When I was a kid, I loved “Home Alone.” As an adult, I believe it embodies the true Christmas spirit.
How much would $20 worth of “Home Alone” groceries cost today?
In “Home Alone,” Kevin McAllister was able to go grocery shopping in 1990 for less than $20. Find out how much that same purchase costs now.
- “Home Alone” 35th anniversary! This holiday classic arrived in theaters on November 16, 1990.
- This popular Christmas movie stars Macaulay Culkin as a kid defending his home from bumbling burglars played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.
- For the film’s most ardent fans, it captures the spirit of Christmas.
Get ready for the best Kevin McAllister shouts out: “Home Alone” was released in theaters 35 years ago.
On November 16, 1990, 8-year-old boy Kevin (MacGyver for children) McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) was introduced to the world. After his family accidentally goes to Christmas in Paris without him, McAllister musters up the courage to defend his home from bumbling robbers (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern). C’est la vie!
I was three years old when Chris Columbus’ masterpiece was released, but I don’t remember the first time I saw it. But I know I’ve seen it dozens of times over the years, many times every season, next to a sparkling Christmas tree. This movie grips my heart as tightly as Sticky Bandit grips my pennies.
As a Catholic, I am not in the habit of arguing with the Pope. It’s a Wonderful Life is probably one of his top 4 movies. But personally, I find no joy or hilarity in George Bailey (James Stewart) being exposed to a depressing alternate reality in which he never existed. You can also tuck “A Christmas Story” into your stocking. What’s so good about Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) getting kicked off a slide by a scary Santa while a pair of crotched elves taunt him?
For me, Christmas is about slowing down, catching my breath and crawling into a warm blanket. It could be buying or making a gift, big or small, or writing a card to show someone you care. Just like the Grinch, it’s that time of year when your heart grows three sizes because there’s magic in the air. The film is about the scent of togetherness that Kevin longs for after thinking he has lost his family, and how he hugs his loved ones as tightly as he and his mother Kate (Catherine O’Hara) embrace on a snowy Christmas morning when they are finally reunited.
As a child, I admired Kevin’s ability to face his own fears and confront the once-scary basement furnace. His brilliant ingenuity was to booby-trap the McAllister mansion using toy cars, nails, feathers, torches, and irons. his touching kindness to a lonely neighbor called Shovel Slayer (Roberts Blossom) in South Bend;
As an adult, I realized that this movie embodies what I believe is the spirit of Christmas: being with your loved ones. Kevin’s mom says it best. Frustrated (and frightened) not to be reunited with her young son for days on end, she pleads with an airline employee. “This is Christmas, the season of eternal hope!” says Kate. “And even if I have to hitchhike out on your airstrip, even if it means sacrificing all my wealth, even if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I’m going home to my son!” At Christmas, it feels like anything can happen, both a logistical disaster and a miracle. And we fight against any obstacle, like a snowstorm or a canceled flight, to be with family and friends.
What’s more, “Home Alone” is a quote machine, and the witty and perfect screenplay (written by John Hughes) is full of inspirational aphorisms and cheeky quips that are perfect for dropping at any time of the year. Wondering what to pack for your trip? Take Kevin’s brother Jeff (Michael C. Maronna)’s advice: toilet paper and water. Tip your server in a cheeky way? “Keep your change, you dirty animal.” When you go out with friends, tell everyone “Leave the Pepsi down.” And if someone wrongs you, burn them with Uncle Frank’s seven cruelest words known: “Look what you’ve done, you son of a bitch!”
“Home Alone” also taught us the importance of using toothbrushes approved by the American Dental Association, planting the seeds of the 21st century self-care movement. “I took a shower and washed every part of my body with real soap, including between my toes and my belly button, which I had never done before, but it was kind of fun,” Kevin says.
This is my answer to the question, “If you could only take one movie to a deserted island, which movie would you take?” This is the perfect movie. My love for this film is why I dressed up my blonde and brunette nieces as Kevin and Fleur (Kieran Culkin) in 2022. (And their mother’s love for me is why she let me do it.) That’s why I bought a vintage Pepsi can on eBay for the photo shoot. (It arrived after the shooting and is now in my office.)
If you love Christmas and love your family, Home Alone should be at the top of your list. Just as Harry and Marv rated McAllister House as the best on the block, for me this movie is the “silver tuna” of them all.
