Home Alone (1990) is one of the top-five definitive Christmas movies. Both kids and parents love it -- and that's exceedingly rare. Written and produced by the world-famous John Hughes, Home Alone tells the story of Macaulay Culkin's Kevin McCallister, a young boy is left to fend for himself when his family accidentally forgets him at home as they head to the airport to get to their family Christmas vacation. As his family -- especially his mother, Kate McCallister (played wonderfully by Catherine O'Hara) -- races to get home to Kevin before anything bad happens to him, Kevin must fend off Harry and Marv, two criminals and robbers who prey on the homes of people who have gone on vacation. To try and foil the dim-witted criminals, Kevin lays some ingenious traps. Most of the time they fall right into the traps, resulting in most of the hilarious comedy the film is known for. Nevertheless, Kevin stops Harry and Marv and the two are arrested for theft (they were easy to track because of their habit of flooding the houses that they robbed) and Kevin's family comes home in time for them to spend quality time together in one of the most special times of the year.
Home Alone was both financially and critically successful. Against a budget of only $18 million, it made back $476.7 million back at the box office, ensuring an astronomically high return on investment for Hughes and 20th Century Fox. Critics on Rottentomatoes approved on the film 65% of the time; audience members approved of it 80% of the time. Users on IMDb gave the film a rating of 7.5 stars out of 10. Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader called the film "quite enjoyable" and "fun."
Home Alone spawned a vastly successful franchise. The film spawned four more film sequels -- all of which varied in levels of critical and financial success. None, however, were as critically and financially successful as the first film. The first film influenced the culture greatly and is a bonafide Christmas classic. It has made three decades of children and adults alike laugh, and will inspire many more to do the same.
