I Was Thinking About the Home Alone Movies … (WAW)

Hello, readers! It’s Write Anything Wednesday. This week, I was talking to my nephew and we were talking about a movie that didn’t need a sequel: “Home Alone.”

In total, there were at least four Home Alone movies in total. There may be a fifth out there somewhere, but I’m not sure.

The first movie was a bona fide hit namely because of how adorable Macaulay Culkin was. Prior to filming “Home Alone,” Culkin was in “Uncle Buck,” another memorable movie from John Hughes.

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What Did I Like About ‘Home Alone’?

There were a lot of memorable moments from “Home Alone.”

First of all, Culkin was magic as “Kevin McCallister.” He was relatable as an 8-year-old who was frustrated with his family and he was frustrated with the treatment he received as one of its youngest members. When he lashed out at his family, it hit home for much of the audience. And Kevin did some of the things kids wish they could do it there were no rules.

Of course, there was that iconic scream Culkin did while standing in the mirror. (When he was 10, Culkin would be asked to do that for reporters whenever they met him.)

Overall, Culkin brought this precociousness and inquisitiveness that we say from him in “Uncle Buck.”

Catherine O’Hara, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern were awesome in the movie. As “Kate McCallister,” O’Hara had great comedic timing. And although there were viewers who derided her for being a “bad mother,” I found her character to be somewhat relatable. Pesci, known for starring in “The Goodfellas,” played another irascible character, Harry. Daniel Stern, notable for his narration for The Wonder Years, played Harry’s idiotic partner, Marv.

The climax was what everyone was waiting to see. Although Kevin’s defense of his home was unrealistic (and dangerous), there was a sadistic pleasure in seeing the crooks get punished.

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What About Those Sequels?

Culkin, O’Hara, Stern, and Pesci would star in “Home Alone 2.” Although there were funny moments in that movie, it was largely unneeded.

However, that didn’t stop anyone from making the other movies. Unfortunately, the other installments didn’t even star the actors we loved from the first two. From what I remember, Alex D. Linz was in the third movie. I saw a little of it but it couldn’t hold my attention because it was pretty awful. Forget about the fourth film.

Again, if the first sequel was unnecessary, why did anyone continue with the next ones?

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What Else Was I Thinking About?

When I was talking about how unnecessary the sequels were, the discussion veered toward how Kate was perceived. As I mentioned about people blamed Kate and only Kate for leaving Kevin behind. She wasn’t his only parent, for crying out loud!

In all honesty, Kate showed far more concern than her husband, Peter. He was just chill about the whole thing — both times. Kate did all she could to reach Kevin. Although she would have gotten home at roughly the same time her husband and other kids did had she waited, it made sense that she didn’t want to wait for the next available plane.

Also, Peter lost Kevin the second time. They were both in the rear and Peter didn’t make sure that he had Kevin as they were rushing to make their flight to Florida.

Additionally, I was thinking of how Kevin aged a year but his age jumped from 8 to 10? That got me thinking of a funny alternative story …

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What Should Have Been Done If Anyone Truly Wanted to Continue the Story?

I was thinking of a (side) story whereas Kevin and his parents were in therapy — or any situation where Kate would have dragged Kevin in order to have quality time with him. Think of an episode where Linda Belcher did that to Louise.

Now, I wouldn’t want it to be too cliché, but how much comedy could one mine from it? I can think of a few things:

• Maybe Kevin’s parents temporarily forgot about his real age.

• Kate would inevitably blow up as everyone was questioning how good of a parent she was.

• Peter would finally be asked about his part in everything. He probably wouldn’t be able to come up with a fitting answer.

• Kevin would have to talk about how sadistic he was … and how close he came to meeting his maker, twice.

• It would probably be funnier if Kevin was a teenager. Adulthood would be too late …

Wow …

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