Home Alone Movie Review
I watched "Home Alone" a few days ago and I was amazed at the skills and things the main character, Kevin, is able to do and how relevant the movie's message is. I think his experiences are a good example of what Christmas/the holiday season should be, and specifically I think Kevin's character is well-done and well-rounded. The movie does a good job of using this family to exemplify the feelings of togetherness.
As the movie starts, I found it surprising that the mother forgot one of her children before heading out for vacation. They should've at least done a double check for sure, but I guess that sends a message about how not all families are perfect. I do imagine that having 5 children is a handful even with two parents, so I'll give them some credit there. Given my experience in being 1 of 4 children, I can attest to how hard it would be to balance everything. I mean my parents had to get a full-time, live-in nanny for us while we were still a family of 5.
After the rest of the family leaves, we see Kevin doing what you'd think any home alone 11 year-old would do, such as pigging out, jumping on the bed, and watching allt he tv. He seems like an ordinary kid, that is up until he notices the burglars who start to break in. As soon as they break in, we see Kevin turn into a clever prankster who seemed to be trained by the Boy Scouts. I liked how Kevin set up the whole house as a pulley/tripwire system where every trap was set up by the slightest move. My favorite trap that Kevin set up was the bucket he filled with chemicals that fell onto one of the burglars head and caught on fire. I thought he was super ingenious for coming up with these traps, I know I'd never think to do these as a kid.
Going back to the bigger theme of the movie, we see Kevin do things in the absence of his family that shows how much he misses them. Like when he decides to go to church to be around company and pray for his family to come back. I think it's remarkable that Kevin also thinks to get groceries for the whole family because one, I'd never think to do that, and two, I wouldn't even know what to get. As this movie progresses, Kevin seems to grow slowly and realize that Christmas is more than the presents, but is about being with people you care about, and he learns to not be so self-centered.
In conclusion, I was amazed by Kevin's level of ingenuity. This movie in particular is one of my favorite movies to watch during the holidays because it has a good Christmas message and I like watching Kevin outsmarting adults. And side note, I feel like this tells you what not to do if you trying to break in to a person’s house.
"Home Alone" is a trilogy, the second which is basically a continuation of the story from the first one, the only difference is that the family loses Kevin in the airport. Then even a third, but that has different characters. However, my personal headcanon for a sequel would be that Kevin grows up and owns a business that's all about personal defense and home security. What are your thoughts on this movie?