Warning: The following sentence may induce feels of old age.
Home Alone turns 25 Today....you ok?
Yes it was 25 years ago today that we got to see the most entertaining case of child became the most successful Christmas-themed movie ever. The film was a juggernaut when it opened in 1990 and there’s a reason it’s on five times a week between over Christmas. People like violence. They also like spunky kids and Joe Pesci (especially Joe Pesci). Combine those elements with Three Stooges slapstick and what you’ve got is box office Christmas gold.
The actual concept of the film (abandoned child tells his family to take a hike and then proceeds to shoplift and torture low level crooks) — but hey, now is not the time.
The movie made a star of Macaulay Culkin, and will probably be shown on TV every year until our sun burns out and human life ceases to exist. In the meantime, here’s some trivia you may not know about one of the best Christmas comedies of all time.
Thanks Buck!
The concept for Home Alone originated from just one scene from Uncle Buck with Macaulay Culkin interrogating the babysitter through the mail slot. The scene gets recreated of course in Home Alone, only this time with Culkin using Daniel Stern’s face for target practice.
Kevin Actually Would Have Killed Them...In Real Life!
BB gun shots to the forehead and groin? A steaming hot iron and can of paint to the face? A flaming blowtorch to the scalp? The Wet Bandits endure an awful lot of violence at the hands of a single eight-year-old. So much so that neither one of them should have been walking—let alone conscious—by the end of the night. In 2012, Dr. Ryan St. Clair diagnosed the likely outcome of their injuries at The Week. While a read-through of the entire article is well worth your time, here are a few of the highlights: That iron should have caused a “blowout fracture,” leading to “serious disfigurement and debilitating double vision if not repaired properly.” And the blowtorch? According to Dr. St. Clair, “The skin and bone tissue on Harry's skull will be so damaged and rotted that his skull bone is essentially dying and will likely require a transplant.”
Silent Scream
Daniel Stern isn’t actually screaming with that tarantula on his face. The scream would have scared the spider, so he only mimed the scream and his actual shriek was dubbed in later. And being the thespian that he is, Daniel Stern would only allow the spider on his face for exactly one take.
We f***** Love You Joe!
One of my favorite trivia gems is that Joe Pesci would forget he was in a family comedy and keep dropping F-bombs during his character’s angry outbursts. The director gave him the advice of saying “fridge” as a G-rated substitute.
Woof!
The reason Buzz’s girlfriend looks especially “woof” is because it was actually the art director’s son made up to look like a girl. Director Chris Columbus thought using a real girl’s photo would be too cruel on the omg-the-world-is-ending psyche of an actual teenage girl.
“Keep the change ya filthy animal.”
Many a fruitless quest was spent at the video store trying to rent Angels With Filthy Souls before the dawn of IMDb, only to find out it doesn’t even exist! The gangster flick footage was created specifically for Home Alone.Although it is heavily inspired by the James Cagney movie, Angels With Dirty Faces.
Movie Munch
The famous movie poster for the film with Macaulay Culkin screaming is based on the Edvard Munch painting, “The Scream.”
Poland Loves The McCallisters
ELVIS LIVES!
Not an actual fact, but more of a conspiracy theory. There’s a sect of Elvis fans who believe the King makes a cameo appearance as the bearded man behind Mrs. McCallister during her argument with the desk clerk.
...umm....just no!
