12 Days of Christmas - Day 3 - Home Alone (1990)

This I my ultimate Christmas film, it doesn't really feel like Christmas until I've watched this and once I do, that's it the decorations have to go up immediately, while listening to Rocking around the Christmas tree by Brenda Lee.

8 year old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) gets left behind when his huge family head off to Paris for Christmas.  Initially, Kevin thinks this is the best thing EVER, he has the house all to himself and he can do whatever he wants, that is until the burglars arrive.  The dim-witted Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) who call themselves the Wet Bandits arrive to rob the McCallisters home, but Kevin has other ideas in mind.

This is why I love 90's films so much. A plot like that these days would get shot to bits, but back then it was enjoyed just for what it was. I think at Kevin's age we've all thought about how great it would be to have the house to ourselves where we can do (and eat!) whatever we want.

I still laugh out loud at this film (although I do still look away for the nail on the stairs part!) the pranks that Kevin pulls on the Wet Bandits are brilliant and there are some classic lines that will stick with me forever:

"Keep the change, you filthy animal"

"You guys give up yet? Or you thirsty for more?"

"Hey, I'm gonna give you to the count of ten, to get your ugly, yella, no-good keister off my property, before I pump your guts full of lead! 1, 2, 10! "

It's probably one of the darker kids Christmas films (maybe that's why I like it!) and actually I recently read an article about how the Harry and Marv would have both died had the 'accidents' happened in real life, you can read it here.

I forgot how dark this film actually is until I saw it at the Giant Screen for a charity showing 2 years ago. I was really cringing at some moments!

So, from a critics point of view, this probably doesn't have the best script, best direction or best editing but for me it has both sentimental and easy watching value.  No effort required (particularly as I have seen it hundreds of times so I know exactly what will happen!).  It's laugh out loud funny in places and cringeworthy in others, I particularly hate having to watch Kevin's mother (Catherine O'Hara) who has to continually explain to people that she left her 8 year old son home alone.

Great quotes, great laughs and a real Christmassy feel - what more could you ask for from a Christmas film.

Home Alone isn't one of the films I'll put on every December, but I loved it so much when I was younger and it's still really enjoyable now.