Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) Movie Review: A Decadent, Uninhibited Romp Through Christmas

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The world within a Christmas movie isn’t hard to define: it’s a sugar-plum sweet place, where the hearts of withdrawn men swell, where love feels truest, and family feels closest. It’s fulfilling, yet somehow not saccharine. It glows within you like warm eggnog. Watching them feels like a promise – a promise that the child within you, who eagerly awaited Santa’s heavy footsteps, will always be within you. And, inside Home Alone 2’s juvenile joy waits Kevin McCalister, the boy ready to bring them out to play.

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The “Home Alone” franchise is synonymous with the feeling of familial love. Compounded with the sentimental charms of Chris Columbus, the films have become a staple viewing for families flocking to the fireplace. As children, we were envious of Kevin’s boundless freedom, his stores of ice cream sundaes, and his relentless booby-traps. As adults, we can see through our child-like eyes once again, when Christmas was a world of magic. The franchise has that undefinable quality that reaches out and touches us – and that touches even the most wizened of Scrooges.

The story follows in the footsteps of its predecessor and takes it to the highest branch on the Christmas tree. A year after Kevin (played by Macaulay Culkin) was first left at home, the family is about to vacation again. This time, to Miami. However, in the desperate dash to board their flight, Kevin mistakenly boards a flight to New York. After arriving with nothing but his voice recorder and his dad’s (John Heard) credit card, Kevin uses the credit card to check into The Plaza hotel, but all is not well. The Concierge (Tim Curry) is hot on his tail, as are the Wet Bandits Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), who recently escaped from prison.

“Home Alone 2” made it its mission to become bolder, brassier, and more bonkers than ever before. Columbus knew that the first hit of the franchise was legacy material. People were quoting it, rewatching it, practically memorizing its comedic beats and timings. But, rather than falling prey to the sequel trap of over-filtering and simplifying, Columbus built upon these iconic moments, layering them in to give us many more.

A still from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

Its immediate success lies in the setting. Kevin’s home-spun troubles, the very heart of the first movie, are transplanted into the snow globe of New York City. Bedazzled by ornate Christmas trees, frosted ice rinks and rich baubles, the film is beset with Christmas decadence. The Plaza Hotel’s golden lights, its maroons and navy blues, encapsulate the opulence of the winter season. It is the ultimate dream of any small child; the most lavish place they could imagine, all in the palm of their hand.

The setting also gives Kevin more agency than before. The whole city becomes his play-pen, a place to explore and to take with childish glee. Kevin’s schemes can now dominate on a large-scale, a bold leap from Columbus, which he pulls off with a marvellously freeing effect.

Macaulay Culkin takes to the widened, wreath-laden parameters with a sense of ease. Still as cheeky as ever, he wiggles his eyebrows with abandon, shattering the fourth wall to give us our share of devilish fun. He fulfils his role of provocateur, making us envious of his trips to toy stores, his limo and his pizza, his dizzying deceits against the adults.

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Culkin’s forays into the film’s emotional side are just as strong. His encounters with toy-shop owner Mr Duncan (Eddie Bracken) are handled with a maturity beyond his years. Equally, the snow-framed moments where Kevin realises he misses his family are starkly sentimental. Culkin’s ability to range from debauchery to innocence is unmatched. Suddenly, we remember he’s just a kid, in the heart of a jewelled city, missing those he can’t find.

However, Kevin meets his match in the form of The Concierge. Cast newcomer Tim Curry is easily the film’s triumph, leading the charge against Kevin with a sly humour. His physical comedy, as seen in previous films like “Clue” (1985), easily slots in with the film’s humorous beats. Watching him run full-pelt into a stall and later crawl across the floor, we know we are in the hands of an actor who knows his audience well. In combination with Cedric the Bellhop (Rob Schneider) and the steely Desk Clerk (Dana Ivey), the trio ensures that their characters fall into the clutches of Kevin with a satisfying wickedness.

A staple of the “Home Alone” legacy are the home invasion sequences – where Kevin turns the house into a barricade, complete with gags of Looney Tunes proportions. Columbus knew he had to exceed the level of laughter the first film created – so he amped up the violence accordingly. The bulk of the humour is shared by The Wet Bandits, Harry and Marv, who return to be beaten, bruised, and electrified once more. And to top it all off, Columbus presented Kevin with the perfect warzone against them: an abandoned house.

Across the next ten minutes, we watch the Wet Bandits get obliterated. We laugh raucously as Marv gets his face stapled, Harry slips off a ladder, and both get knocked a full floor down. It is cartoonish, with both men being able to recover from a blow that should mean certain death. So, without a permanent scratch or break on the Bandits, children are kept within the realms of delightful fantasy. It is brutally wicked, a delight for any child, and it serves as a reminder that even a kid has the ability to best the bad guys.

The DNA of the first two “Home Alone” movies merges two genres: comedy and family-oriented sentiment. Columbus has always been known for his special brew of home-grown nostalgia, in movies such as “The Gremlins” (1984), “Adventures in Babysitting” (1987), and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001). “Home Alone 2” is no different. His golden sense of hope blends with John Williams’ score of soaring strings, almost lullaby-like in the film’s most sentimental moments. The combination brilliantly underlines moments like the reunion of Kevin and his mother (Catherine O’Hara).

Columbus does briefly stray into overly sentimental territory, however, with the introduction of The Pigeon Lady (Brenda Fricker). A largely unnecessary addition to the movie, she is meant to echo Kevin’s neighbour, Marley, from the first film. It doesn’t work as well here, as a major scene shared between her and Kevin feels shoe-horned in, almost therapy-session-like. But, despite this minor diversion, the plot’s sentimentality glows like an angel’s wings.

“Home Alone 2” is a staple Christmas film for a reason. It’s a fantastical story, taking place in a world where children rule with a mitten-covered fist. It is charming, with Kevin’s wit and whimsy taking down the Wet Bandits in style. But, beyond this, Columbus’s sequel is a classic staple for its message: Christmas is a time for family, more than anything. And, even if they’re far away, the holidays will always feel a little warmer if we hold them in mind.