Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
So what you must do now is you must think of the most important thing that you can do for others and go and do it. Just follow the star in your heart.
It's pretty universally agreed upon that the original film in a series is always the best. The Godfather Part II may have won Best Picture just like its predecessor, but it's the first film that captured audiences' hearts, and it remains unbeatable. However, the Home Alone franchise may be the one exception to this unofficial movie rule.
While the first film left many kids wishing their family would leave them home alone for Christmas, where they had the freedom to do whatever they wanted, I often find myself skipping Home Alone during my Christmas movie marathons and jumping right to the sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York. While being at home alone with no rules might be fun, being free to roam the greatest city in the world around Christmas time is a pretty incomparable experience.
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York welcomed back Macaulay Culkin, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern, with a few additions like the legendary Tim Curry, Saturday Night Live veteran Rob Schneider, and Academy Award winner Brenda Fricker. Not to mention, being that he owned the Plaza Hotel, where Kevin McAllister was staying, from 1987 through 1995, there was also an uncanny appearance from Donald Trump.
“I always think I'll have a lot of fun if I'm alone, but when I'm alone, it isn't that much fun at all. I don't care how much people bug me sometimes, I'd rather be with somebody than by myself,”-Kevin McCallister, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.
When I chose to cover Home Alone 2: Lost In New York for my newsletter this week, I had no idea that on December 1st, Macaulay Culkin would reunite with Catherine O'Hara, his Home Alone mom, for his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. The actor thanked everyone who joined him for the celebration, which included his brother Rory, his wife, Brenda Song, and his goddaughter, Paris Jackson. However, the best part of his speech came at the end, where, in honor of the holiday season, he concluded with, "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals." I don't believe in coincidences, so there's truly no better time to talk about this holiday classic.
The Zeitgeist Of Home Alone 2
I was born a few years after Home Alone 2: Lost In New York premiered and probably didn't start watching it until sometime in the 2000s. Recently, my three-year-old cousin watched it for the first time and enjoyed it as much as I did when I was a child. It goes to show how timeless it is and that it's a film all generations can enjoy.
Simultaneously, there are many aspects of the film that connect it to its 1992 setting, from the clothing to some of New York City's landmarks. I remember watching the movie a few years ago and seeing a scene I didn't recognize. Kevin walks up to two buildings before the scene transitions to him on some observation deck, taking pictures of the city skyline with a Polaroid camera. It took me a minute to realize the buildings were the Twin Towers, and I only recently learned the scene had been taken out of the film after 9/11 and added back in during the 2018 Christmas season.
Every year around 9/11, I see tweets from those old enough to remember airports back in the day discussing why, while some of us might see Home Alone 2 as unrealistic, what happened to Kevin at the airport wasn't too far off from how things used to be. Of course, Hollywood is going to exaggerate a situation for suspense and entertainment, but while today, no child would be allowed on a plane so easily just because they claimed their family had already gone on, in 1992, this might have actually happened.
In the scene, Kevin's already lost his family at the airport and runs to the gate to get on his plane before it leaves. When he drops his stuff and can't find his boarding pass, he's allowed on the plane anyway as long as he locates his family first. Unfortunately, he thinks a stranger is his dad, and after identifying him, the flight attendant tells him to find a seat. I'd like to think that in real life, the flight attendant would have actually walked him to his dad to make sure it was him before allowing him on the flight to New York, but from all the research I did on airports before 9/11, everything seemed pretty relaxed in comparison to the intensity today.
Kevin McCallister
While Macaulay Culkin isn't the only child star to do it, carrying an entire movie as a kid is no easy feat. While he had legends like Joe Pesci by his side, Kevin is by himself for most of Home Alone and Home Alone 2, meaning Macaulay Culkin had a huge weight on his shoulders. Last week, I wrote about Mara Wilson as a 90s icon, and I see Macaulay Culkin in the same light. He makes Kevin McCallister believable, and his role as the main character is why most people don't acknowledge the other sequels that replaced him with various other actors.
Kevin is mischievous, smart-witted, and clever. He always has the upper hand when it comes to adults, and it's these traits that made him a role model for children who felt tired of being bossed around by their own parents. However, Kevin is also the underdog. He's the youngest in his household, and he's always being relentlessly bullied by his older brother, Buzz.
"Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal,”-Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.
While Kevin is someone children look up to, he's also someone they resonate with. As the Pigeon Lady tells Kevin later in the film, "Everyone fights for position. Everyone wants to be seen and heard." Kevin never feels this way in his family, which is why he's excited to be left alone in the first film and to explore New York City by himself in the second film.
While Macaulay Culkin's natural charm and charisma make Kevin likable, the way he always does the right thing also makes him admirable. When he's done being irresponsible–charging hundreds of dollars to his father's credit card and messing with the Plaza Hotel staff–Kevin finds it in his heart to help others on Christmas instead of only helping himself. When Kevin learns Harry and Marv plan on robbing the toy store Duncan's Toy Chest, meaning they'll take all the money meant to go to the children's hospital, Kevin puts a stop to it.
I don't know many kids who would be able to fight off criminals the way Kevin did in both Home Alone films, but I think the real meaning behind Kevin always defeating Harry and Marv is to teach children to be brave, and that in the end, good always wins, and I really do believe that. There were countless rumors, backed up by photos, of what happened to Macaulay Culkin in the years after his 90s stardom. However, he seems happier than ever these days and even had an impressive role in American Horror Story: Double Feature in 2021. Best of all, he seems to look back fondly on his time in the Home Alone franchise.
New York City At Christmas Time
As I mentioned earlier, the main reason I prefer Home Alone 2: Lost In New York over the original film is because of the New York City landscape. I recently went to a friend's birthday party where one of her friends, from a small town in Australia, said she could appreciate going to small towns and cities around America because New York isn't the only place she's ever known.
However, her boyfriend is immediately turned off because he grew up in New York, and nothing could ever compare. I completely understand this perspective. There isn't a city I've been to in my life that can compare to New York, which is why I wholly believe people when they call New York City the greatest city in the world.
New York City is beautiful year-round, but it's at its best at Christmas time, and so many of its holiday activities are showcased in Home Alone 2: Lost In New York. Kevin uses his dad's credit card to book a room at the Plaza, where these days, you're unlikely to get a room for under $1,000 a night. I've never stayed there myself, but in October, my sister and I had afternoon tea at the Palm Court for the 20th anniversary of Wicked the Musical, and I can confirm it is absolutely mesmerizing inside.
“Oh no, my family’s in Florida, and I’m in New York,” Kevin McCallister, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.
There were also several scenes filmed across from the Plaza at Central Park, including one where Harry and Marv are ice skating over at Wollman Rink. I've also been here a few times, and the best time to go is in the fall when all the leaves on the trees are changing, and the ice rink is lined with a border of red, yellow, and orange foliage. Kevin also goes to Carnegie Hall, rides over the Queen's Burrow Bridge, and meets an unusually tall Santa Claus outside the Empire Diner.
However, my favorite scene is at the end of Home Alone 2 when Kevin finally reunites with his mother at Rockefeller Center. This is probably my favorite place to go during Christmas time, aside from Radio City. The Christmas season doesn't officially start for me until Al Roker and his co-hosts light the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
I've gone ice skating there annually for almost ten years now, and while the rink is smaller than it looks, and each year we're inevitably all kicked off the ice so some couple can get engaged, it's still just as breathtaking as it looks in pictures and as it looks in the ending scene of Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.
The Pigeon Lady & The Turtle Doves
As I've pointed out throughout this newsletter, Home Alone 2 is a lot more than Kevin running around the city and spending his father's money. For me, the most crucial part of the film, and where its message really lies, is when Kevin meets E.F. Duncan and the Pigeon Lady. Unfortunately, Duncan's Toy Chest isn't a real toy store in Manhattan, but it was allegedly inspired by FAO Schwarz, which was once on Fifth Avenue but relocated to Rockefeller Plaza.
Kevin quickly and effortlessly bonds with Duncan because the old man is so kind and welcoming, and Kevin, despite having fun in New York City, is all by himself and, whether he realizes it yet or not, is pretty lonely without his family.
"Turtles doves are a symbol of friendship and love. Keep one, and give the other to a very special person. As long as each of you has your turtle dove, you will be friends forever,"-E.F. Duncan, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.
Kevin donates $20 to the toy store for Duncan to give to the hospital, and in return, he gifts Kevin two turtle-dove ornaments. The moral of the story can be summed up just in the symbolism hidden in the ornament. Kevin's entire perspective changes when he meets the Pigeon Lady, and while he's initially afraid of her, by the end of the film, she's the one he gives the turtle dove to because she was the only one who was a friend to him throughout the whole film when he was spending the Christmas season all alone.
One of my favorite moments between Kevin and the Pigeon Lady is a scenario Kevin shares, which I think about quite a lot. The Pigeon Lady opens up with Kevin about her past, telling him about lost love and how it's caused her to shut out the world and reject love. In response, Kevin tells the Pigeon Lady about a pair of roller skates he had that he was too afraid to wear because he didn't want to ruin them. Eventually, he outgrew them, and they were essentially useless. The metaphor was meant to teach the Pigeon Lady that there was no point in her having a heart if she wasn't going to use it because she was too afraid.
However, I interpret this in a lot of ways in life. My mom recently gave me a few diamond rings she'd had locked away in her safe that she previously wouldn't give me because she was afraid I would lose them. My perspective is that if she was going to keep them locked away in the safe forever, then it wouldn't matter if I lost them because they were essentially useless. This reminds me of something Bob Proctor wrote about money in his book You Were Born Rich.
"If you aren't going to use your heart, then what's the difference if it gets broken? If you just keep it to yourself, maybe it'll be like my rollerblades. When you do decide to try it, it won't be any good. You should take a chance. Got nothing to lose,”-Kevin McCallister, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.
He suggested that money is absolutely worthless if you aren't going to use it and instead hoard it in your bank account. So many people miss out on incredible opportunities in life because they're too scared to spend the money to do them. They end up dying with all the money in their bank account, and now, unless someone else inherits it and uses it, it's all absolutely worthless.
Kevin's analogy goes much deeper when applied to the Pigeon Lady's fears of love, but it's something that stands out to me every time I watch Home Alone 2 and I really do believe it can be applied to all areas of life. The best part of Kevin's interaction with the Pigeon Lady is that because he is kind to her, while most people are afraid of her, she shows up with her birds to help him toward the end of the film when he's almost killed by Harry and Marv.
While on the surface, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York may seem like a film about a mischievous child getting into trouble on his own in New York City, the film is about so much more. It's about loneliness and friendship and the importance of family and having someone to spend the holidays with, even if they drive you insane most of the time. I think most people can relate to this when it comes to their families. Home Alone 2 was the perfect way to end Macaulay Culkin's run in the franchise, as I don't think the original cast and filmmakers could ever recreate what they made back in 1992 at Christmastime in New York City.