Home Alone: The Holiday Heist Review, +10 Facts From the Original Films!
Is this face the future of Home Alone? Hopefully not (Courtesy of City of Films)
1. The first movie did fairly well with awards. It was nominated for two Oscars (Score and Original Song) and two Golden Globes (Motion Picture – Comedy and Actor – Comedy, for Culkin). Culkin also received several smaller awards for his signature role.
2. Daniel Stern was approached to reprise his role as Marv in Home Alone 4. Upon reading the script, he turned it down, deeming the script “an insult, total garbage.” Can’t say it was a poor career choice in my eyes.
3. For all those who were wondering about the dog door in the house that Kevin shoots his brother’s pellet gun out of, the McCallister’s do have a dog. The dog itself is never seen, but it is mentioned by Kevin’s mom Kate that he was put in the kennel before the trip early on in the first movie.
4. The third Home Alone is the only movie in the series not to take place during Christmastime. As stated by one of the criminals early on, the conflict begins on January 8th.
5. Fuller, Kevin’s cousin notoriously known for his bed-wetting, is played by Macauly Culkin’s younger brother, Keiran Culkin. Look behind those oversized glasses and you’ll see the resemblance.
6. Culkin was paid $8 million to star in the sequel. It was the biggest paycheck ever to a 12 year-old.
7. Adjusted for inflation, the first movie is the 38th most profitable in American history. It was also the highest grossing movie in 1990.
8. Goof: When Harry puts his hand on the scorching doorknob, his hand is turned sideways. The “M” protruding from the doorknob burns his hand, but comes out straight, not sideways.
9. Joe Pesci actually bit Macauly Culkin’s finger in the scene before Old Man Marley saves him, and left a scar on his finger.
10. “Buzz, you’re girlfriend! Woof!” Director Chris Columbus didn’t want to embarrass a girl in this scene, so the person in the picture is actually a boy in a wig.
The newest addition in the series is Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, and the fifth entry in the franchise. Like the third, it features all new characters and a different storyline. It follows the story of the Baxter family, who just relocated form California to Maine. The movie’s child protagonist is Finn, a video-game obsessed 10-year-old who believes his new house is haunted. While his parents discourage the ridiculous fear, his older sister embraces it as a way to torment her younger sibling.
The legendary Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, the 2007 remake of Halloween) plays an art thief, who discovers an $85 million painting may be located in the house the Baxter’s moved into. With his two accomplices, he plans to enter the house to steal the portrait when the Baxter’s are at a Christmas party. What the thieves don’t know is that Finn stays behind to defend his new home from the ghost, which he soon discovers is nothing more than a trio of bumbling idiots.
That aspect really assisted in making the movie unappealing to me. There was no interaction between the kid and the villains, who actually thought the traps were being set up by the same ghost Finn was afraid of (the spirit of a gangster who once occupied the home). Looking back on the first three, it’s the remarks by Kevin and Alex to the burglars that help make the movie enjoyable (“Don’t you know a kid always wins against two idiots?”). These were absent in this addition to the series. Also, the female burglar, played by Debi Mazar, added absolutely nothing to this movie but annoying over-acting, and almost made me change the channel on more than one occasion.
Another big mistake was not placing a charming yet talented actor as the lead, and Christian Martyn, the actor who played Finn, wasn’t lovable, and wasn’t that talented either. Macaulay Culkin of the first two and Alex D. Linz of the third were charismatic and able to head a film at a very young age. Mike Weinberg of Home Alone 4 had no positive attributes whatsoever. Martyn has his moments, but overall was not impressive in his portrayal.
I must admit, though, that the movie itself did have its prospects. The screenplay was unimpressive, but occasionally the dialogue was clever enough to get laughter out of me. Because of this, I didn’t feel like the two hours I spent watching this movie were completely wasted. The movie was very frustrating to watch though, as my enjoyment of it was extremely sporadic. Whenever a moment came when I started to like the film, a moment of unfunny or immature comedy was inserted, and then not too long later, I laughed again. Whenever I started to get fed up with Martyn, I wound up chuckling at the delivery of one of his lines. The movie was a toss-up, but as a whole, the positives weren’t nearly enough to make up for the negatives.
You might stumble upon this movie over the month, as it will probably be replaying during ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas. Believe me when I say there are plenty of better Christmas movies to watch this season, and this one didn’t even get “Christmassy” until the final 3 minutes. If you’re expecting this movie to reach the heights of the first two, you'll be sadly disappointed. This was an undeniable improvement over the fourth installment, but wasn’t even close to being as good as the third, which in turn wasn’t as good as the first two. Home Alone: The Holiday Heist lacked the charm, originality, likable lead, music, and talented cast. That’s what we get from a TV movie. If they make a sixth Home Alone, I won’t have much faith in it unless it’s a theatrical release. As for this installment, don’t go out of your way to see it, but if you do watch it, go in without any expectations, and you might get a handful of laughs out of it as well.
Rating: 2/5
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