Home Alone (1990)
★★★½ — Home Alone (1990)
Home Alone was written and produced by John Hughes, who by 1990 had already built a remarkable run of suburban American comedies (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Planes, Trains and Automobiles) and handed directing duties to Chris Columbus, then relatively early in his career and a year away from further cementing his family-film credentials with Mrs. Doubtfire. Shot largely on location in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Illinois, the film gave eight-year-old Macaulay Culkin a role that turned him into arguably the biggest child star of his generation almost overnight. On an $18 million budget it went on to gross nearly $477 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 1990 and one of the most profitable comedies ever made.
A proper Christmas tradition at our house. Every year without fail, my kids demand it, and honestly? I don’t mind too much. It’s a fun, festive, family-friendly romp that’s aged about as well as any early-'90s film possibly could. It’s got everything: slapstick, heart, a surprisingly solid villain duo in Harry and Marv, and enough Christmas spirit to power the North Pole. Macaulay Culkin was absolutely on fire here. Wide-eyed, clever, and just mischievous enough to make you root for him, even when things get... uh, extremely violent. Sure, some of the logic doesn’t hold up under scrutiny (how many houses does the McCallister family have?), and yeah, watching Kevin run around unsupervised for three days would probably read more like a social services alert these days. But if you can let that slide (like you do with most holiday magic) it still delivers big laughs and that warm, fuzzy holiday feeling. Not deep or revolutionary, but a solid all-rounder. Great for kids, nostalgic for adults, and endlessly quotable (“I’m burning the whole neighborhood down!”). A must-watch every Christmas, even if it’s not quite cinematic perfection.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1990 | Watched: 2025-05-14
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
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Physical: Amazon UK
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Chris Columbus: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) · Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
More from the 1990s: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · Blue (1993) · Cemetery Man (1994)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
More family: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Wonder (2017) · Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anastasia (1997)
