"He's up past his bedtime in the city that never sleeps."―Tagline
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (also known as Home Alone: Lost in New York or Home Alone 2) is a 1992 American Christmas family comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. It is the second film in the Home Alone series and the sequel to the original 1990 film Home Alone.
The film stars Macaulay Culkin in the lead role as Kevin McCallister once again, while Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern reprise their roles as the Wet Bandits, Harry and Marv respectively. Catherine O'Hara and John Heard reprise their roles as Kevin's parents. New cast includes Tim Curry, Rob Schneider, Dana Ivey, Brenda Fricker, and Eddie Bracken. Home Alone 3 followed in 1997, Home Alone 4 followed in 2002, and Home Alone: The Holiday Heist followed in 2012; none of these featured any cast from the first two films. Home Sweet Home Alone was released in 2021, with only Devin Ratray returning.
Plot[]
The McCallister house gathering[]
One year after Kevin was mistakenly left at home during the McCallister family's Christmas vacation to Paris, the family gathers at Peter and Kate's home to prepare for their vacation, this time to Miami, Florida. Kevin feels resentful of this trip, as Florida lacks Christmas trees and Kate suggests finding a nice fake silver tree or decorate a palm tree. After Peter unknowingly resets the alarm clock by removing the camcorder battery from its charger, he instructs Kevin to get ready for his school's Christmas pageant. Kevin goes into the bathroom to get his tie as his Uncle Frank sings in the shower, but the latter catches him and angrily says to leave, threatening to "slap him silly."
At the school's Christmas pageant, Buzz humiliates Kevin during his solo in front of the whole audience by using electric candles to illuminate Kevin's ears and also pretending to use them as drumsticks on Kevin's head. This causes a furious Kevin to retaliate against Buzz by delivering a swift punch to him, which in turn causes a domino effect that brings down the entire pageant. A large wooden Christmas tree is knocked over as well, crashing down on the pianist that makes her roll off the platform, and upsetting Peter and Kate with Kate shouting Kevin's name.
The family gathers in the living room to discuss the incident and Buzz "apologizes" to Kevin and the rest of the family, but after Buzz calls him a "little trout sniffer", Kevin angrily refuses to accept Buzz's apology or apologize to Buzz for hitting him. He reiterates his disgust with the family's decision to go to Florida for the holidays as "spending Christmas in a tropical climate", before storming up to the third floor after Peter warns Kevin that if he leaves, he'll be sleeping on the third floor with Fuller. Frank threatens Kevin that he better not ruin his trip with Kevin replying that he wouldn't want to spoil his fun and calling Frank "Mr. Cheapskate", shocking Frank and Buzz replying "What a troubled young man."
As Kevin is in the 3rd floor groaning in frustration about his family, Kate catches up with him and as if she learned nothing from what happened the year before, states that the family had tried to take a trip like this last year and had a similar problem, once again, implying it was Kevin that was responsible for what happened this as well as last year, even though the family forgot Kevin, as well as the fact that Kevin, was once again the victim of Buzz's bullying. Kate also refuses to look at Kevin's side of the story when he tells her that Buzz called "trout sniffer" after his fake apology. Kevin states that he wishes that he had his own money so he could go on his own vacation by himself and have the best time of his life. After Kevin still refuses to apologize to Buzz and doesn't want to go downstairs anyway as he cannot trust anybody in this family, Kate reminds Kevin that his wish to be alone came true the previous year, so his wish to go on vacation alone might come true again this time, to which Kevin replies in an angry, agitated tone, "I hope so."
Rush for the flights[]
The next day, the McCallisters unknowingly oversleep because of Peter accidentally unplugging the alarm clock the night before. They rush through the airport to make their flight with Peter letting Kevin hold his travel bag, and Kevin slows down while getting batteries for his Talkboy as the family continues to rush ahead. As his family makes their flight, Kevin sees a man wearing a similar coat and haircut to Peter and follows him toward a flight to New York City. In the rush, he drops his boarding pass and explains the situation. He is then boarded, unaware that he is on a flight bound for New York. As the plane starts to move, Kevin asks a man sitting next to him if he has ever been to Florida, but the man speaks French in reply, which Kevin does not understand and begins to listen to some music on his Talkboy. This, in turn, causes him to not hear the announcement that the flight is non stop to New York. On the other plane, Peter reassures Kate that they have nothing to worry about during this trip, unaware that Kevin is on another plane.
Both planes land in their respective destinations. Kevin ends up in New York with his father's travel bag and wallet and finally discovers his family are nowhere to be seen, wondering where they could be. In Miami, the family (except for Frank, who was offended of what Kevin had said to him last night) retrieves their luggage and Kevin's travel bag, only to discover that Kevin did not make the trip to Miami, with Peter replying "What?!" causing Kate to scream Kevin's name and faint. The McCallisters then file a report to the Miami Airport police on Kevin's absence as well as mentioning that Kevin was accidentally left at home last year and the police tell the McCallisters they will relay their report to the police in Chicago, thinking he would not be anywhere else. After it is confirmed that he is not in Chicago, the Miami police inform his parents that they will have to be able to contact them. Peter reveals that he does not have his wallet, which contains a family photo and loads of cash, checks, and credit cards and remembers that Kevin was looking for batteries and therefore has his wallet and travel bag. The Miami police states that Kevin can still be tracked down if he tried using one of the credit cards and Kate replies that she does not think Kevin knows how to use a credit card.
New York[]
Kevin looks out the window and discovers he is not in Florida. He soon discovers he is actually in New York City and is alone while his family is in Florida, much to his preference. He engages in sight-seeing around the city. Meanwhile, Harry and Marv have made their way to New York on a fish truck as well, after recently escaping from a prison in Chicago during a riot and plan their next scheme. Marv re-christens them the "Sticky Bandits" after he covers his hand in double-sided tape and steals money from a donation bucket.
On his way to the Plaza Hotel, Kevin encounters a "Pigeon Lady" in Central Park and runs from her. While crossing the street, he bumps into Harry and Marv. Harry sees him briefly, but dismisses it as a figment of his imagination. Marv has a run-in with a Model, who slaps him for touching her purse. Kevin goes to the Plaza Hotel, which he had heard mentioned on a game show the night before, makes a reservation by using his Talkboy to make it sound like an adult and checks in, pretending to be on vacation with his father, using Peter's credit card from his wallet. He asks where the lobby is, and Donald Trump, the hotel's owner, directs him, "Down the hall and to the left."
As he stays over, Kevin discovers an indoor swimming pool and has ice cream as well as food from room service while watching Angels with Even Filthier Souls, a sequel to Angels with Filthy Souls. The film's shooting ultimately startles him. That night, the hotel concierge, Mr. Hector, breaks into the suite, suspicious of Kevin. However, Kevin fends him off by a clown balloon in the shower as Kevin plays a recording he managed to capture of Frank singing in the shower and berating Kevin, causing Hector to flee. Meanwhile, in Miami, the McCallister family reaches the run-down Villa de Dolphiné, which Frank comments did not look as bad on his and Leslie's honeymoon. Kevin looks through his father's address book and finds that his uncle Rob lives there and decides to potentially come by his home as Kevin thinks that he usually brings out nice gifts. Kevin looks out his hotel window and says goodnight to his mother as she does the same in Florida.
The next morning, Kevin goes to the hotel lobby, where Hector apologizes for supposedly walking in on his father's shower. However, Kevin tells him that his father has already left. The hotel provides Kevin a ride through New York in a limousine, as well as his very own cheese pizza, Coca-Cola, and the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas before asking if there are any good toy stores in this city. Back at the hotel, Hector looks through the hotel records and finds that Peter's credit card has been reported stolen, much to his delight. Meanwhile, at an ice skating rink, Marv and Harry discovers an ad on Duncan's Toy Chest and they plan to rob the store, deciding that nobody would expect it.
Kevin arrives at Duncan's Toy Chest as Marv and Harry perform reconnaissance there. While making his purchase, he meets the philanthropist owner, E.F. Duncan, who tells him the proceeds from the store's Christmas sales will go to a local children's hospital. After Kevin donates some money, Mr. Duncan suggests that he take a pair of ceramic turtledoves from the store's Christmas tree as both a gift and a token of appreciation. He then instructs him to keep one and give the other to someone else, as a symbol of friendship, fascinating Kevin. Kevin leaves the store and while looking at his map for directions, runs into Marv and Harry, who then vengefully chase him. During the chase, Kevin manages to lose the bandits by making them slip on necklace beads. He retreats to the Plaza Hotel, but Hector suggests turning Kevin over to the police after discovered the credit card was stolen. Kevin makes a run for it as Hector and other hotel staff give chase while Kevin becomes devastated that he committed credit card fraud. While packing up to leave the hotel and take an available flight to Miami, Kevin fends off the hotel staff by playing Angels with Even Filthier Souls, making them think an armed guest has opened fire in the hotel.
Kevin flees the hotel, only to be recaptured and kidnapped by Marv and Harry. Marv takes his ticket and notes that he is on a round trip to Miami and told him that he got on the wrong plane, and Harry rips his ticket, thus ensuring that Kevin would not get back home to Chicago or to Miami with his family. As they plan to get their revenge on Kevin for sending them to prison, Marv boasts of the plan to rob the toy store, which Kevin secretly records with his Talkboy, and Harry warns Kevin to keep his mouth shut because he has a gun. While waiting at a crosswalk, Kevin gooses the same woman that Marv met the day before, making her strike both Harry and Marv, and, in the process; she allows Kevin to thank her for saving his life before he escapes in the back of a hansom cab and realizes that he wants to go home. The bandits lose him and figure that he is no longer a threat to them, as he had no home in the city.
Kevin is tracked down[]
In Miami, the McCallisters watch a Spanish dub of It's a Wonderful Life, despite their terrible time there because of the rainy weather and them staying at a cheap motel. They suddenly receive word from the police that Kevin has been tracked down in New York via Peter's credit card. Peter asks if they have Kevin, to which they respond in the negative and confirm he is at large. After the police instruct them to find an available flight to New York, Kate instructs the family to pack up and becomes worried that Kevin is now on the run after fleeing the hotel out of fear when questioned about the card. Peter then suggests that Kevin could have taken refuge at Rob and Georgette's house in the care of a housesitter, but Kate thinks they are in Paris, as their New York home is in the process of being renovated.
Upon arrival, the family head to the Plaza Hotel and confront the staff for letting Kevin check into a hotel room by himself and letting him escape after discovering the credit card was stolen as they were about to confront Kevin. The staff offers the family a complimentary suite as a token of apology while Kate decides to go out and look for Kevin herself, despite the protests of Peter and Mr. Hector, the latter whom Kate slaps for letting Kevin escape. He advises her, "Do bundle up. It's awfully cold outside.", which she takes seriously.
Friendship with The Pigeon Lady[]
Using his father's address book, Kevin tracks down the home of his Uncle Rob and Aunt Georgette, only to find it vacant and undergoing renovations, wherein he discovers Rob and Georgette are still abroad in Paris.
While wandering the streets, Kevin gets scared of a muttering lady that coughs, a man looking into a garbage can, a man that bumps into Kevin, making him trip over a scary man, who yells "WATCH IT KID!" and laughs at Kevin while he walks away, and then two ladies that tease Kevin by asking if he's looking for someone to read him a bedtime story, which Kevin tries to ignore. Finally, he meets an intimidating taxi driver when he attempts to get a ride; when the taxi driver turns around, he tells Kevin it's not much better in the taxi, but Kevin is horrified and surprised by the taxi driver's monstrous face, and immediately exits the taxi and flees to the park.
Finally, Kevin goes into Central Park, and says that he wishes never to take a vacation like he is by himself again, since he's now on the streets without a place to stay and unsure of what else to do. He barely has any food to survive but manages to eat one of the chocolate chip cookies he took from the Plaza Hotel, and he eats some until a few birds show up, sharing some of the cookie with them. But after the birds eats all his cookie, he encounters the Pigeon Lady again. He begins screaming and he attempts to run, only get his foot stuck in a crack; she frees him while he still screams. He finally has the chance of running away, but slows down for a moment, realizing to think to himself that he should not run after someone helps him. Kevin decides on going back and apologizing for being scared and screaming at her and admits that she was only trying to help him; he tells her if he's bothering her, he'd be happy to leave. The Pigeon Lady responds in the negative and would like someone keeping her company. Kevin complains about the weather being so cold and treats the Pigeon Lady to some hot chocolate, his treat, and she's blessed with his invite. The two leave Central Park while Kevin asks to go somewhere warm and the Pigeon Lady says she knows the perfect place to warm up.
The two watch a Christmas concert in a loft above Carnegie Hall, where the Pigeon Lady tells Kevin about how her life has fallen apart and how she dealt with it by taking care of the pigeons in the park, leading to her current distraught and homeless state. He promises to be someone she can trust, and she says he should not be making promises if he could not keep them.
Operation Ho Ho Ho[]
As Kevin leaves and takes to the streets again, he goes by the children's hospital and sees a sick child, giving him a look of compassion. Remembering what Mr. Duncan and Marv said earlier that day, Kevin decides to prevent the bandits from robbing the store, and rushes back to Uncle Rob and Aunt Georgette's home where Kevin uses renovation materials to set up a series of booby traps throughout the home.
Kevin arrives at the toy store in the middle of the robbery, sets up a makeshift seesaw from a board and bucket, and photographs Harry and Marv in the process of the robbery before setting off the store's security alarm by throwing a brick tied with a note to Mr. Duncan through the store's window. Harry then runs out the window and steps on one end of the seesaw, but before he can warn Marv not to jump on the other end, Marv jumps on and sends Harry flying into the air and causing him to painfully land on the roof of a parked car nearby. The duo chase Kevin to Uncle Rob's house wherein they ask him to just throw down his camera and they promise not to hurt him. Knowing that what they said is a trick, Kevin throws four bricks at Marv from the rooftop.
The duo split up, with Harry going to the back and Marv heading for the front door. After limping on the staircase, Marv pulls on the knob, unaware it is attached to a rope tied to a staple gun on the other end before it fires into his buttocks, groin, and nose. He removes the staples and kicks the door open, but then falls through the open floor and lands in the basement. As he recovers, he tries to find a way upstairs after seeing a rope but steps on a floor covered with Monster Sap soap, causing him to slip and slide into a shelf of paint cans, which fall on top of him. A paint-covered Marv frees himself from the shelf and goes to a nearby sink to wash himself off, but Kevin has hooked it up to an arc welder, giving Marv an electric shock. Reaching the hall with a rope, Marv attempts to climb it but ends up pulling down a hundred-pound weight bag of cement mix onto his head.
Harry tries getting into the home via the fire escape, but falls after leaping on the ladder's bottom rung made slippery with Monster Sap soap. He kicks open the side door, causing a bag of tools with its contents to fall on his head. When he recovers, he cautiously makes his way through the house and turns on each light switch. But as he enters the bathroom, he activates a switch which triggers a blowtorch, setting his head on fire. He puts it out in a toilet bowl that happens to be filled with gasoline, causing an explosion in the house's first floor.
As Harry checks his teeth after the explosion, Marv climbs a stack of furniture to try and get back on the upper floor. As he reaches the top, the stack falls down, leaving him hanging. Kevin moves past them and Harry tries to follow him up a ladder, which breaks under his weight. Marv climbs the rest of the way up and goes to Harry's aid.
The bandits reunite at this point and go up the stairs, dodging paint cans since they realize that this happened the previous time they tried to catch Kevin. However, they do not expect an sewer pipe that Kevin swings at them, hitting them, sending them back into the basement, where the bar lands on them again after Kevin cuts the rope holding it in place. They make their way out with another stack of furniture. As Kevin torments them, they reach the second floor and try the set of stairs to the third floor. The doorknob pulls down a tool chest that crushes them and breaks the door off its hinges in the process.
Kevin goes to the roof and climbs down a rope. The bandits reach the roof by the time Kevin climbs down to the sidewalk and Marv tries throwing a brick at Kevin, which he dodges. They climb down the rope, initially unaware Kevin soaked it with kerosene, lights it on fire, causing them to fall through a scaffold and get splattered with varnish. Kevin uses a pay phone to report the robbery and bandits' location to the police, telling them to "look for fireworks."
Bandits' Defeat[]
Kevin flees, but the bandits catch him when he slips on a patch of ice. Taking the opportunity to settle their score with Kevin, they bring him to a secluded part of Central Park and plan to take their revenge by shooting him. Just in time, the Pigeon Lady intervenes, and Harry tries to shoot her instead, but his pistol turns out to be jammed from the varnish that coated them earlier. She pelts the bandits with a bucket full of birdseed, prompting pigeons to swoop down on them and swarm them. Kevin flees and sets off fireworks that he bought earlier to signal the police, who arrest the bandits and discover Kevin's photographs and tape recording to use as evidence against them.
At the toy store, while the police recover all the stolen money and tell Mr. Duncan that they arrested the thieves, recovered all of the money and agree to immediately send it to the hospital; a detective finds Kevin's note and gives it to Mr. Duncan, who discovers Kevin's role in catching the bandits and saving his store, much to his delight.
Reconciliation and reunion[]
Kate looks for Kevin in Times Square and informs two police officers that Kevin has been missing for two days. While speaking with them, she remembers Kevin's fondness for Christmas trees and requests a ride to Rockefeller Center. As Kevin wishes for his mother to return, Kate's intuition proves correct, as she then observes Kevin in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The two embrace and apologize to each other before returning to the Plaza as Kate explains that, like Kevin, the family didn't like the palm trees in Florida either.
By Christmas morning, the toy store delivers a truckload of gifts to the Plaza Hotel as a reward for Kevin foiling the robbery. Fuller wakes everyone up and they dash to the upper floor to see the presents in the drawing room. Before everyone opens the presents, Buzz makes a speech declaring that they wouldn't be in the suite with the tree and gifts if it hadn't been for Kevin getting on the wrong flight. Thus, he decides to let Kevin open up the first present as a sign of reconciliation. The McCallisters then open their presents.
While everyone else is opening their presents, Kevin runs out into Central Park to give the Pigeon Lady one of the two turtledoves Mr. Duncan gave him and reaffirms his promise to be her friend. They smile at each other and then embrace.
Shortly after, Kevin's room service bill from his original stay at the hotel is delivered to the suite. Buzz receives and examines it, seeing it has come to a total of $967.43. He then shows it to Peter, who then suddenly yells, "Kevin! You spent $967 on room service?!" prompting Kevin to immediately run back to the hotel.
Cast[]
- Macaulay Culkin as Kevin
- Joe Pesci as Harry
- Daniel Stern as Marv
- Catherine O'Hara as Kate
- John Heard as Peter
- Devin Ratray as Buzz
- Hillary Wolf as Megan
- Maureen Elisabeth Shay as Linnie
- Michael C. Maronna as Jeff
- Gerry Bamman as Uncle Frank
- Terrie Snell as Aunt Leslie
- Jedidiah Cohen as Rod
- Senta Moses as Tracy
- Daiana Campeanu as Sondra
- Kieran Culkin as Fuller
- Anna Slotky as Brooke
- Tim Curry as Mr. Hector
- Brenda Fricker as Pigeon Lady
- Eddie Bracken as Mr. Duncan
- Dana Ivey as Ms. Stone
- Rob Schneider as Cedric the Bellman
- Leigh Zimmerman as Fashion Model
- Ralph Foody as Johnny
- Clare Hoak as Johnny’s gangster dame girlfriend, Carlotta
- Monica Devereux as Hotel Operator
- Bob Eubanks as Ding-Dang-Dong Host
- Rip Taylor as Celeb #1
- Jaye P. Morgan as Celeb #2
- Jimmie Walker as Celeb #3
- Patricia Devereux and Aimee Devereux as Contestants
- A.M. Columbus as Skycap O'Hare #1
- Joe Liss as Skycap O'Hare #2
- Teri McEvoy as Agent #3 - NY Gate/O'Hare
- Ally Sheedy as Ticket Agent (New York)
- Harry Hutchinson as Ticket Taker
- Clarke P. Devereux as Ticket Taker
- Sandra Macat as Flight Attendant
- Venessa Valentino as Flight Attendant
- Andre Lachaumette as Man on Plane
- Rick Shafer as Peter Look Alike
- Rod Sell as Officer Bennett
- Ron Canada as Cop in Times Square
- Cedric Young as Cop in Central Park
- William Dambra as Arresting Cop in Central Park #1
- Mark Morettini as Arresting Cop in Central Park #2
- Fred Krause as Officer Cliff
- James Cole as the Security Guard
- Donald Trump as himself
- Warren Rice as Doorman
- Thomas Civitano as Plaza Marketing Director
- Daniel Dassin as Waiter
- Donna Black as Health Club Woman
- Abdoulaye N'Gom as Bead Vendor
- Peter Pantaleo as Airport Van Driver
- Michael Hansen as Airport Van Driver
- Michael Goldfinger as Limo Driver
- Mario Todisco as Cab Driver
- Clarke Devereux as Evidence Specialist
- Anthony Cannata as Sergeant in Toy Store
- Eleanor Columbus as Little Girl in Toy Store
- Karen Giordano as Streetwalker #1
- Fran McGee as Streetwalker #2
- Leonard Tepper as Sleeping Man
- Kevin Thomas as Geeky Kid
- Al Cerullo as Helicopter Pilot
Edited for Television[]
When aired on Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Fox, NBC, AMC or ABC Family/Freeform, some scenes were edited like:
- Same thing as original film: Kevin says "I'm down here, you morons!" and "I'm down here, you idiots!" instead of his original line "I'm down here, you big horses' ass!"
- Marv shouts "YOU KID!" and then attempts to throw a brick down to Kevin, instead of "SUCK BRICK, KID!!!"
- Kevin says "Yeah, with me being beat up on" instead of "Yeah, with me getting crapped on".
- When Fox Studios and ABC Family/Freeform aired the movie in 2001 after 9/11, the scene featuring Kevin on the top of the World Trade Center and Twin Towers is edited out to avoid association with the September 11 attacks, out of respect for the victims. However, the scenes with the World Trade Center have been since been restored.
- The television version has about 20 minutes of the film cut out in small instances to run in the time slot of 2 hours plus commercials as the film is exactly 2 hours long. For the full version to be aired on TV, it would probably last 2 and a half hours.
- The scene where Marv is hit with the last three bricks was cut, showing only the scene where Marv is hit with the first brick. In addition, the scene where Marv gets stapled three times, removes the staple from his nose, and the tool chest scene are also cut. These scenes have since been fully restored.
- In December 2019, the scene featuring Donald Trump was removed in Canadian broadcasts.
- The scene where Kevin is spreading out the blueprint plan for Operation Ho. Ho. Ho. The setup scene is cut out entirely and cuts to Kevin taking a wood plank and cans down the sidewalk.
- The scene with the tour guide speaking French and the song "Christmas All Over Again" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was removed due to the death of lead singer Tom Petty in 2017.
Trivia[]
- The only Home Alone film to have the majority of the cast from the previous film reprising their roles. Devin Ratray later returned again in the sixth film, Home Sweet Home Alone.
- The Murphys (the McCallisters' neighbors) in the previous film also went to Florida. However, they went to Orlando while the McCallisters (minus Kevin) in this film went to Miami.
- There is a cut seen in the original release, that shows Kevin change the battery's in his talk boy to slow down the playback of the recording of his voice, this was edited out of all future releases. This appears to be because the talk boy was not initially planned to be made available as film merchandise when the film debuted, the one that Macaulay Culkin used was just a prop and was non functional. To complement the script and to make it more authentic, a slow speed playback mode was made part of the production Talk Boy and was a heavily promoted feature, hence the reason for the editing out of the battery scene.
- In the first movie, Harry is shown to have the intelligence to do things like pose as a cop in order to obtain information about security of neighborhood homes and also control neighborhood Christmas lights. In this film, he also devises a plan use the toy house at Duncan's Toy Chest as a way of hiding in the store after it closes in order avoid entering it from the outside and setting off alarms in the process. However, Harry is revealed to be actually more dimwitted than the master thief expert he presents himself as and even claimed that he never made it to the sixth grade. However, he appears to be still smarter than Marv.
- The first Home Alone film to feature a recast character: Angela Goethals is replaced by Maureen Elisabeth Shay as Linnie.
- This is the first Home Alone movie to feature the main protagonist's school (and most likely also his siblings'), being shown during the Christmas pageant scene.
- American Airlines returns as product placements.
- Michael Jackson visited Macaulay Culkin on set.
- 20th Century Fox distributed the movie at the time it was released. Coincidentally, then-Fox television show The Simpsons would later predict Donald Trump's presidency in the year 2000, eight years after he made a cameo in the film.
- Home Alone and this film both featured scenes from How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966).
- While Harry says "Merry Christmas", Marv says "Happy Hanukkah", which implies that he is Jewish.
- This is the first Home Alone movie where the child is not at his actual house, before Home Alone 4.
- Alone Again was the working title of this movie.[1]
- In some dubs of the scene where Marv yells "HARRY, I'VE REACHED THE TOP!" retained his scream when falling in the original English dub of the movie, noticeably being the Chinese dub, Spanish dub, French dub, and some other dubs while some dubs like the Hindi dub, Japan dub, Hungarian dub, and some dubs dubbed the scream. In the Italian, French, and Czech dub of the scene had an echo effect added in, it was added most likely making the scene more realistic as the house was abandoned.
- The scene where the McCallisters are at Miami International Airport was actually shot at Los Angeles International Airport.
- Two U.S. Presidents are referenced in this movie: Donald Trump and Herbert Hoover. Trump is briefly seen when Kevin asks for the lobby in The Plaza Hotel and Hoover is mentioned during one of the scenes in Kevin's hotel room.
- One landmark visited by Kevin was the World Trade Center's South Tower, where he visits its observation deck. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, all World Trade Center scenes were cut for TV airings. These were since restored in future broadcasts.
- Macaulay Culkin was paid $4.5 million to star in this movie, the biggest paycheck ever to an 11-year-old kid.
- This movie was actually shot at the Plaza in a Central Park suite. The phone number given for the Plaza in the movie was an actual working number.
- All of the children who appeared in the toy store scene were allowed to take their favorite toy home as part of their salary. While it did not actually work, Macaulay Culkin was allowed to keep the Talkboy.
- The only Home Alone film to feature real snow. A snow machine was used for certain scenes but a blizzard engulfed the set before the shoot, providing more snow than anticipated.
- Several of the cameras froze during production of the film because of the extreme cold surroundings following the aforementioned blizzard.
- The swimming pool scene was shot at the Four Seasons in Chicago, Illinois since the Plaza Hotel does not have a swimming pool located on-site.
- The first film to use fireworks as a signal to the police to locate the villains and also the first film to feature the villain with a firearm and gunshots. These elements will be used in Home Alone 3.
- The only difference is that Kevin lights the fireworks by himself while the Pruitt family parrot does this in the sequel. In the case of firearms, Lost in New York had the villain (Harry) fail to pull the trigger as the gun is soaked in varnish, with a police officer firing a shot from his own pistol instead to frighten the pigeons, whereas the third film showed the gunfire from the villains themselves, though they misfire their weapons after triggering the traps.
- In Home Alone, Kevin watches a movie called Angels with Filthy Souls. In this sequel, he watches that film's sequel, Angels with Even Filthier Souls.
- Entertainment Weekly had a doctor analyze what the actual effects of the injuries to Harry and Marv would be. Bricks to the face would have caused "at best, brain damage, at worst, death."
- After one scene, Macaulay Culkin asked Joe Pesci why he never smiled. Pesci told him to shut up. At the time, Pesci said, "He's pampered a lot by a lot of people, but not me. And I think he likes that."
- Kevin's room service bill indicates that he ordered two chocolate cakes, six chocolate mousses with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream topped with M&Ms, chocolate sprinkles, cherries, nuts, marshmallows, caramel syrup, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, whipped cream, and bananas, six custard flans, a pastry cart, eight strawberry tarts, and 36 chocolate-covered strawberries.
- A real version of the Talkboy, the tape recorder Kevin plays with in the movie, was created by Tiger Electronics shortly after the film's release, along with its pink-and-purple counterpart, the Talkgirl.
- The scene where the Frenchman speaks with Kevin in French on board the plane is translated into Spanish on the DVD's French audio setting.
- The airport scenes were exponentially more difficult to shoot than the first film, because not only did they have to stay operational during filming, but Macaulay Culkin's new-found celebrity required extra protection for him from fans and paparazzi.
- Director Chris Columbus admits on the audio commentary for Home Alone that this film was "to some extent" a remake of the first film.
- The hotel operator with whom Kevin makes a reservation while pretending to be his father is played by Chris Columbus' wife, Monica Devereux. She previously appeared in the first film as a flight attendant on the Chicago-Paris flight. Her daughter Eleanor Columbus, appeared as a baby on the plane in the first film and a little girl in Duncan's Toy Chest in this film.
- Hector tripping on a coffee table while fleeing the suite after being scared off by Kevin was not in the script. Tim Curry actually tripped on the furniture and the director saw it as a funny scene, deciding to leave it in the final cut.
- The inflatable Bozo the Clown toy which Kevin uses to impersonate an adult singing and dancing in the shower in order to fend off Hector is an allusion to Tim Curry's character, killer clown Pennywise, from the 1990 miniseries adoption of the Stephen King novel, IT.
- Sandra Macat, who appeared as Santa's Elf in the prequel, returns in the movie, playing an airport agent helping the McCallisters board the plane to Miami.
- The toy store - "Duncan's Toy Chest" - is named after the executive producer Duncan Henderson. The toy store itself is the film's version of an actual New York City store, FAO Schwarz. The exterior of the store is that of the Rookery Building in downtown Chicago, Illinois.
- The carpeting was removed from The Plaza lobby for one scene so that Macaulay Culkin could slip and slide on the floor. Then-Plaza owner Donald Trump liked it so much and ordered that it be left that way following production.
- John Candy was at one point going to do a cameo in this movie.
- The address of Rob McCallister's house being renovated is 51 West 95th Street. This address is on the Upper West Side, a half-block from Central Park.
- In the original film, Marv says "Kids are a-scared of the dark." In the sequel, he says almost the same line when Kevin goes into Central Park, changing only one letter and saying "Kids are a-scared of the park."
- Macaulay Culkin's younger brother, Kieran Culkin, played the role of the bed-wetting cousin, Fuller, in both films.
- Not once during the original film or this film do Harry and Marv ever address Kevin by name. They did not have the need to do so despite the fact that they only knew the names of his parents from the details of the first film. The bag that Kevin is holding in front of Duncan's Toy Chest only has the last name and initial on it.
- McDonald's made Happy Meal commercials themed with the movie, after its unsuccessful Batman Returns (1992) market, earlier that same year.
- Macaulay Culkin was living with his family in Manhattan at the time of production.
- Catherine O'Hara was worried that her character was not trying hard enough to find Kevin. Scenes were added to show her concern. O'Hara said she practiced her "guilty-sad" face at home.
- Coca-Cola products make several appearances in the film, including in the scene where Kevin rides a limousine, and when Kevin's cousin Fuller wakes up at the Plaza Hotel. In the first film, Pepsi products appeared.
- The tape recording used as evidence against the bandits is a TDK C-90 Type II tape.
- Two props place the film in December 1992:
- The ledger at the Plaza Hotel has this date.
- The issue of the New York Post that Harry has when he reveals to Marv his plan to rob Duncan's Toy Chest is dated December 24, 1992.
- In the first film, when Marv steps on the Christmas ornaments bare-footed while sneaking through Kevin's living room window, he says "I'm gonna kill that kid!" angrily, but in this movie when he is struck by a 100-pound cement and covered in it (which causes even more damage), he says "I'm gonna murder that kid." in a calmer tone.
- This is the second and last Home Alone movie to use the 1981 20th Century Fox logo. It is also the only Home Alone movie to use the long version of the 1981 20th Century Fox logo.
- This film, along with Home Alone and Home Alone 3, are the only three movies to be shot in an open matte of 1.14:1 for 35mm uncropped film scan prints.
- This film marks the last film appearance to date of Hilary Wolf, who portrays Megan McCallister.
- Kristin Minter (Heather) does not appear in the film.
Goofs[]
- The man giving Kevin ice cream asks him if he wants 2 scoops, but Kevin asks for 3 scoops, but looking closely that the man was already giving him 3 scoops while he was asking Kevin if he wanted 2 scoops.
- In O'Hare Airport, the Peter McCallister look-alike is seen purchasing at a kiosk with March 1992 issues of "Cosmopolitan", "Good Housekeeping", "Glamour", and "Vogue" magazines visible. The film is set in December 1992 (this is established by the Plaza Hotel ledger when the concierge runs Peter's credit card).
- When Kevin and the bird lady go to Carnegie Hall where she lives, a different song was dubbed over the ones the violinists played when the camera shot the orchestra. You can tell by the bow movements and bow direction changes.
- Near the end of the movie when all the kids are in the penthouse room, Buzz yells to try to quiet everyone down. He then blows on his fingers to whistle to get everyone's attention but only a faint raspberry blowing sound is made. In the next shot, everyone is paying attention to him.
- Immediately following the scene with the pigeon lady in the concert hall attic, Kevin walks toward the railing and a boom mic is visible as a reflection in the window to the left of the screen.
- When Kevin records the phony message of his father booking a reservation at the Plaza Hotel, he never says the dates for check-in and checkout, and the reservation lady never asks for them either.
- (possibly intentional) Harry tells Kevin to throw down his camera and they'll leave him alone. But Kevin's camera is a Polaroid that prints out the pictures as they're taken, so he could throw down the camera, but he'd still have the incriminating photos.
- When Kevin is trying to lure Harry and Marv into the house, he is seen crawling up the garbage chute. The chute was placed in a vertical position; therefore it would have been impossible for Kevin to crawl up it.
- The flight attendant on Kevin's flight as well as the announcer at O'Hare Airport announce Kevin's flight as simply going to "New York" with no specifics of which airport it is. Since New York has two airports, LaGuardia and JFK (three if you count Newark), a professional airline employee would make sure to announce the correct airport especially in a multi-airport metro area like New York.
- At the Plaza Hotel, Kevin asks Donald Trump where the lobby is located. Trump responds it is down the hall and to the left, but Kevin turns right and arrives at the lobby.
- The recording of Uncle Frank singing in the shower is much longer when Kevin plays it back in the Plaza Hotel. We hear what was sung before and after Kevin began and ended the recording (Kevin didn't start recording the song until Uncle Frank was halfway through. When Kevin played the song in the hotel bathroom, the whole song right from the beginning was on the cassette).
- When Kevin is on the bed in the hotel room, you see the butler scooping ice cream into the banana split boat, then the butler asks Kevin, "How many scoops would you like, sir?" and the banana split boat is empty, and the butler starts to fill it up.
- Kevin chases who he thinks is his dad through the airport and eventually bumps into the lady at the gate and drops his plane ticket which is lost amongst the ones the lady dropped. Later in the film when he leaves the hotel and bumps into Marv and Harry, they find Kevin's ticket on the inside of his coat; this is not possible seeing as he lost it earlier in the film.
- When Kevin first runs into Marv and Harry outside the toy store, he drops his map and magnifying glass on the pavement. When he later runs away, these items are not there.
- At the airport, Kevin has his father's bag as he boards the plane for New York City. Then it is by his own bag showing up at the baggage claim, in Florida, that Kevin's family realizes he's not with them. So, he wouldn't have had the inflatable clown with him to use in the Plaza as a ruse in the shower. It wasn't in his father's carry-on bag, so it would've been in Kevin's bag that went to Florida.
- In the first film, it was established that Kevin was 8 years old. Here, he mentions that he is 10 years old even though only a year passed between both films. It's possible that he could have silently turned 9 in the first film or lied about his age in this film. What's more, Kevin is said to be 9 years old in the original script.
- As Kevin approaches the bathroom where Uncle Frank is taking a shower, the bathroom door is only open a few inches, but immediately after that, the reverse shot from inside the bathroom shows the door shut until Kevin opens it.
- The statue gets broken off its base by the second airport van, only to be reattached and unbroken in later scenes.
- When Kevin is recording Uncle Frank singing in the bathroom, he runs out and closes the door before Frank says, "Oh, you're cooking, Frankie".
- Later when Kevin is playing the same recording in the hotel bathroom, we still hear Frank saying this, when it should have been cut out.
- When Kevin is watching the movie in the hotel room, there is a man making him an ice cream sundae. We see the sundae first completed with three scoops of ice cream, and the scene changes to another angle of Kevin on the bed. The attendant asks him how many scoops, and there is only one in the dish.
- When Kevin is recording the Plaza Hotel commercial with his Talkboy and it says the toll-free number, Peter walks in and asks about the battery for the camcorder, overlapping it; yet when Kevin plays it back at the hotel, Peter's voice is not included on it.
- When the camera is moving towards Marv like the bag of cement would, the falling rope is not visible in front of Marv like in the previous shot.
- When Kevin punches Buzz at the Christmas pageant, he starts out with a closed fist in the first shot, but then makes contact with an open hand in the second.
- When Harry and Marv are at the skating rink, Marv puts on the earmuffs, and his hair is pulled back under them. In the next shot, his hair is all muffled up again.
- Marv kicks the front door open and falls down the giant hole. On the stairs where Marv and Harry fooled Kevin into thinking that they got hit by the paint cans, the front door is closed.
- The front door is also closed before the paint can scene when Harry goes to the bathroom to turn on the light.
- As the McCallisters are running through the O'Hare terminal, an announcement about the flight to New York being in the final boarding process can be heard, with the flight's number given as 226. However, just after Kevin boards the flight to New York, the flight attendant says the flight's number is 176. Then, when we see a shot of the airport's radar shortly thereafter, the flight's number is 226 again.
- In the original film, when Harry burned his hand on the red-hot doorknob, he grabbed the doorknob with his hand sideways, as if he were shaking hands with someone. In the scene when Harry and Marv meet Kevin on the street in NYC, Harry shows Kevin his hand, and the 'M' scar is positioned vertically.
- When Marv and Harry come out of the toy store and begin to chase Kevin, Kevin stops to get a pearl necklace to trip the sticky bandits up. He breaks the necklace apart, and a small number of pearls falls off. When Marv and Harry slip on the pearls, tons more appear than the ones before.
- When Harry crashes down on top of the car, his hands are laid out above his head, but in the next shot of him, they are down at his sides.
- At the airport, the exterior shot of the plane flown to New York is shown as a Boeing 767–200, which, unlike the 400 series 767, lacks a middle door. When Kevin enters the plane, it is clearly a Boeing 757, evidenced by its single aisle and the door between first class and coach through which he entered, which even then magically becomes an Airbus A300 cabin with the different overhead bin designs that did not exist on Boeing aircraft at the time. American has also never flown 767s or A300s between Chicago and LaGuardia.
- When Kate gets up to yell at Kevin at the stalled Christmas pageant, she and Peter get up together, but in the next shot only Kate rises to yell Kevin's name.
- In a long shot of the house the morning the family leaves, there is no bronze statue near the front doorsteps. But when the vans arrive, the second one hits the bronze statue near the doorsteps, which was not there in the previous shot.
- In the long shot of Kevin riding in the taxi on the Queensboro Bridge he is wearing gloves, but in the close-up, he is not.
- When Kevin wants to go home, he quickly grabs a few cookies from the cabinet to take with him. Then he throws them onto the bed close together; in the next shot, they are spaced out.
- When Kevin throws four bricks at Marv, they are shown landing on the sidewalk. Later when Marv gets up, three of them are in the street.
- The bag of stolen money changes moves between shots when Marv is getting hit by the bricks.
- Marv pulls the front doorknob, and the knob comes loose with several feet of string attached to it. He pulls it tightly with his back against the door and we hear the first staple shot. It's impossible for Marv to do a 180-degree turn and not hear the second shot.
- Just before sliding into the shelves of paint, Marv leaves several footprints in the soap. As he slides on the floor, the soap is undisturbed except for Marv's handprints.
- At the top of the stairs, the tool chest wheels (two fixed and two rotating) are all facing sideways. Before it falls, all the wheels including the fixed wheels are facing forward.
- After Cedric collides with Hector and Stone while chasing Kevin, a side-on shot shows him starting to get up, but a moment later he is lying on the floor unconscious.
- Kevin climbs the ladder, it shows a backward "L" cut section, when Harry climbs the ladder, it shows an upright "L" cut section.
- The limousine driver's accent appears to change from English to New York in-between scenes.
- When Kevin lights the rope on fire and turns to run away, a crew member is visible through the window.
- When Harry and Marv run out of the toy store's broken window, near the end of the movie, there are several shots of them where you can see into the store behind them. In one of these shots, you can see a person's left shoulder move behind a display on the left side of the screen (the person is wearing a heavy green jacket).
- Orange wire visible for 2 or 3 frames, when Harry falls onto the car.
- Lighting equipment can be seen on one of the car's windows.
- When Kevin is sitting at LaGuardia Airport, he is looking at the Manhattan skyline. You cannot see that view of the city from that airport.
- When Kevin arrives at LaGuardia airport, he arrives at gate G6. There is no G wing at LaGuardia Airport, plus the lettering style is the same as it was at O'Hare, indicating that it was in fact filmed at O'Hare.
- When Kevin gets in the limo at the Plaza Hotel, he asks the driver if he knows of any good toy stores, and he's driven to Duncan's Toy Chest. However, the Plaza Hotel is directly across the street from FAO Schwarz (on which Duncan's Toy Chest was based), so Kevin needed to only look outside and wouldn't have had to be driven anywhere.
- When Kevin goes swimming at the Plaza, it is a different hotel. The Plaza Hotel doesn't have a swimming pool.
- Buzz is in the 11th grade, Kevin the 7th. There is no way that Buzz would be in the same school at the same time as Kevin. Buzz would be in high school while Kevin would be in Junior high. Thus, there's no way Buzz would be in the same Christmas play as Kevin.
- When Kevin takes a picture of Harry and Marv robbing the toy store, his pictures were clear at the end of the film. That type of camera has an instant flash and would have made a blinding reflection off the toy shop window, revealing nothing in the finished picture other than a flash of light with a black background - not a clear picture of them.
- When Kevin followed a man thinking it was his dad, a flight attendant lets him into the plane asking if that man was his dad. In reality, the flight attendant wouldn't let a minor on the plane with someone they don't know very well as they would have to suggest waiting for his parents to get him. Therefore, he wouldn't have been able to travel to New York.
- When running through the airport, a Marine in uniform walks by in the background. The Marine is in service alphas with enlisted rank on his sleeve, his cover has a quatrefoil on it, a uniform piece worn only by officers.
- Giving out tickets to each child and/or adult in the car en route to the airport would require that each person check in on their own, including minors, which is impossible, let alone on an international flight (and was at the time of filming, long before online check-in). Instead, Kate should have to check all children in, with their passports, and then give everyone their boarding passes.
- When Kevin goes to the front desk to check in, the desk clerk takes Peter's credit card. By regular standards, the clerk should have asked for some form of I.D., or in this case, given the fact Kevin is a minor, she should've called the police instead.
- At Central Park where the pigeons are feeding on Marv and Harry, Kevin lights fireworks that do not scare the birds away. However, when the police come, they fire one shot in the air which scares all the birds away.
- In spite of all the commotion caused during "Operation: Ho Ho Ho" (i.e. Marv getting hit with bricks in the street, a large kerosene explosion on the second floor, and the hail of varnish cans out by the front patio), none of the neighbors seemed concerned enough to call the police.
- It seems highly unlikely that the entire family managed to get a last-minute flight from Miami to New York on Christmas Eve as this would be an incredibly busy time, hence their difficulty in getting back from Paris in the first film.
- Kevin does not seem to recognize New York City given he could see the Empire State Building which is one of the symbols of the city.
- When the tool chest pushes the door Marv and Harry have their ears pressed against, the long shot clearly reveals that they are standing on a skateboard as they are pushed backwards.
- A black wire of some sort can be clearly seen connected to the staple that hits Marv's nose.
- Makeup is visible before the first brick hits Marv.
- The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox even when Donald Trump appeared in it. Coincidentally, the company television affiliate 20th Century Television was also airing The Simpsons at the time. The show subsequently predicts Trump's presidency.
- When Kevin uses the inflatable clown like a puppet, the strings are thick enough; they should leave shadows like the clown does, but they don't.
- When Kevin buys then breaks apart the beads, it is clear in the close-up that an older pair of hands is doing the breaking.
- When Kevin is sawing the ladder, he is sawing it front to back. Later when Harry climbs the ladder, the sawed portion (back side of ladder) shows it was sawed side to side.
- In the scene where Marv and Harry are hastily climbing down the rope to catch Kevin, and Kevin then sets it on fire to buy him some time, prior to when they let go in the long shot, the rope is clearly not attached to the building.
- Indentations are visible on Marv's nose right before the staple hits him.
- The Roman candles that Kevin lights in the park are not remotely capable of firing projectiles of the size and intensity shown.
- When Marv is getting hit by the falling cement, his mouth doesn't move when he says "uh-oh".
- After the first brick hits Marv, Harry holds up three fingers and asks Marv how many fingers he is holding up. From Marv's dazed vision, there appears to be six, but Marv says Harry is holding up eight fingers.
- In the gangster film Angels with Even Filthier Souls which Kevin watches, when Johnny fires at Carlotta (his girlfriend) the first row of gunshots last much longer when he later plays it to trick the hotel staff.
- Originally in the gangster film, after Johnny urges Carlotta to prove she loves him he tells her he believes her and we hear Carlotta breathing a sigh of relief, before telling her he's going to let her go. Later when Kevin uses the film to trick the hotel staff, by fast forwarding past Carlotta's lines, towards the end he replays the scene and wrongly leaves the tape running when Johnny tells Carlotta he believes her. Since Kevin ran out and left it playing at the wrong moment we should have heard Carlotta's sigh of relief after that line of Johnny's (which would have got the staff suspicious), but it strangely isn't heard.
- Kevin tells the bird lady that they're going out for hot chocolate making it his treat, but when they leave Central Park, they go to the attic of Carnegie Hall instead and have no hot chocolate on them leading the bird lady to pick the place keeping warm.
Gallery[]
External links[]
Home Alone franchise | |
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Films | Home Alone • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York • Home Alone 3 • Home Alone 4 • Home Alone: The Holiday Heist • Home Sweet Home Alone |
Novelizations | Home Alone • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (Todd Strasser) • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (A.L. Singer) • Home Alone 3 |
YouTube | :DRYVRS: Just Me In The House By Myself • Home Alone Wet Bandit Resurfaces and Responds to Kevin MacCalister's Threatening Video • Home Alone Again with the Google Assistant |
Soundtracks | Home Alone • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York • Home Alone 3 |
Video games | Home Alone • Home Alone 2 • Home Alone (2006) |