Kevin!
When Macaulay Culkin starred in Uncle Buck with John Candy, it was thought that he had reached his peak at the age of 8. Little did we know that just 12 months later, Culkin would star in one of the best Christmas films of all time. Yes, one of the best Christmas films of all time! Home Alone.
Written by the legend, John Hughes, and directed by Chris Columbus, it started on a firm footing. These film makers had been involved in The Breakfast Club, National Lampoon Christmas Vacation, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Adventures in Babysitting, Mrs Doubtfire and Harry Potter. Writers, directors and producers who know their stuff.
And, Home Alone had everything that you would want from a Christmas film. It has slapstick humour, exciting set pieces, Christmas cheese and sentimentality. Not to mention the excellent supporting cast. Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara and a perfect, completely improvised cameo from John Candy.
For anybody that hasn’t seen Home Alone, the premise is simple. Kevin McCallister is a misunderstood 8 year old. His family see him as a pain and his siblings, a weird bunch, seem to bully him a little. It’s no wonder that he may have some…issues.
Due to a series of unfortunate mishaps, the family head off to the airport to take a flight to Paris, leaving Kevin home alone.
Kevin needs to step up, look after himself, and after taking advantage of the lack of parental care; eating chocolate, ice cream and pizza in bulk; he then needs to protect his home from burglars.
There will be no spoilers; if you haven’t seen the film…why not? Watch it now! But, the fact that there is a Home Alone 2 tells a story…
Home Alone 2 is, as you would expect, based on the original. This time the family are leaving for Christmas in Florida, and after the previous attempt they ensure that Kevin is with them at the airport. However, due to a series of unfortunate mishaps, Kevin takes the wrong flight and arrives in New York.
He takes residence in a hotel, paid for with his dad’s credit card and he enjoys his time in the Big Apple, seeing the sights and visiting the stores. Unfortunately he runs into his old friends, the burglars who he put in jail the previous year.
Again, the supporting cast is excellent. Tim Currie, Brenda Fricker and a quick cameo from future POTUS Donald Trump.
Both films are cheesy, sentimental, funny and full of festive cheer. It’s soundtrack is full of Christmas bangers! The films are Christmas classics and will never grow old.
We would love to hear your Christmas memories, family traditions, favourite films and television shows, anything at all. Leave your messages or stories on our social media, or comment below, as we’d love to share them.
You can even send an email to goldstitch@agoldstitchchristmas.com.
And, don’t forget to check back tomorrow for day six…
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