Family chaos at the start is enjoyable: Pesci shows up in the cop uniform, the Little Nero's pizza guy is introduced, Kevin is set up as a brat, and the chaos makes it plausible he gets left behind.
Kevin shopping is a favorite: shoplifting the toothbrush, the coupon trip and sassy cashier exchange at the supermarket, and the Michael Jordan party he runs like a marionette.
Kate and John Candy's polka king at the airport is a loved moment.
Kevin's talk with the fake Santa is a low-key favorite; the actor is recognized from Armageddon and Groundhog Day, and the "you work for him" fake-out is praised as great writing.
The church choir scene where the old neighbor explains his estrangement is the most holiday-centric moment and more affecting than remembered.
The final robbery is a 22-minute tour de force of physical comedy that prefigures later torture-horror films; the reunion with O'Hara's arrival and the siblings' 30 seconds of interest is note perfect.
The most obvious choice is the pizza delivery scared off by the movie Kevin plays ("Keep the change, you filthy animal").
The opening's child-POV chaos sets the tone, and the setup for leaving Kevin behind (storm knocking out the alarm, the neighbor kid being counted, the pre-9/11 airport rush) is cleverly written and realistic.
O'Hara and John Heard on the plane working out what they forgot, ending in the scream of Kevin's name, is one of the most iconic moments; the kids flying in coach is funny.
Kevin's first day home alone indulging kid fantasies (jumping on the bed, a giant sundae, Angels with Filthy Souls) is a favorite and sets up his parallel with the mom. — Mina Kimes
The last robbery with paint cans is called the normie choice; the group leans toward earlier scenes, then goes with the pizza scene, which kids used to copy.

What’s Aged the Best?

Suburban Chicago; sibling interactions

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 00:38:51Read transcript

The physical comedy and stunts are amazing, including Pesci's flip on the iced stairs; the last 20 minutes are still funny even if skippable after many viewings.
John Hughes's Chicago suburbs, lit up with Christmas decorations in Winnetka, still look great, with the city felt just nearby.
How a kid would eat if he were alone rings true, prompting memories of pre-practice junk-food meals as teenagers.
The sibling interactions, with Buzz as a savage, feel unvarnished and accurate to a big family with cousins, a bedwetter and a know-it-all.
Being the Kevin of a household brought back memories of an older brother's pranks, like being pulled down the stairs in a sleeping bag.
The final pick is suburban Chicago and the way the siblings interact.

What’s Aged the Worst?

McAllister family's response plan

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 00:45:31Read transcript

A small late-80s kitchen TV could not make Angels with Filthy Souls loud enough to terrify the pizza guy and the burglars.
The others do not share the TV sound complaint and point out the pizza scene is iconic.
Kate's call to the police is criminally vague: she never explains that the whole family flew abroad and left an eight-year-old behind.
The family's Paris trip is apparently underwritten by the uncle, and a fan theory holds that Peter McAllister is in the Chicago mob given the huge house and his unexplained job.
The family knows no one in Chicago to check on him at Christmas, and after one cop knocks with no answer there is no follow-up.
The burglars' business model makes little sense, though the bandits are presented as idiots so their illogic is easy to accept.
John Candy inviting Kate into a van full of men and the pre-9/11 airport ticket bargaining would not work now.
The TV sound pick is proposed as a unanimous answer but meets resistance; the landing is that the McAllister response and action plan is not great.

Casting What-Ifs

Robert De Niro almost played Harry and Lovitz was up for it; Uncle Frank was written for Kelsey Grammer

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 00:56:18Read transcript

The hosts say Robert De Niro almost played Harry and that Lovitz was also up for the role.
The hosts say the role of Uncle Frank was written for Kelsey Grammer and that many kids were seen for Kevin, but the team had already worked with Culkin on Uncle Buck.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Devin Ratray as Buzz

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 00:56:32Read transcript

The field is one of the most stacked, honoring people who do a lot with a little.
Kieran Culkin as Fuller, barely with a line ("go easy on the Pepsi"), John Candy as the Polka King and Devin Ratray as Buzz are nominated.
Mitch Murphy, the inquisitive neighbor kid firing questions at the van, is a dark-horse nominee called possibly the first podcaster.
Uncle Frank steals scenes, especially urging his wife to steal the crystal in first class.
Marley is allowed as a nominee but is judged a solid role player rather than a heat check.
Officer Balzac, played by Larry Hankin, is mentioned; Buzz takes it, though Buzz is arguably the third most prominent character.

Apex Mountain

Macaulay Culkin

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 00:59:33Read transcript

Home Alone is Culkin's Apex Mountain; Party Monster is rejected, and My Girl is a really good movie that people do not associate with him the same way.
The Black or White video with Michael Jackson, a network-TV event before My Girl, is offered as a case that the run continued.
Home Alone is a top-10 Christmas movie but probably not the Apex Mountain for Christmas movies; A Christmas Story is favored, with Miracle on 34th Street, Elf and Bad Santa mentioned.
A joke Apex Mountain for making international flights: Winnetka is about 30 minutes from O'Hare and they leave with 45 minutes to spare.
The final call is Culkin with the caveat that his run continued.
Pesci was skipped for Apex Mountain, though there is a case given Home Alone and Goodfellas that year and his leading-man turn after.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

No affirmative selection

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:04:09Read transcript

Kenneth Hudson Campbell as Santa, also in Armageddon and Groundhog Day, and the older couple who sell Kate their plane ticket are nominated; many in the cast have Seinfeld credits.
A fun fact about the actress who plays Linnie, also in Jerry McGuire: a participant once hung out with her at a Vassar bar.
Larry Hankin as the cop is added; Devin Ratray has had a solid later career, including The Tick and Girls.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Gerry Bamman as Uncle Frank

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:06:30Read transcript

Three nominees: Uncle Frank, who really milks it, plus Stern and Pesci.
Pesci and Stern walk a fine line as believable but bumbling criminals with a hint of danger; leaving the water running is their most amoral act. — Mina Kimes
Stern was everywhere then (Little Monsters, My Blue Heaven, City Slickers, The Wonder Years narration), and both do a hard Three Stooges style of comedy.
The award goes to Uncle Frank, played by Bamman.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Pesci's on-set difficulty; Hughes's origin idea; fan theories

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:09:38Read transcript

The hosts report that the director of photography recalled Pesci as harder to work with than Culkin: he argued about dialogue, struggled not to curse, and was cranky without nine holes of golf in the morning.
The hosts say Hughes conceived the movie by asking what he would most fear leaving behind on vacation and what a kid alone would fear most: robbers.
Kevin's fears evolve from the basement furnace to robbers, and he is remarkably fearless in the robbery sequence, which makes it palatable.
Theories: Peter McAllister is a mob boss, Marley is Kevin from the future, Kevin is a ghost (credited to a named writer), and Kevin grows up to be Jigsaw.
Kevin avoids asking adults for help; Marley is the only adult who truly sees him, while cashiers and others accept his independence.
The hosts say Marley was not in the original Hughes script; adding him gives the movie its emotional backbone and soul.

Recasting Couch

Al Pacino as Uncle Frank

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:21:02Read transcript

Casting tough-guy actors as Harry and Marv would be fun, but there is little to recast.
Pacino should have played Uncle Frank rather than the Pesci role. — Chris Ryan
The joke extends to casting all the McAllister men as mafiosos, with Marlon Brando as Marley.

Picking Nits

House cleanup; prank engineering; sled alignment; pizza prices

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 01:21:49Read transcript

How did Kevin clean up the house by the next morning?
Where did he get the ideas and engineering for the torch, tar and pulley traps?
Kevin is not lined up with the door on his sled and would hit the half wall.
The Rube Goldberg torture and the house cleaning are the big ones, but the movie needs so much suspension of disbelief that few nitpicks stick. — Mina Kimes
Ten Little Nero's pies for $122 suggests pizza prices barely moved since 1990, though pies with different toppings should not cost the same.
Would the pizza kid report the gunfire to the police?
Kevin looks afraid only when a robber grabs his ankle and is otherwise unrealistically fearless.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

"A, I'm not that lucky. Two, we have smoke detectors. And D, we live in the most boring street in the United States of America"

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 01:25:48Read transcript

Many famous lines come from Buzz, including "I wouldn't let you sleep in my room if you were growing on my ass."
Buzz's three-reasons answer to whether something could happen to his little brother is a favorite, and a second voice says it was their favorite too.
A line at the beginning about whether French women shave their armpits is recalled, with uncertainty over which character says it.
The line "No clothes on anybody. Sickening." in Buzz's room is charmingly delivered.
Buzz eating pizza is the most disgusting thing, and Buzz's high five is the affirmation that matters most at the end.
"All the great ones leave their mark. We're the Wet Bandits" is great stuff by Stern.
The solo confessions, like eating junk and watching rubbish, are very funny.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Cobra Kai-style Wet Bandits sequel with the original actors

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:31:59Read transcript

Joke answer: it already exists as Ozark, about a suburban Chicago accountant laundering money.
The hosts say a Disney Plus remake is being made in Canada, with Archie Yates as the kid, Rob Delaney thought to play the father and Ellie Kemper as the mother; as a movie it makes sense but the premise cannot stretch over a show.
A Cobra Kai style show about the Wet Bandits rebuilding their lives ten years later, reframed as class warfare against a spoiled child, is called a great idea.
Culkin could be a powerful figure like the mayor of Chicago who keeps sending them back to jail; the original actors should be used.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Buzz's girlfriend photo; Frank's family after Paris; how Marley knew; Kevin's lasting trauma

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 01:34:29Read transcript

Was that really Buzz's girlfriend? The hosts say the photo was actually a man Chris Columbus dressed up to look like a woman because it would be too embarrassing for a real woman.
Did Frank's family ever leave Paris?
How did Marley know the burglars had Kevin in the flooded neighbor's house, and why didn't he intervene earlier?
Did Kevin have post-traumatic stress disorder for life? He is unaffected and even fakes out his mom at the end. — Sean Fennessey
His calm could be the start of a turn to Jigsaw, and the character resembles the kid in The Good Son.

Who Won the Movie?

Macaulay Culkin

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:37:42Read transcript

Macaulay Culkin is the choice and is called unanimous.
An argument could be made that the movie is another classic from Hughes.
Stern and Pesci's physical comedy and their stunt guys earn a shout-out, but Culkin is in almost every frame.
The close restates that Culkin won the movie.

Podcast choices

Speaker not identified: Macaulay Culkin

Who Lost the Movie?

Warner Brothers

The panel proposes a new category here.

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:38:07Read transcript

Warner Brothers lost the movie: the hosts recount that it held Hughes to a $10 million budget, and when he estimated $12-14 million and a friend at 20th Century Fox offered $16 million, it moved to Fox on the eve of production.
The hosts say Fox funded it and it made about $500 million on a roughly $18 million cost, a bad beat for the executive who refused a few more million.

More from the conversation

A Home Alone trailer cold open follows the opening ads.

Approx. transcript time · 00:01:28Read transcript

Introductions: the hosts call this their first podcast ever with Mina Kimes and say they met in 2008.

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One participant was eight in 1990, the same age as Kevin; the others joke that grown-up Buzz resembles him and that he guards his stuff and his dessert.

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A participant who was five at release and had not seen it in at least 20 years found it better than remembered with adult eyes.

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The hosts say the movie made almost half a billion dollars worldwide and seemed to be on video and cable constantly; Culkin's early-90s fame is hard to explain now.

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As an adult: Culkin is tiny and carries the film; the break-in finale is only 20-30 minutes; the mom is in the movie far more than remembered.

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Catherine O'Hara is borderline co-lead; old man Marley's arc was reportedly added by Chris Columbus and not in the Hughes script; without Marley it is essentially a torture film.

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Keith Phipps ranked Home Alone 40th of 40 in a 2019 Vulture Christmas list, and Bill Simmons is on record that it is not a Christmas movie, a take the hosts reject.

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Christmas-movie debate: the Christmas-morning reunion and the theme of family make it undeniably a Christmas movie; Die Hard is pulled into the big tent.

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Watching in 2020 was emotional: not spending Christmas with family and pangs at airports and shared pizza.

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Background per the hosts: released November 16, 1990, coming up on its 30th anniversary; written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, with another director first attached who made Spaced Invaders instead.

Approx. transcript time · 00:12:37Read transcript

The film succeeds more on the script and Culkin's charisma than on Columbus; Culkin was discovered on Uncle Buck.

Approx. transcript time · 00:13:19Read transcript

Culkin's mannerisms were imitated in classrooms; Haley Joel Osment is the nearest later comparison, but Culkin was a lovable pop-star kid who hosted SNL.

Approx. transcript time · 00:14:54Read transcript

The hosts say it was made for $18 million and made nearly half a billion, and that executives told William Goldman their movies got "home-aloned"; November 1990 also had Rocky 5, Predator 2 and Dances with Wolves.

Approx. transcript time · 00:16:30Read transcript

Goodfellas and Home Alone in the same fall shows Joe Pesci's range, flagged as an Apex Mountain question.

Approx. transcript time · 00:17:36Read transcript

A Home Alone-scale phenomenon seems impossible now: the four-quadrant films of Spielberg, Zemeckis and Columbus gave way to tight demographics and superhero movies.

Approx. transcript time · 00:18:08Read transcript

Pixar movies (Toy Story, covered the prior week; Coco; Onward) are floated as the last all-ages subgenre, with pushback that they are well-made children's movies.

Approx. transcript time · 00:20:11Read transcript

Joke pitch: a true-crime podcast about what happened to Kevin McAllister.

Approx. transcript time · 00:22:02Read transcript

Childhood-house memories: fantasizing about alone time and adult responsibilities, the parents' bed, scary basements and attics, and a crawl space full of Christmas decorations; the house itself is a character.

Approx. transcript time · 00:33:08Read transcript

Sibling wrestling memories: older brothers doing wrestling moves on younger siblings during the Attitude Era.

Approx. transcript time · 00:43:29Read transcript

Golf digression about Pesci's strength and Abraham Ancer's chances at the Masters.

Approx. transcript time · 01:10:04Read transcript

The screenplay tracks Kevin from boy to responsible pseudo-adult to warrior; Hughes then shifts to kids' movies such as Curly Sue, Beethoven, Dennis the Menace and Baby's Day Out.

Approx. transcript time · 01:13:31Read transcript

Culkin's early talking-to-himself style fades midway in favor of action.

Approx. transcript time · 01:14:48Read transcript

Catherine O'Hara's haggard, funny performance is praised; Schitt's Creek introduced her to a new generation.

Approx. transcript time · 01:15:40Read transcript

Aftershave and showering: learning as an adult why Kevin screams at the aftershave; dads' Old Spice and Aqua Velva; doubts a kid alone would shower daily, read as Kevin performing adulthood.

Approx. transcript time · 01:29:35Read transcript

Closing: a wonderful movie, loved more than as a kid; happy holidays sign-off.

Approx. transcript time · 01:39:08Read transcript