Home Alone: A look inside the house

It’s December again which can only mean one thing! Time for another Christmas movie plot deconstruction!

After my post last year about Christmas with the Kranks went over so well I thought I’d do another plot breakdown of one of my favorite Christmas movies: Home Alone!

We won’t go into Home Alone 2 because it is essentially just a carbon copy of the first movie (which is fine, I’m not judging), but for the purposes of this article, I’ll just be sticking to the original.

And before we get started you may ask: Why Christmas movies? Because they are the only movies I watch consistently year after year, and thus are embedded in my brain. I’ve literally been studying these movies for years and didn’t even know it.

Home Alone begins innocently enough, on the eve of the big McAllister family vacation to Paris for Christmas! I wish my parents had been rich enough to fly us to Europe one year. (What do Kate and Peter McAllister DO for a living? Have you seen that house?)

Anyway, I’m getting off track. It is here in the beginning of the movie we are introduced to the setting (house), setting up the situation (vacation) and getting to know our main characters. Early on we see a police officer trying to find an adult and already we realize this is a huge family. More kids than I can count (I think the official number is 11!!). And amidst this chaos we are introduced to Kevin, who at first comes across as just another of the bratty kids (“Hang up the phone and make me, why don’t ya?”). The action doesn’t really get started until Aunt Leslie tells him to go pack his suitcase, sending Kevin into a mild panic.

Because it is here we learn that Kevin is, as his sister puts it, completely helpless. And it is very important this point is reinforced. In addition to not knowing what he’s going to do about packing, the story endears us to Kevin by showing us he’s the runt of the litter. Everyone picks on him and no one gives him a fair shot, most of all his brother Buzz. It’s a feeling we all can relate to and thus we feel a lot of empathy for Kevin. This is kicked up to eleven (ha!) when Buzz announces he’ll have to throw up some pizza if Kevin wants any and Kevin attacks him, beginning the Rube Goldberg series of events that needs to happen to make this story work.

This is where the inciting incident comes in. Or perhaps the prelude to the inciting incident. When Kevin knocks Buzz back his passport is accidentally thrown away and he’s ostracized from the family, being relegated to the third floor where he’ll sleep alone (“Fuller will pee all over me!”) and thus be ignorant to the events to come. We also learn Kevin’s desire here: to be alone. We heard it once before, and he really reinforces it here (“I hope I never see any of you jerks again!”).

In the meantime we get some good setups with the pizza guy, Buzz’s spider and a resolution (we think) with the police checking to make sure the house has all the security it needs. And lest I forget, there was a setup with Old Man Marley who shovels sidewalks at night. He is what is known as the Fake Opponent-ally. But more on him later.

And now it’s time for the real Inciting Incident: the wind storm. Without the wind breaking the branches and knocking out the power and phone, we don’t have a story. The McAllisters would have gotten up on time, been thinking clearly, and would have remembered Kevin. But fate, or perhaps Kevin’s wish, has other plans. (Aside – I like how it is ambiguous here that it might be supernatural that his wish is coming true, not just a series of coincidences). The limb falls on the power and phone lines, cutting out all the alarms for the whole house.

The family is thrown into a frenzy as they wake up, realize they are late and may miss their flights. Everyone is running around like crazy and in the chaos, Kevin is forgotten. We get one last piece of the puzzle that makes this possible: Mitch Murphy, from next door. This nosy little guy gets in the middle of everyone’s business as they’re trying to leave, causing Heather to mistake him for Kevin and count him as asked by Kate. Kate double-checks the count, Heather is snarky about it, and they’re off in a flurry.

As the family races to the airport and barely makes it on the plane, we return to Kevin, who has just woken up to an empty house. Only he doesn’t know it is empty yet. He slowly begins to realize things are just a little too quiet for a house with fifteen people. This is the first complication.

Panic sets in and Kevin searches the house, finding no one. He goes into the basement where his fear overcomes his better judgement as he runs away from the “scary” furnace. What is important here is he checks the garage, seeing their cars are still there so he “knows” they haven’t gone to the airport. This is important because we have to know Kevin isn’t stupid. He just didn’t know about the Airport Vans transporting everyone. It’s hard to root for a stupid hero.

Reflecting on the prior evening’s events, Kevin realizes he’s gotten his wish, and that he is finally alone. And we are now firmly in the first major story beat: the Point of No Return. This is the point in the plot where the protagonist cannot turn back and must navigate this new world he’s found himself in. Kevin is entering a world with no rules, and Kate (our secondary protagonist) is on the plane headed for France.

Kevin revels in his newfound freedom, eating anything he wants, jumping on the bed, sledding in the house. Basically just being a kid. We also learn he’s proficient with Buzz’s BB gun, which will come in handy later. But then, as he’s watching a movie he was earlier told not to (Angels with Filthy Souls), we run into the second complication – his fear. This could also be described as a minor dark moment for Kevin, because with loneliness comes the loss of security, and he’s just now realizing he only has himself to rely on.

We switch back to Kate who finally remembers who she’s forgotten but they can’t get a call in because the phone lines are still down (from the wind storm!).

Now. The next sequence of events is very important. It establishes everything we need to know for the rest of the movie. We’re introduced to two home invaders: Marv and (twist!) Harry, the cop from earlier! It turns out he was just pretending to be a cop to case houses. And the only way this comes as a surprise is if you know nothing about this movie and saw zero trailers. But I appreciate the effort. It turns out Harry and Marv have their sights on Kevin’s house. And thus, we’ve reached the first pinch point: where the plot forces the protagonist to act among uncomfortable circumstances.

Nearly asleep, Kevin sees the shadows of the burglars and does what any 8-year old would do, turns on all the lights in the house and hides under the bed. This scares Harry and Marv away temporarily and as he hears them leave, Kevin breathes a sigh of relief. He realizes he’s being silly and decides to go out and confront his fear. But as soon as he leaves his house, he runs into a very imposing Old Man Marley and runs screaming back into his house, hiding under the bed once again.

The last piece of this sequence comes from Kate. Finally in France, she calls the police to go check on Kevin as the phones are still out and everyone else on their block is out of town. The police go over and knock on the door, but Kevin thinks it is Old Man Marley trying to get in to kill him, and doesn’t answer. The police assume no one is home and Kate has miscounted again, leaving Kevin truly on his own now. I do believe this plot thread should have been followed up, but it never was. Kate and the police have no more interactions, despite Peter trying to speak to someone in French from his brother’s apartment.

Obviously, this is one of those movies that would have been ruined by the existence of cell phones.

The next day, we see a change in Kevin. Whether it is from being scared out of his wits the night before, or some other unknown stimulus, he is different. He’s taking some personal responsibility for his appearance and has to go out to procure a toothbrush later in the day. This is where we see what’s special about Kevin. Where most kids would be too scared to leave their house, he does it with gusto. He has faced his fear and overcome it, showing himself to be a capable individual. We are seeing growth from his state at the beginning of the story. He’s gained self-confidence. And what all this is doing is setting us up for the second major story beat: the midpoint.

Realizing he needs money for the toothbrush, Kevin returns to Buzz’s room where he climbs on the shelves to reach the cash only for the shelves to collapse under him, releasing Buzz’s spider. It is important we’re shown the spider wasn’t killed in the crash, and in fact crawls away to explore his new surroundings.

We get a quick scene with Harry and Marv again, ransacking Mitch Murphy’s (from earlier!) home and they learn from a message on the answering machine that the McAllister’s are indeed in Paris. They make plans to rob it later that night. This is also part of the setup for the midpoint.

Kevin treks into town to the local drugstore. And in the middle of a conversation about the dentistry rating of the toothbrush itself, he comes face to face with a bloody-handed Marley again. Apparently he wasn’t as over his fear as he thought, as he runs from the store, toothbrush still in hand. This is the third complication as it leads to a chase by a different police officer for shoplifting. (Really Jimmy? You gonna call shoplifting on the kid? It’s like $2, take it out of your salary ya mook)

With some ingenuity and luck, Kevin escapes and heads back home. As he’s heading home, lamenting the fact he’s now a criminal, Harry and Marv are leaving one of his neighbors’, their van loaded with lifted goods. There is a short confrontation where they literally almost run into each other. In the aftermath, Kevin realizes he’s seen Harry before, and he’s not a cop anymore.

Harry doesn’t like how Kevin looks at him, so they decide to follow him, see where he lives. Kevin picks up on this and this is where he really shines for the first time: cleverly hiding from the burglars in a church manger scene. He realizes the crooks won’t give up and vows to prepare for their return. This is the midpoint: where the protagonist recommits to his goal, which has become protect himself in the absence of a caring family. Being alone comes with responsibilities and Kevin isn’t about to shirk them.

When the crooks return later that night, Kevin has upped the ante. Not only does he have all the lights on, he’s playing loud music and has used his ingenuity to make it look like there’s a party at the house with a clever use of mannequins and standups. Harry and Marv, confused, leave before anyone sees them and Kevin thinks he’s won. All is good.

High on his win, Kevin orders a pizza and using Angels with Dirty Souls (which he’s now become completely numb to) and manages to terrorize the pizza guy. He’s overconfident in his abilities and showing off, just because he can.

However something interesting happens that night. As he’s watching TV all alone, he pulls out a picture of his family, beginning to regret his wish. Loneliness, it seems, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

We switch back to Kate, who has managed to make it all the way back to Scranton, but she Just. Can’t. Get. To. Chicago. We see the depth of Kate’s obsession with getting back home and that she really does care about Kevin, as a mother should. This goes to a larger theme about the importance of family, but we’ll come back to that a little later. Technically this is the fourth complication, even though it doesn’t happen directly to Kevin. It affects him, he just doesn’t know it yet. A friendly Polka band leader overhears her predicament and offers to drive her on their way to Milwaukee. It will take a little longer, but she’ll get back home to her son.

The next morning Kevin readies himself again. He’s the master of his domain. This living alone stuff is easy once you get over your fears, which he has done successfully, or so he thinks. He’s lulled himself into a false sense of security, but not so much it has made him reckless. He has to venture out again because he’s running low on supplies. He’s taking even more personal responsibility. Outwitting the local cashier, he purchases all the supplies he’ll need for a few more days, carting them back home. Later we see Kevin doing laundry right beside the once-scary furnace, his fear no longer getting the best of him. Further evidence of his growth and change.

Meanwhile, Harry is frustrated. They’ve been watching the house all day and from what he can tell, no one is there. He sends Marv to check out the house, which is the lead up to the fifth complication for Kevin. Marv makes his presence known while Kevin is doing dishes, but Kevin is prepared. Not reckless. He plays Angels with Dirty Souls again, this time letting it run as the two characters argue. Marv hears them and thinks he’s walked into something bad. Using fireworks he found in Buzz’s room, Kevin lights them in a pot when the characters on screen begin shooting, causing Marv to run from the house just as the Pizza boy did.

And it’s almost enough to scare them away. But Harry is clever too, and he doesn’t want to be fingered for a job if there’s a dead body around. So they decide to wait and see who the killer is. Kevin has navigated this complication he thinks, but Harry has other plans. When Kevin goes out to cut down a tree for the living room, Harry realizes what is going on. The plot is moving quicker now and we’re moving directly into the second pinch point.

Harry looks in the window on Kevin and despite Kevin’s last-ditch effort to convince him he’s not alone, Harry realizes the truth. He and Marv decide to come back about nine o’clock, which Kevin overhears. His fear is back worse than ever now as he knows there is no way to avoid this confrontation.

Now we’re headed into the third major story beat: Darkest night. Kevin, at a loss, decides to visit the village Santa. He barely makes it on time but manages to ask for only one thing: his family back. He’s realized what he had and what is truly important. Wishing them gone was a mistake, he sees that now and in doing so, has reached true emotional maturity (for the purposes of this story at least). On the way home he hears the choir singing in the church and stops in to listen. It is unclear to me what his motivations are at doing this: maybe he’s just feeling lonely and wants to be in the company of others. Maybe this was an annual McAllister Christmas Eve tradition. Whatever the reason, Kevin is shocked to see Old Man Marley again when he sits down.

We learn, at the same time Kevin does, that Marley is not the serial killer Buzz made him out to be. Marley introduces himself and Kevin learns that all the rumors about him aren’t true, and that he’s actually a very nice person. This is because he is the fake-opponent ally (remember?). Someone who is set up to be the opponent but is an ally in disguise. But Marley has a problem of his own: he’s estranged from his son. Using what he’s learned about fear, Kevin suggests he call his son and let the chips fall where they may. (“At least you’ll know, then you don’t have to be afraid anymore”). Marley also gives Kevin some advice about how to navigate his own family, which Kevin takes to heart.

Leaving the Church, Kevin hears the bells toll eight, which means he’s only got an hour before the crooks return! We are now heading firmly into the climax! Kevin has emerged from Darkest Night knowing what must be done to protect his home, to protect his family in a sense. Because if they don’t have the home to come back to, can they come back at all?

Now there are generally six parts of the climax, and Kevin moves through them all.

Stage 1: Preparing for Battle Using his ingenuity, Kevin has devised a house full of traps that would drive any sane man mad. In this sense Kevin has a bit of a superpower – he can predict his enemy’s movements and reactions, and thus set up the perfect trap for them. (“This is my house, I have to defend it.”)

Stage 2: Taking the fight to the enemy As soon as he’s finished setting up and sitting down for dinner, the clock strikes 9. Kevin grabs his BB gun and sets himself up at the back door, where he knows they’ll come. Here, he is fully resolved to finish this. (“This is it, don’t get scared now.”)

Stage 3: First Contact The war begins as Kevin shoots both Harry and Marv, setting off a series of events where they try to breach his stronghold. Eventually they do, but on Kevin’s terms. He’s got them right where he wants them.

Stage 4: War of Attrition Kevin manages to stay one step ahead of them, right up until the point after he calls the cops from his (now working!) phone. Marv jumps over one of his traps, barely grabbing Kevin’s leg. And it is here we see the deus ex machina or in this case deus ab aranea (god from the spider) as Buzz’s tarantula is just in reach and Kevin places it on Marv’s face, allowing him to escape. It is a bit of a lazy out but it’s done in such an entertaining way that I can’t fault it.

Stage 5: Mano a mano Fed up with getting played, Harry decides not to take it anymore. When Kevin runs away from the house, trying to lead them back into the Murphy’s cellar so he can escape (also when Kevin called the cops, he specified Murphy’s house, not his own as he rightly didn’t want the cops questioning why a child was home alone), Harry isn’t about to fall for it again. He has other plans.

Stage 6: From the ashes Kevin’s plan has fallen apart, Harry and Marv surprise him by going through the other side of the house, trapping him in the kitchen. With aims to do everything to Kevin that he did to them, things look bleak. And we get a second deus ex machina in the form of Old Man Marley who comes in and saves Kevin at the last second by knocking both crooks out with a snow shovel. Unfortunately we are given no information as to how Marley knows to rescue Kevin and this is probably the film’s one true fault. A last-minute save without explanation. But there is good plotting here, because if Kevin hadn’t befriended Marley in the church, he would not have survived his ordeal. So in a way, Kevin was the master of his own fate, though we’re left hanging as to exactly how.

Regardless, Marley helps Kevin home (and presumably helps him clean up) without another word and Kevin watches from the window as the cops arrive and Harry and Marv are arrested for Burglary.

So now we’ve had the external climax. But what about the internal one?

Because this entire time there have been two different plots: external and internal. The external is Kevin’s struggle against the crooks. His internal is his struggle against first his fear but more importantly his complex relationship with his family. And this comes into alignment the following morning.

Kate, having ridden with the Polka band all night, finally makes it home Christmas morning. She enters the house expecting to find it a wreck, but instead it is completely clean, everything in its place. The sign of someone who has taken responsibility for himself. A complete contrast to the child she left behind. When Kevin appears, she makes a heartfelt apology and they embrace, Kevin having realized the value of his family. Though I do think he should have offered an apology here as well, he’s also an eight-year-old kid who was abandoned so I’ll cut him a little slack. And thus we’ve entered the final beat of the story: resolution.

The rest of Kevin’s family comes home and is in awe at his self-sufficiency and Kevin makes no mention of what happened with Harry and Marv. Defeating them was the price he had to pay to get his family back, and that’s all he cares about.

As the film ends, Kevin walks to the window to see Old Man Marley reconnecting with his family as well, Kevin’s advice having worked. The last plot point to be resolved is a humorous one, when Buzz sees the destruction Kevin caused to his room. Apparently Kevin’s clean-up efforts didn’t extend that far.

 

Structurally, this movie is solid as a rock. And perhaps that is why it is one of my favorite Christmas movies. Sure there is a bit of nostalgia there as well, but in preparing this article, I was amazed at how sound the plot is from beginning to end. There is a reason good movies have really solid plots: because they work. And unlike Christmas with the Kranks, which fails at the 75%-mark, Home Alone delivers a satisfying ending that sings. All the setups are paid off and all the threads are tied up.

You couldn’t ask for a better example of a structurally sound movie in my opinion.

Thanks for taking this journey with me, I hope you enjoyed it!