Home Alone

The guys at Podcast 241 and I decided to have our own little podcast Christmas during which we celebrated the Christmas classic Home Alone. So checkout the podcast, read my breakdown below, and have a Happy Holiday!

As always, these breakdowns contain SPOILERS, and are only recommended if you've already seen the movie. You can check my introduction to these breakdowns, to get an overview of my process and philosophy.

Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below!

The Basics

Director:  Chris Columbus
Writers: John Hughes
Release Date: 1990
Runtime: 103 Minutes
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099785/reference/

Movie Level Goals

Protagonist: Kevin McCallister
External: Defend his home from robbers
SUCCESS | FAILURE | MIXED
Internal Goal: Learn to appreciate his family
SUCCESS | FAILURE | MIXED
Goal Relationship: See Observation #3

Three Observations

Observation #1: Classic Dual Storylines

One of the most distinctive aspects of the structure of Home Alone is its dual plotlines. While Kevin is clearly the protagonist of the film, Kate receives a large amount of screen time and her goals combine with Kevin’s to create the film’s overall structure. So why did John Hughes and Chris Columbus decide to dedicate so much time to Kate’s storyline? I think there are a couple of reasons.

First, Kevin’s goals aren’t really strong enough to structure the entire film. We can certainly imagine a version of Home Alone which aligns with Kevin and stays with him through most of the screen time of the movie. But when you think of the various goals that Kevin has, it’s hard to imagine them filling up most or all of the scenes of the movie. For example, once Kevin exhausts being an irresponsible kid and decides to live like an adult in Act 2, it’s hard to imagine the entire act filled with “adult”-oriented scenes. As it is, we see Kevin grooming himself, buying a toothbrush, buying groceries, making himself a responsible dinner, decorating for Christmas (which of course has other connotations than being an adult), and his initial attempts at scaring Harry and Marv away. But if the movie had him do other responsible things–clean the house, shovel the snow, etc. I think most audiences might start to get a little bored. After all, adulting on its face isn’t the most compelling storyline.

Since the movie has Kevin begin to face-off with Harry and Marv in Act 2, we could also imagine a version of Home Alone focused much more exclusively on dealing with them in both Acts 2 and Acts 3. But again, it seems likely that this would begin to get repetitive as Kevin continues to outsmart the robbers. Conversely, the movie could break this up by having Harry and Marv actually capture Kevin, but then we’d have a darker, more adult-oriented movie (like The Ref, for example). It’s noteworthy that the movie does indeed have Harry and Marv capture Kevin, only for him to be freed moments later by Marley. As a children’s movie, Home Alone simply doesn’t ever go that far.

A second reason for the focus on Kate’s storyline is to remind us of the emotional stakes of the movie. Kevin’s internal goal is to learn to appreciate his family. But with his family absent, there aren’t very many easy ways to remind us of that storyline (the movie already resorts to him looking at a family portrait). One of the main ways the movie does enforce the value of family is with the scene between Kevin and Marley at church on Christmas Eve. But, of course, the movie can’t just have Kevin reflecting on the importance of family all the way through. Constantly returning to Kate reminds us of what Kevin is missing, and it makes the climax when they are reunited that much more compelling.

Observation #2: The Vague Second Act Goal

One of the oddities of Home Alone is Kevin’s Act 2 goal of living like an adult. After he realizes that he’s made his family disappear, Kevin reacts like a typical kid. He indulges in sweets, watches a violent film noir on VHS with a scary title, and stays up late. But then he has the triple threats of Harry and Marv’s attempted break-in, Marley’s appearance in front of his house, and the police officer banging on the door. When the movie cuts to the next morning, Kevin has taken a shower, is doing his hair, putting on deodorant and aftershave, and then decides to buy a toothbrush. This sudden change in behavior seems odd–why has Kevin abandoned his Act 1 goal of enjoying being alone for the Act 2 goal of acting like a responsible adult? It seems that he has been “scared straight.” But the movie doesn’t really connect these dots (through dialogue from Kevin, for example), and I’m not sure that the cause and effect from one to the other is that direct. After Kevin scares away Harry and Marv, he declares himself unafraid, only for him to encounter Marley and run and hide under the bed covers. A more direct effect from this cause would be to lock all the doors and refuse to leave the house, to hide and refuse to come out, or to go seek help. Yet instead he decides to act like an adult, which for him means leaving the house to buy a toothbrush, and later (and admirably) continue to scare off Harry and Marv. In many ways, his Act 2 goal and actions don’t logically follow the climax and fear he experiences at the end of Act 1.

Observation #3: The Link Between External and Internal

Another oddity of Home Alone is the link between Kevin’s external goal of defending the house from Harry and Marv and the internal goal of learning to appreciate his family. Generally, external and internal goals are dependent in most Hollywood movies. A character’s success at one goal is linked to success at another goal (see most every other breakdown on The Hutch Files). And on the surface, the linking of these goals makes sense. Kevin might enjoy being home alone at first, being irresponsible and eating tons of sweets. But once Harry and Marv begin to threaten his home, we can imagine that he would instantly miss his family and wish they were there to protect him. But overall the movie doesn’t really stress this relationship. Through most of Act 2, as Harry and Marv become a more serious threat, Kevin deals with them with ingenuity and aplomb, rarely seeming afraid and never seeming to miss his family’s protection. It’s only at the end of Act 2 does Kevin state out aloud that he wonders where his mother is after overhearing their plan to break in at 9:00 that night. And then course, shortly afterward he goes and finds a fake Santa (who he knows it not the real Santa, but thinks works for him) and asks for his family back.

Act 3 seems to set up a traditional relationship between the external and internal goals. Kevin successfully (with Marley’s help) defeats Harry and Marv. His external goal is completed and the two robbers are arrested (though neither the police nor Marley ever seem to realize or care that Kevin is home alone). Normally, successfully completing the first goal (external in this case) would open the door to the internal. Defeating Harry and Marv should somehow prime Kevin to appreciate or desire his family. But instead, it mostly proves that Kevin can get on by himself. Of course, he is aided by Marley. But when Marley rescues Kevin, we don’t see him seek protection or tell Marley he is afraid or misses his family. The next morning arrives, and sure enough, Kate arrives and apologizes, and Kevin hesitates briefly but of course is happy to see his mother. The temporal relationship implies that the external success leads to internal success, but really the internal just seems to follow the external.

Now, there is another possible approach. It’s possible that Kevin has already, at the start of Act 3, realized the importance of his family. And perhaps this is the stronger interpretation. At the end of Act 2, Kevin wonders where his mom is. Clearly, he seems to appreciate them at that point, and as mentioned above, goes and asks a fake Santa for his family back. When he talks with Marley at he church, he demonstrates an understanding of the importance of family as he encourages Marley to call and reconcile with his son. So far, so good. But if he has succeeded at this point in his internal goal, there is then no real link at all between this success and the success of defeating Harry and Marv. Realizing that he misses or needs his family gives Kevin no inspiration or strength to defend his home (though it is easy to imagine the movie setting up this relationship). If the internal goal success comes first, there really is no relationship at all between the two goals.

Of course, the third option is that the goals are truly independent. Neither is dependent on the other. Kevin accomplishes the external goal of defeating Harry and Marv because he is clever and brave (and maybe because he has no choice). And he accomplishes his internal goal of appreciating his family because he is home alone. But saying that they have no relationship at all doesn’t seem right either. Instead, I think we have to settle for middle ground. The goals are linked, but more through theme than plot. The threat of being robbed by Harry and Marv does make Kevin appreciate his family more. But success at one doesn’t lead to success at the other. Instead, one goal informs the other, and in the end he simply succeeds at both.

There is an elegant solution to all of this, suggested by colleague Donavon Thompson (watch or listen to the 241 Podcast episode to hear our discussion of his idea in more detail). Kate could have been the one to rescue Kevin from the Wet Bandits. This would solve a number of issues: defeating the robbers (with his mother’s help) would have led him to appreciate his family; his mom’s arrival would allow her to see what he had been through; her presence would also remove the plot hole of neither Marley nor the police knowing or caring about Kevin being home alone; and once the police left with Harry and Marv, the rest of the family could arrive just as they do in the original, none the wiser to Kevin’s travails. This would also create a stronger payoff for Kate’s valiant attempts to get home (which are undercut by her husband’s arrival moments later, having done nothing at all to try to get home). Overall, I think Donavon’s solution would have strengthened the emotional core of Home Alone and perhaps have made it an even better movie.