Is 'Home Alone 2' a good Christmas movie?
The Sticky Bandits would probably say no.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and hope you’re having a restful few days no matter where you’re reading this.
My fingers feel itchy and in need of use, so you’re getting a holiday-themed riff, tenuously held together by a 1992 children’s movie.
My family was caught in the American Airlines travel meltdown on Christmas Eve, when American briefly grounded all of its planes because of a computer outage. I would not recommend the experience! It made a long travel day that much longer.
Here’s a story about the American outage anchored by my colleague Aaron Gregg, with some thoughts that I chipped in from the tarmac.
A small silver lining: getting to enjoy memes and tweets like these.
If you don’t catch the reference, the poster is joking about a pivotal scene in “Home Alone 2,” where — spoiler alert for a three-decade-old movie — 10-year-old Kevin McAllister gets separated from his family yet again.
It was also one of many references I saw this week to the “Home Alone” franchise, given that the movies are considered modern-day holiday classics.
When you’re stuck on a parked plane for hours, you have time to contemplate the important questions.
Like: is “Home Alone 2” a good Christmas movie?
‘Home Alone 2’ is a fascinating cultural artifact.
Have you seen it recently? I just rewatched it, inspired by this week’s episode of “The Rewatchables,”1 and found parts of the film surprisingly delightful.
I vaguely remembered the plot points, like how Kevin tricks his way into a suite at the luxurious Plaza Hotel in New York City. I knew to expect Donald Trump’s cameo because it’s been invoked so many times in stories about his political career.2
But I had forgotten …
the pre-9/11 travel experience, where Kevin McAllister is waved onto a plane and told to take whatever seat available.
the casual early-90s depiction of New York City as a place filled with terrors and horrors.3
just how staggering the violence was — like a kid’s version of “Saw” — as Kevin tortures Harry and Marv, the two thieves from the first film. These YouTube videos estimate the Sticky Bandits should have died about 20 times and, honestly, it feels like an undercount.
that Kevin visits the Twin Towers, which frankly feels amazing and nostalgic to see now.
the entire subplot about the pigeon lady, which remains best forgotten.
But mostly, as a frequently incompetent home handyman, I was in awe of 10-year-old Kevin’s skills as he sets traps, rewires and reconstructs his uncle’s brownstone — in less than three hours!
But is it a good Christmas movie?
I’m always game for a debate about secret Christmas movies. But I’m not convinced that “Home Alone 2” is a good holiday rewatch.
Yes, it takes place at Christmas — and yes, there’s the tree at Rockefeller Center, and people get presents, and there are great scenes of New York City in December.
But “Home Alone 2” feels kind of sour at heart. Especially compared to the first film.
In the original “Home Alone,” Kevin misses his family and prays that they’ll be returned to him. When he finally has a heart-to-heart with the scary old man, the conversation felt earned and plays out in a lovely church scene. When he torments the burglars, it’s because he’s defending his house — and himself!
I could rewatch “Home Alone” every year.
The sequel opens with Kevin being taunted by his teenage brother at a choir performance, and for some reason, a roomful of adults find it hilarious. When he’s inevitably separated from his family, Kevin seems happy about it — understandably, given the way that the McAllisters treat him — and doesn’t try to be reunited.
The violence in this movie isn’t self-defense. Instead, Kevin actively hunts the Sticky Bandits and lures them back to his death-lair!
Other parts I fast-forwarded through. Life is too short to spend time with the pigeon lady.
Don’t get me wrong. I laughed through a lot of “Home Alone 2,” including the cartoonish traps and some of Kevin’s hotel gags. But it’s too cynical to be a holiday favorite for me. All the best stuff is essentially recycled from the first movie.
On “The Rewatchables” podcast this week, the hosts were weighing the case that “Home Alone 2” is better than the original. I just don’t see it.
One minor legacy of ‘Home Alone 2’
Still, “Home Alone 2” accomplished something that escaped the first film and many other blockbusters: it inspired masses of people to re-enact it.
Here’s a 1993 New York Times story about all the fans who booked trips to the Plaza hotel after it was featured in the movie.
Since the release of "Home Alone 2" in November 1992, at least 5,000 families have brought their children to stay at the Plaza, said Barry Cregan, president and chief operating officer of the hotel. During the holiday season, about 100 families a week come to the hotel to live out scenes from the movie, he said.
One mom told the New York Times that she spent more than $5,000 to take her two children to the city for the weekend and get the “Kevin McAllister suite” at the Plaza — a figure that thanks to inflation would be $10,000-plus today.
I suppose it’s a sign that “Home Alone 2” had cultural staying power.
But it’s also a good argument to get your kids invested in other classic movies with cheaper re-enactment alternatives. I went to college in Philadelphia, so can promise you: It costs nothing to run up the “Rocky” stairs.
A great podcast by The Ringer that looks back on memorable movies.
If anything, I was surprised the cameo was so short.
That image of NYC receded for decades, but has returned with a vengeance.