Chris Columbus was asked by John Hughes to direct the film after having worked previously with Hughes on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Columbus had to logistically overcome the obstacle of Culkin only being able to shoot until 10pm because he was a minor. Despite this he was able to create the night scenes that string together a majority of the comedic beats in the film.
Columbus' style for the film uses a great deal of physical slap-stick comedy which we see from the characters Marv and Harry (played by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci, respectively) as they break into Kevin's home and try to capture him. We also see the use of emotional turns to create humor in the film. An example of this is when Kevin realizes his family has disappeared. His first time saying this he's a bit shocked and fearful, the second time he says it he begins to fill with excitement and immediately the shot cuts to Kevin dancing around the home. This shows how jumping from fear to excitement provides a wonderful comedic moment in the film.
Columbus also sets up the conflict between Kevin and the burglars by placing Harry at their home disguised as a cop in the opening of the film. This encourages Harry to break into the home that will be vacant when they go on vacation, so instantly Kevin has a opponents in Harry and Marv, whose actions are in line with that of children rather than sophisticated burglars as Marv enjoys flooding the homes they rob and they want to capture and torture Kevin rather than simply moving on to an easier mark. All of these moments add up to a film that was financially successful at the box office and has become a treasured Christmas film.
