Question: How come Kevin never told his parents or his family about the Wet Bandits? He also never told them in the sequel either.
raywest
31st Dec 2021
Home Alone (1990)
Answer: He never tells them onscreen, nor does the movie give any indication that they know, but realistically, Kevin was a witness to their crimes, and he would be called in to give statements and testimonies in order to put them away. So his parents would have to know about his encounters with them, otherwise it would be a major plot hole. Perhaps the film-makers thought it would be funnier and more in line with his character for Kevin to be secretive about it.
Not necessarily. The police caught them red-handed and one of the cops said their habit of flooding houses was proof as to which houses they hit. It's possible no-one knew Kevin's connection.
Answer: Adding to a previous answer, the cops arrested them at the site of a previous break-in. Even though Marley rescued Kevin, it's possible he didn't tell anyone about them either, so them breaking into the McCallister's house didn't matter. Not to mention, Marv blabbing about them having the calling card to the police didn't help their case either.
Answer: Why would he need to? The idea is that he outsmarted them alone, and his parents were none the wiser.
27th Dec 2021
Home Alone (1990)
Question: After Harry and Marv are taken away, how would Kevin have been able to get the tar off the steps in the basement? The other traps are quite easy but to remove tar would be nearly impossible.
Answer: Remember his neighbour takes him home so maybe he helped with the cleaning. He may have also helped with the tar on the steps as well, but they just didn't show it.
Answer: There's no reason that Kevin would be the one removing this, not could he. At some point, his family would know about him protecting the house. His parents would have the steps professionally cleaned or replaced.
There is no evidence to suggest that Kevin ever told his family about the wet bandits.
Considering the police were involved at the end, as well as the next-door-neighbor, and the two burglars were arrested in the house across the street, it's highly unlikely the parents would not, at some point, know what happened and Kevin's involvement. Kevin is a witness to the criminal activity. Also, the parents would also question why the steps were covered in tar.
22nd Jan 2015
Home Alone (1990)
Question: If Old Man Marley is actually a nice man (and not a "shovel slayer" as Buzz claims) then why does he always give Kevin that cold, creepy stare? After Kevin ran away the first time wouldn't he want to talk to Kevin the next time, to assure him that everything is okay?
Answer: Because he's understandably angry that Kevin's so unreasonably scared of him and assumes the worst in him without even getting a chance to know him. He never gets a chance to talk to him, because he always runs away too quickly. The first time he gives him that stare was when Kevin was watching him shovel from the window. Nobody would like to be stared at like that while doing a simple task.
Answer: Marley appears that way mostly because the audience sees him from Kevin's point of view. Marley is miserable and sad because he is estranged from his family, but we see him as a crotchety, unpleasant person because that is what Kevin believes. Buzz had tainted Kevin's opinion of him by spreading the false stories that a gullible Kevin believed were true.
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 Jan 2018
Home Alone (1990)
Question: Why did it take so long for the police to arrive at the Murphy's House since Kevin called 911? Since he called them we went through the Spider Scene, Kevin cutting the rope, Marley rescuing Kevin and then after he returned Kevin home the cops finally arrived. Why did it take them so long to arrive?
Answer: A lot of things come into play during a police call and it's not all cut and dry. Proximity of units to the call, other calls happening at the same time, severity of other calls, location of backup units, etc. Realistically, anything under 10 minutes is considered a fast response time. I've personally waited in upwards of 40 minutes for police response at my job.
Answer: A lot of things happened after Kevin called the police but all of these things took place pretty quickly. And the movie is set in a suburban area so it took the police more time to get there that it would've taken, say, downtown.
Lol, suburban police respond in minutes. Big city police, even downtown precincts, can take 30 minutes or more.
This depends on where you live, and what the police department is like - i.e, being understaffed. I've heard of my local police taking three hours to respond. I live in a suburban area.
Answer: This is just one of many inconsistent and/or unrealistic details in this movie. Police would normally respond to an emergency call much sooner. If the movie were more realistic however, the plot could not play out in the funny way that it does.
What's unrealistic about it? There's a caller claiming to be in the house which is a possible hostage situation. In that case, you would want as many officers as you could get on scene, emergency call or not.
Answer: There had been a hoax call that evening already so perhaps this is actually much more accurate than initially thought.
Answer: Suburban cops usually do not respond quickly.
22nd Aug 2017
Home Alone (1990)
Question: Near the end of the movie, Kevin makes the 911 call because of the bandits. Why couldn't he had just done this instead of bothering to set up all the traps in the first place? Was he possibly trying to see if he couldn't kill them first instead, then call? Either way, the police were coming over with the call.
Answer: If Kevin called 911 sooner and was found to be "home alone" he knows the police would probably put him into Child Protective Services, leaving the house unguarded. His parents could face some legal issues for having left him behind. Since the burglars hadn't actually done anything yet, the police could not have taken any action against them. Also, Kevin's a kid. He was not trying to kill the burglars, but by his reasoning, he thinks it's his duty to protect the family's home.
Answer: Yeah, that would have made a great film, wouldn't it? "Kevin rings the Police, Harry and Marv are prevented from breaking into his house, and everybody lives happily ever after." A surefire winner.
Answer: Kevin was afraid to call the police because he had stolen a toothbrush so now considered himself to be a wanted criminal. This is why Kevin didn't want to show his face to the pizza delivery man (since the same man worked at the drug store) and also why Kevin changed his voice when he finally did call 911.
Yet Kevin is happy to call to the police with his real voice near the end of the second movie and is present when the police arrest the Bandits despite being a wanted criminal for stealing a credit card.
6th Nov 2016
Home Alone (1990)
Question: I have never understood the scene where Kevin questions the store clerk about the toothbrush (whether the brush is approved by the American Dental Association). It just seems odd for him to be concerned with this. Am I missing something?
Answer: It has nothing to do with the plot. This is just a humorous bit that shows Kevin's quirky personality and thought process. He focuses on small, odd details that most kids his age would never notice. It shows how he is able to devise the rather unique plan to combat the would-be robbers. Even Kevin's father comments about what a funny (as in peculiar) kid he is.
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Answer: If your kid came to you and said he single handedly captured to two robbers, you'd believe him.