Audiences return to Home Alone each year to re-experience the antics of the film’s charming protagonist, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), an eight-year-old boy who is accidentally left at home unattended during the holiday season. When a pair of burglars plot to rob the McCallisters’ home, Kevin is forced to be brave and defend the house. Despite Home Alone’s signature slapstick comedy, there is much more to the film than Kevin’s final standoff with burglars Harry and Marv. We spend the majority of the movie getting to know Kevin’s character — he is intelligent and highly creative, but prone to fear. Online summaries for the holiday classic use different adjectives to describe the boy. IMDB calls him a “troublemaker” while Rotten Tomatoes uses the word “bratty”. In actuality, these descriptions do not accurately represent Kevin at all. Through analyzing his interactions with the rest of the McCallister family, it is made apparent that Kevin is far more than a spoiled brat. In fact, he may just be a perfect angel.
Kevin’s first appearance in the 1990 film is when he enters the bedroom of his parents — Peter and Kate — to protest his exclusion from a movie night downstairs.
“Mom? Uncle Frank won’t let me watch the movie, but the big kids can. Why can’t I?” (Hughes 1990). While at first it appears that Kevin is simply whining about being unable to watch a movie that isn’t age appropriate, this assumption is suspended when he says,
“It’s not even rated ‘R’ — He’s just being a jerk”. (Hughes 1990). Those familiar with the original Home Alone duology know that Kevin’s uncle is undoubtedly the cruelest to him compared to any of the other family members. Throughout the years, some viewers have even argued that Frank McCallister is more of an antagonist than Harry and Marv are. That being said, Kevin’s other relatives don’t show him much more respect.
Kevin has four siblings, including Megan and Jeff — who refuse to help him pack his suitcase for Paris; despite both being older than him and entirely capable of teaching him how to pack. Megan ridicules Kevin, saying,
“You’re completely helpless. Everybody has to do everything for you”. (Hughes 1990). This insult is entirely unfair, as Kevin is a young boy and no one has ever taught him how to pack a suitcase. Linnie, Kevin’s second sister, also insults him. “You’re what the French call les Incompetant”. (Hughes 1990). When Kevin timidly asks Buzz, the oldest, if he can sleep in his hotel room in Paris, the response he receives is vulgar.
“I wouldn’t let you sleep in my room if you were growing on my @$$”. (Hughes 1990). Once pizza arrives for dinner, Buzz plays a rude prank on Kevin — eating all of the plain cheese pizza, the only type that Kevin eats. This is, of course, a deliberate attack on Kevin.
“…If you want any, somebody’s gonna have to barf it all up, because it’s gone”. (Hughes 1990). Kevin responds to Buzz’s prank by charging him and unintentionally creating a mess. While Buzz isn’t punished for his actions, Kevin is.
While Kevin’s older siblings are still young, and immaturity is to be expected from them,
you would also expect the adults to treat Kevin with more respect — but they don’t. Uncle Frank calls him a “little jerk” and Kate immediately takes Buzz’s side. It’s saddening to see Kevin treated so unfairly when he’s such a sweet kid himself. This is on full display later in the movie when he speaks with “Old Man” Marley in church. He advises Marley on how to repair his relationship with his son. If it weren’t for Kevin, Marley would’ve spent another Christmas alone. If it weren’t for Kevin, his family would’ve lost many valuables in Harry and Marv’s attempted robbery. Kevin McCallister is a bright kid who goes unappreciated by his family, and by audiences each year. Ironically, Kevin is the child that parents dream of having.
Home Alone. Directed by Chris Columbus, Twentieth Century Fox, 1990.
“Home Alone.” IMDb, www.imdb.com/title/tt0099785/. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
“Home Alone.” Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/home_alone. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
