Make sure to read 10 Best Home Alone Moments before you read this article.

Alone in the most heavily populated city in the United States, Kevin encounters troublesome hotel clerks and the return of some old foes in this much beloved follow-up to one of the greatest Christmas films of all time.

In this Movie List, we at The Film Magazine are examining Chris Columbus’ iconic Christmas sequel for this, the 10 Best Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Moments.

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10. Kevin Calls Uncle Frank a Cheapskate

The film opens with a scene from a Christmas concert at Kevin’s school, the parents of the children all gathered in the audience to watch the show. Kevin’s solo is coming up.

Buzz (Devin Ratray), Kevin’s horrible older brother, plays a prank on him whilst he is singing, causing the whole auditorium to laugh at Kevin’s expense. 

Back at the house, after the event has unfolded, Buzz is apologising to the family for the prank he pulled and the embarrassment he caused his younger brother. Kevin clocks on to the insincerity of Buzz’s apology and stands up to his family, saying he doesn’t want to spend Christmas in Florida anyway. Uncle Frank (Gerry Bamman) tells him not to ruin the trip that Kevin’s father has paid a lot of money for. 

With outstanding delivery from Culkin, Kevin roasts Uncle Frank with one simple line: “I wouldn’t want to spoil your fun Mr. Cheapskate.”

Hilarious.

9. Marv Smiles for the Camera

Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci) have escaped prison and made their way to New York in an attempt to make the Big Apple their new stomping grounds. They find out about a donation drive happening at a big toy store, and when Kevin clocks on to what they’re doing, he follows them there and catches them in the act.

When he sees them robbing the store, Kevin uses his new polaroid camera to snap a shot of them for proof. He shouts, “Hey Guys! Smile!”.

With brilliant comedic timing, and his trademarked goofiness, Marv looks up at the camera and gives it a big grin. 

Written and produced by the king of 80s movies, John Hughes, Home Alone holds a special place in a lot of our hearts and is a must watch around the festive season each and every year.

Thirty years after Macaulay Culkin shot to superstardom as lonely eight year old child Kevin McCallister, we at The Film Magazine are looking back at the original movie’s very best moments for this Top List of the 10 Best Home Alone Moments.

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10. Headcount Mishap

Chaos has hit the McCallister household when, due to a power outage in the middle of the night, none of the alarm clocks in the house go off – cue the line “We overslept!” From Mr and Mrs McCallister. 

As the fourteen family children pile into the airport transport mini vans, a nosey neighbour comes over to see what all the fuss is about. As he is in the back of the mini van, he clambers over all the seats and starts rummaging through the family’s bags. Megan, the oldest McCallister child, is asked to do a “head count” and miscounts the nosey neighbour as Kevin, who is actually curled up in bed unaware of the madness going on around him.

Thinking that everyone is present and accounted for, the family leave for their vacation, resulting in Kevin being (you guessed it) left home alone.

9. Gus Gives Parental Advice

After an attempt to get on a last minute flight home from Paris, Kate McCallister (Catherine O’Hara) finds herself in Scranton, Pennsylvania and her only ride home is to join a Polka tour who have kindly offered to drop her off in Chicago. 

Gus “The Polka King of the Midwest” Polinski, played by the wonderful John Candy, keeps Kate company as they make their long journey back to the Windy City. In the back of their tour van, Gus gives Kate some much needed comfort in justifying her mistake of leaving Kevin behind and confirms to her that she is a good mother. 

Between two parents, Catherine O’Hara and John Candy share a beautiful moment of comfort and kindness. 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Director: Edgar Wright
Screenwriters: Michael Bacall, Edgar Wright
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Schwartzman, Ellen Wong, Chris Evans, Brie Larson

Following the success of the first two entries in the critically and commercially acclaimed Cornetto Trilogy, Edgar Wright turned his attention to North American audiences with his adaptation Bryan Lee O’Malley’s “Scott Pilgrim” graphic novel series. With the film turning 10 in 2020, and with a theatrical release promised by the director himself, now seems like a fine time to revisit one of the filmmaker’s most under-watched gems.

Whilst a box-office flop at the time of release, Scott Pilgrim has gained a steady number of fans in the decade since, becoming something of a cult classic. The New York Times wrote that “Its speedy, funny, happy-sad spirit is so infectious that the movie makes you feel at home in its world even if the landscape is, at first glance, unfamiliar”. The film additionally earned praise in the UK with a five star review from Empire Magazine.

The protagonist of the film is the titular character Scott Pilgrim (Cera), a 22 year old from Toronto who is the bassist for struggling rock band Sex Bob-Omb. The plot focuses on Scott’s pursuit of a relationship with newcomer to the area Ramona Flowers (Winstead), who is trying to escape her past. To earn her affection, Scott must defeat her seven evil exes in a series of fun and elaborate video-game styled fights that could have leapt straight from the screens of classic Pac-Man or Super Mario. As an avid video game fan (as proven by their significant inclusions in ‘Spaced’ and Shaun of the Dead), Edgar Wright delivers in colour, stakes and homage, for a joyful sensory journey through the original material’s witty and relateable content.

As with each of Wright’s other films, the casting of Scott Pilgrim is spot on, and many of the core cast have gone to achieve great success in the years that have followed. Michael Cera is fantastic as Scott, the ‘Arrested Development’ star bringing his blend of humour to proceedings and nailing the empty-headed character with his typically endearing delivery. Mary Elizabeth Winstead offers some great support work as Ramona, with her tough attitude coming across as mysterious and interesting in wholesome opposition to the protagonist. In smaller roles, Chris Evans and Brie Larson (now veterans of the MCU) both excel in playing against type, and we are offered an early glimpse at Kieran Culkin’s talents prior to the smash hit series ‘Succession’.

Similarly, Wright is able to effectively and humourously balance the changes in tone that Scott Pilgrim’s original material has to offer, ensuring that comedy, action and romance exist seamlessly within the same picture. Early scenes with Scott and his initial love interest Knives, as well as his initial interactions with Ramona, seem to come from an entirely different film to the comic-book/video-game hybrid on offer later on, these early moments feeling more like a rom-com than an action-comedy. The juxtaposition of the tone works in the film’s favour, offering a graphic novel adaptation about as unique as you’ll find in pseudo-mainstream English language cinema.

The action sequences of Scott Pilgrim are perhaps its most unique feature however, with each of them illustrating Wright’s unique gift for making absurd situations work, the climactic showdown between Scott and Gideon proving an audio-visual delight. Many of the fight sequences are lifted straight from the pages of the source material, showing Wright’s reverence to the text and translating as unique and enjoyable cinematic inclusions in their own right.

With the film predominantly focusing on Scott and his band-mates, the music in Scott Pilgrim is of course a crucial ingredient as regards the film’s success. Many of the original songs performed by Sex-Bob-Omb fit the alt-culture tones perfectly, and Brie Larson nails her musical number as Scott’s ex Envy Adams – remarkably Larson was only 19 at the time of filming. The indie/alternative artist Beck features prominently on the soundtrack too, and he even composed some original material for the film, illustrating the reach of the novel and of Wright’s music-led directorial approach. There are even several video game pieces from the The Legend Of Zelda video game series scattered throughout.

In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, it was refreshing to see Wright stretch his muscles and begin to show the variety in his releases that would be further demonstrated in his next non-cornetto film Baby Driver (2017). Pilgrim, like Driver, proved that Wright could operate without co-screenwriter and leading man Simon Pegg, and worked to solidify Wright as a trusty filmmaker in the Hollywood realm despite its financial woes. Funny, creative and endearing, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a film very much in the mold of its director.

18/24