Credit: Home Alone 2
There are multiple ways to look at holiday movies and one of them that people have taken as a common practice is to subject fictional tales to realism in ways that can turn cute and funny into horrifying and depressing. In reality, these stories would be insanely disturbing if they were broken down into their individual scenes and the likely issues that brought them into being. Home Alone has been a favorite movie to break down in this way for decades now since, as kids, many people enjoyed these movies without any issue since the general thought was that Kevin McCallister was an unfortunate kid who was the youngest in his family and suffered more emotional and psychological abuse than his siblings. At the same time, however, it was seen that this treatment might have damaged Kevin in ways that weren’t readily noticeable until he was pitted against two dim-witted criminals that were subjected to his psychotic but well-intentioned traps that were set to defend his home. While the first movie managed to keep Kevin in the safety and comfort of his own home, the sequel took him well out of his comfort zone into New York City after he was separated from his family. It does appear that a lot of people would gladly state that this set Kevin off in ways that felt comical but were manifestations of a mind that had snapped and was in pure survival mode, which caused him to exhibit the same behaviors that were seen in the first film, but to a much greater degree.
Here are five reasons why Home Alone 2 is a very dark and depressing Christmas tale.
5. Parental neglect continues.
One would think that at least a few issues might have been worked out between Kevin and his parents during the year-long period between the first movie and the second. But instead, Kevin is still disregarded by his family, as the issue with Buzz indicates at the beginning of the movie. The fact that his parents don’t keep him in the middle of their procession through the airport makes it clear that Kevin receives very little attention and the line that his neglect has become a family tradition is even worse. As much as the movie wants people to believe that Kevin’s treatment is an oversight, it comes off as sheer neglect by two parents that had little to no business having so many kids.
4. Kevin has learned how to be a compulsive liar.
It can be stated that Kevin is too smart by half, but part of his natural instinct has taught him how to lie to people convincingly whenever he needs to in order to get his way or get away with whatever is needed at the moment. It’s tough to say that this is completely useless and little more than a problem since it has helped him escape dangerous situations in the past, and it does the same in this movie. But there are other moments when it is seen to get him where he wants and needs to be, but it also ends up promoting dishonesty for personal gain since Kevin doesn’t always suffer many consequences when it comes to his lies.
credit: Home Alone 2
3. The movie kind of highlights depression and then masks it
Kevin’s depression doesn’t really change much since he’s the youngest kid in the family and gets little to no respect, but walking through New York’s seedier streets makes it clear that there are people with serious problems that make Kevin’s life look like a cakewalk. His friend, the Pigeon Lady, is one such example since it becomes very obvious that she needs someone to listen to her and to be there for her, but as a young kid in the Big Apple on his own, Kevin can only give her a limited amount of empathy. But what the movie does manage to do is mask this depression under a facade that is built when she and Kevin become friends, indicating that life will go on as it has been, but it’s a little richer thanks to their bond.
2. Those who aren’t manipulative are incompetent
There’s no doubt that the hotel staff was meant to be comical and ineffective at their jobs, but if this road is going to be traveled, then it needs to be said that, in reality, no one in their right mind would allow a child to check into a luxury hotel on their own. This kind of transaction would absolutely need an adult, and any hotel employee with half a brain would be able to speak to a child in a calm and rational way that would allow them to figure out what was going on and how best to proceed with the situation. But in lieu of realism, one can rely on a comical representation for a few quick and easy laughs.
credit: Home Alone 2
1. Bricks and fire and paint cans…oh my
The traps from the first movie made many people wonder if Kevin was a psychopath in training. But these paled in comparison to the traps in the second movie since the initial trap saw Harry being flung into the air before he landed on a car, which should have killed him. The next injury was incurred by Marv as he was tagged with a few bricks that should have turned his head into mush. Things only got worse from there as the traps became absolutely devilish after a while. In other words, Saw has nothing on Kevin in a few ways.
If one doesn’t take this as a fun, comical holiday movie, it becomes the prelude to a murder trial.
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