12 Days of Cinematic Christmas #6: Home Alone (1990)

Directed by Chris Columbus. Written by John Hughes.

Coming out of the 1980s, the established dominant force of Hollywood was none other than Steven Spielberg: whether it was films he directed or films that he only produced like The Goonies and Back to the Future, his name was equivalent with dizzyingly huge success. In 1983, E.T. overtook Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time, a feat he would repeat exactly 10 years later with Jurassic Park in 1993, the same year he also released Schindler’s List which won him his first Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. So it went without saying that his name carried around significant weight in Tinseltown, and there are hundreds of actors, directors, and writers who owe their success to him giving them a boost when they needed it most.

One such young writer by the name of Chris Columbus was one of those touched by the “Midas hand” of Spielberg: in 1980, while attending the Tisch School of Arts at NYU, the young wannabe filmmaker released a short film titled I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here which caught the attention of the Indiana Jones director himself. Spielberg eventually bought Columbus’ script for Gremlins which ended up becoming the young writer’s ticket to success, along with the Spielberg-produced The Goonies a few years later.

Both Gremlins and The Goonies deal with young protagonists who find themselves in over their heads and usually must rely on themselves and other kids rather than adults: in one sense these could’ve just been knock-offs of the success of E.T. but both managed to find a voice that made them iconic hits, with Columbus’ scripts being brought to life by such talented filmmakers as Joe Dante and Richard Donner.

Columbus’ next giant hit would come in 1990 with the Christmas blockbuster Home Alone. It’s a film that has enjoyed an extremely long shelf life on cable television, and I can speak from experience that it’s usually on at least 3-4 times in my family’s house when the holidays arrive. Video essayist Patrick Willems did an excellent breakdown this film that addresses a lot of what makes this film great better than I could, including the blend of warmth and slapstick, marvelous comedic supporting cast, and that banger of a score from legendary composer John Williams:

While Patrick’s video covers a lot of ground and you definitely should watch it, I’d like to focus on one scene in particular that simply cannot get enough love, and it’s the scene where young Kevin McCallister (child star turned YouTube movie commentator Macaulay Culkin) finally confronts “Old Man” Marley (Roberts Blossom) after seeking shelter in a nearby church. As Kevin enters we are treated to John Williams’ gorgeous rendition of “O Holy Night” as he sits down, hoping to have finally evaded Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern’s pesky burglars who are trying to rob his house. Feeling good about his smart escape, he is then surprised to see Marley- who he was afraid of after hearing tall tales from his brother Buzz (Devin Ratray)- approach his pew, with Columbus’ camera making him seem almost ten feet tall compared to the diminutive Kevin.

But Marley is not here to intimidate Kevin, and ends up taking a seat right next to him. The following conversation that ensues features some great dialogue and character development from master comedic screenwriter John Hughes and serves as a heartwarming scene, and upon reading it in the script when initially taking the job, it was what convinced Chris Columbus to direct the movie, as he talks about in this 2015 interview with Entertainment Weekly:

I thought there was a really strong emotional context to the film. I’ve always been fascinated by Christmas, even back when I wrote Gremlins. I set Gremlins, which is a very dark story, against the bright cheery time of Christmas, and I thought it was a good contrast. Christmas is a time when people are at their happiest or at their most emotionally low place in their lives, and I thought that this is a great backdrop for a kid who’s left home alone on Christmas. I think what really completely convinced me I had to do the movie was the scene in the church with the old man and Kevin. I just thought that was a beautifully written scene, and that scene on film is exactly as John wrote it. I mean, we didn’t change a word of that scene.

Overall, I’m not sure how much convincing I have to do to watch what will most likely end up being the most well-known movie on this list, but if you haven’t (these people exist, one of them is on our writing staff although he has since amended that gap in his film logs) it’s a film that is well worth checking out especially around the holidays. The slapstick violence does teeter to the edge of “PG-13” territory but overall it’s a film for the whole family with great messages about the importance of family and overcoming your pride.

And as we approach 2024…

(Yes, I realize this is from Home Alone 2)