Review: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

After the massive success of Home Alone in 1990, it was a no-brainer: There would most definitely be a sequel. Released two years, fours days after the first, Lost in New York initially out-performed its predecessor, grossing over $30 in its opening weekend; However, it was unable to maintain its stride and fell out of the top ten after 10 weeks (Whereas Home Alone was still at number one after 10 weeks - Something that only 4 films have managed to achieve). Despite grossing over $100 million less than Home Alone, Lost in New York still grossed nearly $175 million and became the second highest grossing film of 1992 (Behind Aladdin).

One year after he was left home alone, Kevin McCallister once again finds himself having to deal with being without his family at Christmas. This time, Kevin's gone mobile. After mistaking a man at the airport for his father, Kevin boards a plane heading to New York, as opposed the the plane his family is on, which is on its way to Miami, Florida. Alone in the Big Apple, Kevin has a blast, that is, until he runs in to two figures from his past: The Sticky, formerly Wet, Bandits.

"My Family's in Florida, and I'm in... New York."

Home Alone 2 is a little misleading as a title for this movie, as it does not take place anywhere near Kevin's home. On the other hand, this film is a sequel, so it makes perfect sense that they would give it a title that let people know it was a sequel.

Lost in New York is very funny, perhaps funnier than the original. There's one scene in a hotel room that is one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in a film.; It gets me every time. Yep, Home Alone 2 sure does produce a few good laughs. Overall, however, I'd have to admit that I prefer its predecessor. Home Alone (1990) is slightly more realistic, which makes it all the more magical. Both films are good, though, so I'd suggest a double feature, if ever you have the chance.

Despite my obvious love of this film, there are a few things I notice that annoy me every time I watch it. To start with, Kevin buys fireworks at the beginning of the film. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but you have to be a certain age to buy fireworks. Kevin is supposed to be 9 years old in this film. There's no way that someone would sell him fireworks. Then, you've got Harry and Marv: Two criminals that have escaped from prison. Their prison escape made the front page, so I imagine that their faces would be rather well known. So, tell me, how then is it that they can walk around New York without being noticed? Beats me. At the beginning of the film, Kevin receives a plastic, blow up clown as a present from a relative for use in the pool. This clown is later mistaken for Mr McCallister by a hotel employee. My question: When (And why?) did Kevin blow it up? It was very convenient to have it blown up there ready for him.... At the airport, Kevin somehow manages to board the wrong plane. That would NEVER happen today. I suppose, considering it was almost 20 years ago, it may have been able to happen back then, but it still bugs me, regardless. And there's one last thing...

"Get down on your knees, and tell me you love me."

The traps. Now, yes, it is very amusing to see Marv hit on the head with a brick over and over again, mostly due to Daniel Stern's comedic ability, but we, as viewers, can't overlook the fact that, in reality, this would likely be a fatal injury. In fact, just about all of Kevin's boobie traps in this film would have resulted in either serious injury or death. In the first film, a good portion of the traps were designed simply to hinder Harry and Marv's efforts. In this film, however, logic and reason seems to have been forgotten. A child of nine would not, could not, come up with these traps. It's pretty brutal. I mean, Kevin goes as far as electrocution this time. No child would think of that. They are funny, though, I have to admit.

Most of the cast from Home Alone return for this film, with a few new additions, the two main ones being Brenda Fricker and Tim Curry. Fricker is good as the Bird Lady. She brings a bit of heart to the movie, and her character's friendship with Kevin is very sweet. Tim Curry is the standout of the film. He is hilarious as Mr. Hector, the hotel concierge . Very, very funny. I love him in this movie. I won't mention any of the original members of cast (as I mentioned them in a previous review, and things haven't changed) with the exception of one: Daniel Stern, who plays Marv. This guy knows comedy. Both he and Curry are the funniest parts of the film, and it wouldn't be as much fun without them.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a worthy follow up to Home Alone, and, despite its faults, I love it. A lot. 10/10

Trivia: How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946) are featured in both Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Despite it being filmed in English, It's a Wondeful life is featured in the films in two different languages: French in Home Alone and Spanish in Home Alone 2.