Get ready to do your best Kevin McCallister scream: “Home Alone” debuted in theaters 35 years ago.
On Nov. 16, 1990, the world was introduced to Kevin (the MacGyver of kids) McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), an 8-year-old who musters the courage to defend his house against bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) after his family accidentally takes off for a Parisian Christmas without him. C'est la vie!
I was 3 years old when director Chris Columbus' cinematic masterpiece came out, and I don’t remember the first time I saw it. But I know I've watched it dozens of times over the years, multiple times each season next to our glowing Christmas tree. The movie has a hold on my heart as firm as the Sticky Bandits' grasp on loose change.
As a Catholic, I don’t make it a habit of arguing with the Pope. "It's a Wonderful Life" can sit among his Top 4 films. But I personally find nothing holly or jolly about George Bailey (James Stewart) being subjected to a depressing alternate reality in which he never existed. And you can shove “A Christmas Story” in a stocking, too. What’s cozy about Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) being kicked down a slide by a terrifying Santa, with a pair of crotchety elves sneering on?
