Continuity mistake: When Kevin goes to the grocery, he buys Tide detergent. While walking home, the two bags break, but no Tide detergent falls out.
Ssiscool
27th Aug 2001
Home Alone (1990)
14th Sep 2017
Home Alone (1990)
Question: Why was Kevin's family so mean to him?
Answer: I think it was a way to make leaving him "home alone" more realistic and understandable as opposed to absurd. Being perceived as a brat/pest and annoying to be around, it is (somewhat) conceivable that none of the family members would be eager to have Kevin by their side. This "frees" all of them from noticing that Kevin isn't with them. Everyone would just assume that Kevin is somewhere among them and each be glad they didn't have to sit next to him on the way to the airport or during the long flight.
In addition to this, the movie is partially about Kevin learning to have more respect for others. He appreciates his family more as he spends more time without them.
Answer: The ones who were mean just saw Kevin as a brat. However, it's not uncommon in situations of being in an overcrowded house to easily lose one's patience and temper and become frustrated with small, but irritating things; which seems to happen to his mother. Buzz just has that general big brother contempt for his kid brother, but obviously still loves him, along with everyone else in the family, at the end when he finds out Kevin is safe.
Nuts to that. They all could've tried a little harder, that's one lame excuse for treating someone like garbage and I come from a good sized bunch who've done the same to me. You also forget his uncle didn't care about him regardless of the situation.
Like it or not the answer is perfectly valid. Families have different dynamics. Kevin is something of a brat (he calls his mother "dummy" and openly wishes he didn't have a family), as are his brothers and sisters, especially Buzz. I for one have TWO uncles in my family who behave just like the uncle in the movie. We don't invite them over, but we've had similar situations to what's depicted in the film.
Hey I've had three uncles, father's older brothers, he hated all three of them, cared only when they started dying. Yeah the dynamics and all, my mother has stated "You ruined this family" though this bunch didn't need my help in being messed up. My sympathies to you Mr Hoffman, your uncles Dustin and Philip Seymour must be/been terrible, just kidding only on the famous names there, no offense meant.
It's just a movie! The characters are fictional and were given contrived, exaggerated, over-the-top personalities to fit the comedic plot. It's pointless to compare them to real-life family dynamics.
Also, it's a movie from a child's point of view. Kevin is supposed to be the "victim." As a 35-year-old, I have more sympathy for the adults and older kids. The movie is about Kevin learning to miss his family and be more considerate of others.
21st Jun 2017
Home Alone (1990)
Factual error: Kate flies American Airlines to Scranton, but that airline did not serve Scranton in 1990. Also, a DC-10 is too big to be serviced at Scranton.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Air Force One, which is quite a bit larger than a DC-10, has landed at Scranton in the past (https://wnep.com/2013/08/22/air-force-one-lands-in-scranton/). Just because DC-10s don't generally land there doesn't mean they can't.
They are much more likely to make an exception for Air Force One than the are for a single family unless it was for something wrong with the flight or an emergency on the flight, not for a connecting flight to Chicago or a chance at a connecting flight.
The idea is that DC-10s can land there for whatever reason.
Kate landed at Dallas first, then flew to Scranton. This is revealed in Kate's rant at the ticket agent.
Air Force One would park at GA parking, not at the terminal. The DC-10 that lands would have very likely parked at a gate for only 737s and smaller.
21st Oct 2009
Home Alone (1990)
Question: Maybe I missed it, but did the McAllisters even bother to call home? I don't remember them calling the house at all. Why wouldn't that be the first thing they do? Kevin seems to be pretty independent for his age. He might have not answered the door, but I'm sure he would have answered the phone.
Chosen answer: They did but the power and phone lines were down due to a tree branch that had fallen on them the night before the family left. A flight attendant on their plane mentions that attempts had been made to call the McAllisters' home but "the phones are still out of order".
But how did he call the police at the end if the phone lines were down.
That was several days later. Clearly the phone lines were repaired over the course of the film.
It's ridiculous though that the phones are apparently working by the time they land (Kate's SIL calls everyone on their street). Yet none of them try the house again.
Answer: That is also how Kevin was able to order his cheese pizza from Little Nero's.
Answer: The phone lines were fixed by the end of the movie. Remember, this takes place over the course of several days.
Answer: It's also possible they don't think he's at the house still since the cops did attempt to stop by and see if he was home, but received no answer after ringing the bell. Or they did try to call and left a message, but Kevin may not have thought to check the phone messages if he was out of the house and didn't expect anyone to call. He also didn't want anyone to return until the day prior to Christmas, by which point the mom was already en route and the dad and remaining kids had a plan to come home on Christmas morning.
Answer: The next day, after the cop shows up to check the house, while the Wet Bandits are in the house next door, the phone rings and the answering machine picks up, allowing Peter to leave a message. If the next-door neighbor's phone is working, wouldn't it only make sense for Peter to immediately call his own house? Even if Kevin hasn't returned home from shoplifting a toothbrush and doesn't answer the phone, Peter should still be able to leave a message on an answering machine and most likely keep calling over and over until Kevin answers the phone.
24th Feb 2005
Home Alone (1990)
Corrected entry: When Kevin orders his own cheese pizza and has it delivered, he has some fun with the delivery guy. He plays the video in which someone gets shot and killed. The pizza guy is obviously scared and runs away, believing that he is being shot at. Surely someone who thinks they have just been threatened by a gun would either call the police or investigate further. And if the police got a call of that nature, they would definitely check it out.
Correction: The pizza boy probably realised he'd been pranked a minute later when he calmed down and realised how silly the situation was. Also, the man with the gun did pay for his pizza, even if the tip was lousy.
Correction: I was a pizza boy for a while, I assure you, this isn't all that worse from the way they treat us for real. The man is probably used to this.
Correction: He was probably so terrified that he just bolted and the police never even crossed his mind.
Not necessarily true. When he returns to the shop and people see he is terrified they would ring police after he explained.
OK, so he calls the police when he gets back to the shop, or stops someplace to find a phone. The cops go out and find no bullet holes in the door or walls and no signs that the place had been shot up. Where's the crime?
22nd Dec 2017
Home Alone (1990)
Continuity mistake: When Frank squishes Fuller with the chair, we see Frank walk off. However about 5 seconds later we see Frank's wife rescue Fuller, and Frank walks off again. (00:09:35)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Not a mistake. Frank never walks off the first time.
Perhaps the wrong phrase was used. He actually moves away from the front part of the seat to the left and out of shot of the camera. When the shot is shown of Frank's wife rescuing fuller, Frank repeats his actions of walking away from the front part of the seat and moving to his left. There is no reasonable reason he would move back in front of the chair for the purpose of repeating this action. Especially since his wife is trying to rescue Fuller and would not permit Frank to return to his original position. So the mistake is valid, just an error in wording.
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Suggested correction: Maybe he returned it.
No chance, we see him buy it and then use it in a later scene.
Ssiscool ★