Rent Home Alone on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: John Hughes
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, John Candy
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
An eight-year-old troublemaker must protect his house from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation.
Verdict
This has become a classic Christmas movie, but it definitely helps if you first saw it a child. It has a distinct fantasy element, a child getting his wish to live alone and then besting a couple of burglars, but Culkin is a big part of why this movie excels. While he's a snot nosed kid in the beginning, by the end his charisma helps carry the movie. It's certainly violent, but more slapstick. It's a fun movie that manages to be adventurous and humorous without always sinking to stupid comedy. While it's easy to pick apart the movie's logic, chances are you'll be enjoying yourself too much to worry about it.
Watch it.
Review
Kevin is a spoiled snot nosed kid. While he's quite rude in the beginning, thankfully that doesn't persist. Kevin is the youngest in a huge family. He's tired of being treated like a child, longing to get the respect he perceives his older siblings get. It's the classic idea of a kid that's ready to be an adult.
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| Macaulay Culkin plays Kevin. |
Through a matter of chance and one crazy morning, he gets left behind when his family leaves on vacation. While exciting at first as he no longer has anyone to boss him around, he begins to miss his family and regret his wish.
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| Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci plays Marv and Harry. |
The crux of the movie is Kevin defending his home from two inept burglars, Harry and Marv. This is a kids movie, and logic doesn't really apply. These injuries and assaults would quickly stop a human being if not outright kill them. The violence and trauma goes beyond the pale in the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, but it's more slapstick in the first movie.
Kevin manages to defend his home with some help from a new friend, and that's a plot line the movie does a great job developing. 
This movie is the dream every kid has of being on their own. It plays out very similar to a fantasy, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a great adventure, and thankfully many of the funniest moments don't rely on a child trying to kill burglars. If this movie was a one trick pony in that vein, it would not be so well regarded. The movie has a great arc for Kevin with many well developed characters and plot lines. It helps that Macaulay Culkin does such a great job in the role.
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