The ‘Home Alone’ movies are some of the best movies to check out with the whole family during the holiday season. All total there is SIX movies in the series: ‘Home Alone’ (1990), ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’ (1992), ‘Home Alone 3’ (1997),’ ‘Home Alone 4’ (2002) (TV movie); ‘Home Alone: The Holiday Heist’ (2012) (TV movie) and the Disney plus sequel ‘Home Sweet Home Alone’ (2021).
So, for this review, I'm focusing on the 1990/1992 movies and the Disney Plus movie!
In ‘Home Alone,’ when 8 year old Kevin McCallister acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, his mother makes him sleep in the attic. After the family mistakenly leave for the airport without Kevin, he awakens to an empty house and assumes his wish to have no family came true.
But his excitement sours when he realizes that two burglars plan to rob the house, and that he alone must protect the family home.
The John Hughes/Chris Columbus holiday movie is one of the most memorable movies to be released in the 90s. There are quite a few silly moments in the movie that can be absolutely hilarious and it’s funny how Kevin can easily outsmart the burglars. All the booby trap scenes are still funny to watch and pretty sure those burglars needed an aspirin or two after going through the traps.
‘Home Alone’ can also be heart-warming as well. There are times where we see some of the family can’t really stand Kevin. Yet, some of them looked worried when it’s realized that Kevin was still at home. And the final moments are also really nice as we see Kevin reunited with the family and we see what happens with Old Man Marley (the older neighbor who everyone’s afraid of, yet is actually very nice).
And, seriously, what do the McCallister’s do to afford a house that size?
In ‘Lost in New York,’ after Kevin loses track of his father at the airport, he mistakenly gets on a plane to NYC - while the rest of the family fly to Florida. Now alone in the Big Apple, Kevin finds his way into a room at the Plaza Hotel and begins his usual antics.
But when Kevin discovers that the Sticky Bandits (formerly Wet Bandits) are on the loose, he struggles to stop them from robbing a man’s toy store just before Christmas.
‘Home Alone 2’ can be quite similar to the first movie in quite a few ways. But, this 1992 sequel to the holiday classic is still very enjoyable and entertaining.
During the movie, we also get to see some iconic NYC sites when Kevin is touring the city (which gives this movie a nice touch). Just like the first movie, this sequel does a good job delivering the laughs and the heart-felt moments. The Plaza Hotel scenes where we see Kevin outsmart some of the staff (and Tim Curry) can always give you a good laugh. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are, once again, funny at times during this movie too!
When I watch the first two ‘Home Alone’ movies, I get this nostalgic feeling and still enjoy them! I really wish I could say the same for the Disney Plus movie.
In ‘Home Sweet Home Alone,’ a married couple try to steal back a valuable heirloom from a troublesome 10 year old boy while his family are away in Japan.
When this was released a few years ago, I read that it wasn’t that great and finally decided to give it a try. And, if Disney decides to give ‘Home Alone’ another go, let’s hope that it’s better than this one.
This movie is pretty bland compared to the first two movies and not nearly as funny and entertaining. One thing that’s different is that the “bad guys” aren’t really bad as the missing heirloom that they’re looking for can financially save their home - which can be a nice touch.
Maybe next holiday season, I’ll check out the remaining movies in the series. Until then, you can check out the whole ‘Home Alone’ series on Disney Plus.
Make sure to check my Wyoming County Examiner reviews page on Facebook to see what I have planned for the remaining holiday selections I will be checking out!
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