Editor Review

One of the vital ingredients to any December is the children's Christmas movie, and this is one of the best. An annual visit to this modern classic is an absolute necessity in my house, and I'm certain in many others. The film that still holds box office records and made Macauley Culkin the biggest child star of his generation is the festive gem, Home Alone.

Culkin plays eight-year old Kevin McCallister, who, in a youthful temper, wishes his family would disappear. The next morning they accidentally fly to Paris without him, leaving him home alone for Christmas.

Kevin embraces the freedom at first, jumping on beds and eating ice cream for dinner, but things become more threatening when the two burglars Harry and Marv mark the McCallister's house as their next target.

This danger is combined with the newfound responsibility of being the man of the house. Kevin learns how to do laundry and go grocery shopping, and even manages to fully deck out the living room in Christmas garb. He also meets the intimidating figure of Marley, the neighbour with a wild reputation as a killer. The two get to know each other and help each other rediscover the joys of family.

The poignancy is real, and the message is honest, but it's the last half hour when the real fun begins. Defending his house from the two goons requires a lot of planning and wild setups. There are aerial assaults with paint cans, heads are set on fire and crotches are the target of pop guns.

Kevin is armed and dangerous, and the action is rip-roaringly funny.

Some memorable highlights include the brilliant gangster film-within-a-film, Angels with Filthy Souls, gifting us with such lines as "Keep the change, you filthy animal!" John Candy makes a charming cameo as Gus Polinksi, the Polka King of the Midwest who offers his desperate mother a ride back to Chicago. And Culkin crooning 'White Christmas' to his own reflection is a delightful Christmas scene.

This is typically playful John Hughes, who is known for his 80's and early 90's teen comedies, and this fits the tone perfectly. John Williams combines the Christmas bells with a wonderfully whimsical score and Culkin is adept as Kevin, playing sometimes slight and sometimes heavy, but always funny.

This is pure, childish fun for all the family and deserves its place on every television this festive season.

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