As a child, HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK was my favorite of the two Macaulay Culkin HOME ALONE films. It was probably because I actually saw this one in theaters and because it’s more cartoonishly violent than its predecessor. But as I get older, I see a lot more wear and tear on the film as a whole, and reflect more kindly on the first film in the franchise. That’s not to say I didn’t get a guilty laugh or two in when revisiting this film.
HOME ALONE 2 is same characters, same plot, same bad guys, but different traps. In Columbus’ defense, lightning should strike twice. For this go-around, Kevin (Culkin) isn’t left home in a morning rush to the airport, which the movie intentionally points out multiple times. This time, he’s mixed-up at the airport itself. Through happenstance, he follows a stranger on to a different plane, believing it’s his father. In a post-9/11 world, this is beyond believable and laughably stupid. Different times I guess.
So while the McCallister clan ends up in Florida, Kevin finds himself in New York City with a few accessories, like a voice changer, and his dad’s oversized wallet filled with credit cards. Unlike the previous flick, Kevin has to scavenge, but is aided with his father’s credit cards in an unfamiliar city. But just like the previous one, the other adults in the movie (authority figures, airlines, NYPD) merely obstruct Mr. and Mrs. McCallister’s efforts to find and locate their boy who’s lost in America’s largest city.
There’s a certain unaging charm to the film’s bad guys, Harry (Pesci) and Marv (Stern). Both can be intelligent and stupid, given the right circumstance. Both can be goofy as well, but beneath their crooked smiles is the sadism of a hardened criminal. They’re in New York City because the script requires it. Actually it’s because they recently escaped from jail, but the logistics of committing a crime in Chicago in the previous film, most likely means they’d be imprisoned in Illinois, right? Anyway, Kevin facing off against anyone else actually would have cheapened the film, despite Harry and Marv’s unexplained arrival.
The HOME ALONE franchise is only as good as its child star and of course it’s traps. It’s a decent formula if both ingredients are original and not overwhelmingly sadistic or smarmy. HOME ALONE 2 risks it once the traps become involved, but it still remains in the realm of Tex Avery shenanigans. Albeit there is a Youtube video stating that Kevin would have easily racked up a serial killer’s body count with his booby traps in this film.
Kevin’s good-natured sweetness is balanced by his child-like selfishness. It works in equal doses as we watch him spend thousands in room service with his dad’s credit cards, but we also watch him develop a youthful moral conscious at New York City’s biggest toy store. It legitimately works because it’s true to the character that was established in the previous film. HOME ALONE 2 isn’t a Christmas classic like the first, but it’s still cute and funny enough to deserve a spot on the family film Christmas tree.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (1080p HD Widescreen 1:85:1) There’s a significant visual upgrade on this blu-ray as the vast cityscape of New York comes through wonderfully.
Audio: (English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) The sound, just like the video presentation, is nearly flawless on this blu-ray.
HOME ALONE Theatrical Trailer
HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK Theatrical Trailer
HOME ALONE 3 Theatrical Trailer
