notice that he's gone until they have arrived at the destination. Surprise, surprise, Kevin's mother is distraught and plans to go home and get him.
Meanwhile, Kevin is enjoying the peace and taking matters into his own hands. However, at the same time, a pair of criminals, 'The Wet Bandits', are planning to burgle the house and take the goods. Kevin realises their plan and, desperate not to be noticed as an easy target because he's just one kid, puts into action some elaborate and clever plans to ward them off.
When the burglars don't fall for it, Kevin must save his home from the robbers via use of a brilliant range of traps designed to deter the robbers. Can he save the house...?
Despite being a fairly old film by this point in time, it's still well worth watching and can easily be enjoyed by people of all ages. It's a 'family comedy', so this effect can be expected by the viewer. (Well, duh. Family comedies aren't likely to be rated 'R' for violence, gore and explicit language, are they?) The tale of Kevin, the boy who was left home alone, is a general feel-good film filled with classic slapstick comedy moments and interspersed with stuff to do with family.
The storyline is a wonderful idea: leave a primary school child at home with no peers to tell him what to do, then sit back and watch the fireworks. As a child, Kevin doesn't actually grasp the situation until a little way through the film. The philosophy 'you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone', to paraphrase a little, means a lot here. The slow realisation that he has to do everything himself is one of the more subtle elements of the film.
Of course, there are two sides to the same coin, and the other side of this film's subtlety is it's in-your-face style humour. Literally. In this particular film, the bad guys get a good beating from a small child. On the TV, that's always a fun thing to watch. In reality, they would have to have an ambulance standing by. Honestly, the beating those guys sustain from Micro Machines, cans of paint thrown from the banister and tarantulas is seemingly never ending. I admire those men for their sheer determination in trying to burgle that house. If you tried to burn my hand, drop irons on my head, push me down the icy steps to the house and drop me from a tightrope, I'd probably give up after the first few traps had been sprung. Who could say otherwise? Either those criminals are stupid or they're just pretty damned determined.
The characters are good: Kevin is a sort of atypical child who seems to have a greater sense of responsibility than some adults. He does learn a lot of lessons the hard way though, like why not to watch adult movies when you're something like eight years old. The robbers are just plain bad, but there's an air about them which makes you realise that they really aren't that smart. They come across as sort of pathetic in a way, but in a way that makes it funny for the rest of us.
The addition of a Mr Murphy, the salt-spreading old man from across the road, brings in an added conflict. Kevin is scared of him after his older brother Buzz tells him a bit of a horror story staring said Mr Murphy. Kevin discovering his true nature over the course of the film adds an interesting new element to the film. It brings a lot to it, in my humble opinion.
So, my ratings of this film. I should like to award it a seven and a half out of ten. It's brilliantly conceived, wonderfully funny and is very, very clever at more than one point in time, plus it contains two good villains (Marv and Harry) with rather well developed characters and rather villain-esque personalities. The main character, Kevin, is fairly believable, although I kind of think a real kid would go to the next door neighbours' place and ask for help.
Family and comedy elements are very strong throughout the film. Ending with a fairly spectacular show of slapstick humour, this is a film for anyone who loves a good hard on-screen whack in the nose and a happy ending.
Keep an eye on the TV schedule - if this film pops up, then watch it!
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