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Home Alone 2: Lost in New York poster

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

year 1992decade 90sdirector Chris Columbusgenre Comedygenre Family

120 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Macaulay Culkin Kevin McCallister
Joe Pesci Harry
John Heard Peter McCallister
Catherine O'Hara Kate McCallister
Eddie Bracken Mr. Duncan
Devin Ratray Buzz McCallister
Kieran Culkin Fuller
Gerry Bamman Uncle Frank
Rob Schneider Bellman
Dana Ivey Desk clerk
Hillary Wolf Megan McCallister
Tim Curry Concierge
Brenda Fricker Pigeon lady
Terrie Snell Aunt Leslie
Ralph Foody Gangster
Ally Sheedy Ticket agent (New York)
Donald Trump Donald Trump

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Kyle Brandtproducer Craig Horlbeck format In-person recording
Explore episodeClose episode

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

The parents losing Kevin again

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:32Read transcript
  • The central premise requires parents who already left Kevin once to travel all the way to baggage claim without noticing he is missing again.
  • Enjoyment requires accepting both the repeated separation and burglars surviving injuries; otherwise the movie becomes an exercise in objections.
  • The mother’s confidence that ten-year-old Kevin can survive alone in New York seems drastically under-panicked compared with an ordinary parent’s brief scare.
  • A scene admitting parental failure is suggested; the luggage joke to a police officer is the film’s insufficient attempt to acknowledge the absurdity.
  • Kevin should notice no relatives on a lengthy flight, and the parents should return immediately instead of inspecting their Florida hotel room.
  • The entire household oversleeping in bright daylight because one alarm is unplugged is implausible before a major family trip.

The Den of Thieves Benihana Award for Scene-Stealing Location

The Plaza Hotel

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:27Read transcript
  • The Plaza is the scene-stealing location and the actual lobby and suite were reportedly used; its movie association reshapes the hotel’s identity.
  • The swimming pool is an exception: a hotel visit revealed the Plaza has none and the movie pool was in Chicago.
  • New York and Duncan’s Toy Chest are alternatives, but the Plaza remains the agreed winner despite lacking the movie’s pool.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:42Read transcript
  • Ebert’s two-star score is stated; his objection to live-action cartoon violence is rejected because the painful gags remain funny to the hosts.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Final trap sequence

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:52Read transcript
  • The family losing Kevin and realizing he is absent is the first nominated scene.
  • Kevin buying Chinatown fireworks is an appealing childhood fantasy.
  • The free limousine with pizza, Coke and a television is another childhood wish-fulfillment highlight.
  • Kevin scattering pearls to escape the renamed Sticky Bandits and using the videotape against hotel staff are nominated; his exact remote timing is implausibly expert for a hotel VCR.
  • The pigeon lady’s heart-to-heart is perversely rewatchable because its long adult relationship confession to a lost child is so misguided.
  • The pigeon-lady material duplicates the heart already supplied by the toy-store owner and hospital donation story, and her unrestricted Carnegie Hall access is implausible.
  • Kevin preparing traps has the appeal of a Commando-style weapons montage, amplified into a sadistic fantasy.
  • The trap sequence includes four falling bricks, a staple/nail gun, slippery ladder and floor, falling tools, electrical sink, burning head and exploding toilet; the worst injuries should be fatal.
  • Further punishment includes sand, the swinging pipe, tool chest, burning rope and falling paint cans, accompanied by taunts about injury.
  • The kerosene-soaked rope is one favorite gag, especially the confused burglars and futile demand to climb upward.
  • The pipe is the competing favorite, from the paint-can fake-out through the fall into the basement and the pipe dropping onto them.
  • The mother finding Kevin at the tree is criticized for both characters’ oddly subdued reunion.
  • The final scene selection is the chaotic destruction in the renovated apartments.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Concert bullying; parental negligence; Uncle Frank; hotel privacy; substitute swearing

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:46Read transcript
  • The concert scene is criticized because Buzz’s bullying is not funny and parents should not laugh at a humiliated child.
  • The unplugged-clock excuse for the whole family sleeping late is reiterated as implausible.
  • The Florida motel advertising adult movies and the old Spectravision pay-per-view model are dated, prompting recollections of expensive rentals and prank orders.
  • Uncle Frank’s treatment of children is condemned; a reported deleted scene has him pull Kevin’s trousers down, while his shower remark is perversely memorable. Speculation about his criminal behavior is a joke about the fictional character.
  • The hotel manager entering a guest’s room and bathroom violates privacy.
  • Pesci’s nonsensical substitute swearing feels like pre-edited television dialogue compared with Goodfellas.
  • Kevin’s love of1930s gangster films is an unlikely child preference.
  • Jackson’s set visits are listed as uncomfortable in retrospect.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Talkboy

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:23Read transcript
  • Clock radios and paper boarding passes are period nominees, especially the ticket confusion and destruction that modern phone check-in would avoid.
  • The original World Trade Center, a benevolent Trump cameo, Schneider’s bellhop and gum tips are additional period details.
  • Coca-Cola Classic is another nominee, recalling the failed formula change and restoration of the original drink.
  • Talkboy is the declared winner, reportedly created by Tiger Electronics for the movie and becoming a major1992 holiday toy.
  • The pink-and-orange Talkgirl version exemplifies gendered toy marketing, and multi-platform Home Alone2 games are runners-up.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Pullback from Kevin on the World Trade Center

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:42:03Read transcript
  • The pullback from Kevin on the World Trade Center is praised as a striking view of New York; removing the towers from later broadcasts is opposed as erasing history.

What’s Aged the Best?

The Plaza; returning cast; Tim Curry; Talkboy trick; Kieran Culkin

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:05Read transcript
  • The Plaza’s elegance and association with New York wealth make the film an effective hotel advertisement.
  • Duncan’s toy-store setting is praised, and nearly the entire returning cast preserves continuity rather than forcing a conspicuous replacement.
  • Parenthood makes the airport separation frightening in a new way, though vigilant parents should avoid the situation.
  • Curry’s creepy manager and Grinch-to-smile transition are essential, with Clue and Legend as familiar comparisons.
  • Kevin’s slowed Talkboy reservation call is ingenious; the reservation clerk is reportedly Columbus’s wife.
  • Young Kieran Culkin is especially amusing after his adult performance as Roman in Succession.
  • Real pigeons rather than CGI and Williams’s score are affirmative choices, with Jurassic Park illustrating the composer’s range.
  • Kevin’s extravagant desserts are amusingly excessive and may be deliberate revenge on his parents through the bill.

The Big Kahuna Burger Award for Best Use of Food and Drink

Kevin’s room-service order

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:47Read transcript
  • The elaborate room-service order is the immediate food-and-drink winner.
  • The order includes cakes, chocolate mousses with ice cream and many toppings, flans, a pastry cart, strawberry tarts and thirty-six chocolate-covered strawberries.

Is There a Better Title for This Movie?

Home Alone2: How Terrible Were These Parents?; More Child Negligence; Protective Services

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:59Read transcript
  • Alternative subtitles emphasize terrible parenting, repeated child negligence and protective services.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Kevin deliberately escapes his family; Harry and Marv as lovers; child-trafficking allegory

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:27Read transcript
  • Kevin may orchestrate the separation because he prefers independent luxury to his unpleasant family and seems disappointed by the reunion.
  • That interpretation imagines an older Kevin retreating into early internet life and darker interests.
  • Harry and Marv are imagined as lovers through their partnership, shared imprisonment and travel plans; Marv flirting with a woman is acknowledged as a complication.
  • The movie is provocatively read as a child avoiding trafficking threats, with the Central Park setting compared speculatively to Cruising; the hosts explicitly frame these as outrageous takes, not literal claims.

Casting What-Ifs

Gene Wilder as Mr. Duncan

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:12Read transcript
  • Columbus reportedly wanted Wilder as Duncan, but Wilder declined because the role was too small.
  • Sheedy’s brief appearance is viewed as a deliberate recognizable cameo through her Hughes connection rather than an ordinary small job.

Recasting Couch

Buzz criticized; no replacement selected

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:03Read transcript
  • Buzz is criticized as an overly obvious unpleasant-brother type, although his room and possessions are more enjoyable in the first film; no replacement actor is chosen.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Development, casting change, Plaza cameo and practical effects

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:08Read transcript
  • Hughes reportedly finished the script inFebruary1991 under a six-film Fox agreement; Kevin’s older sister was recast for the sequel.
  • The fictional Ding Dang Dong game show was reportedly filmed on a real Illinois game-show set hosted by Eubanks.
  • Trump reportedly conditioned Plaza filming on a cameo and fee; a plan to remove the cameo changed because it played well, reflecting his then-public image as a wealthy celebrity.
  • Pesci reportedly suffered head burns filming the burning-hat gag and later told of children wanting him to rob their homes so they could defeat him.
  • Promotional partners included American Airlines, Coca-Cola and several restaurant chains; the pigeon attack reportedly used300 real birds, one entering Stern’s mouth.
  • Expensive artificial snow was reportedly superseded by a real blizzard; the renovated brownstone address is given as51West95th.
  • A medical consultation for Entertainment Weekly reportedly judged the injuries capable of brain damage or death, though hiring an expert to establish cartoon implausibility seems unnecessary.
  • Culkin’s father reportedly made participation in The Good Son a condition of agreeing to Home Alone2, seeking a role against type.

Apex Mountain

Macaulay Culkin; pigeon ladies; benevolent Christmas homeless characters; New York holiday setting; Plaza pop-culture status; kerosene ropes; Daniel Stern; Joe Pesci’s1992 run

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:41Read transcript
  • Culkin receives agreement at the peak of consecutive hits before the later decline.
  • Pigeon ladies and benevolent homeless Christmas characters receive affirmative answers.
  • New York as a holiday setting receives support, with Miracle on34thStreet acknowledged as a competing classic.
  • O’Hara’s later Schitt’s Creek and Guest films complicate her peak; Heard’s identification as the Home Alone father gives this period a tentative case alongside other roles.
  • The Plaza receives agreement specifically for popular-culture prominence rather than historical importance; lost children are compared with Taken without a firm final choice.
  • Kerosene-soaked ropes and Stern receive clear affirmative answers; Pesci’s diverse1992 run after Goodfellas also receives support.
  • Fricker’s period around So I Married an Axe Murderer is initially proposed, then her My Left Foot Oscar is named as the actual peak; the toy store’s peak is the piano scene in Big.
  • Kevin’s pizza makes a movie-pizza shortlist, alongside Back to the FutureII, Wayne’s World and Iron Man; Loverboy is the explicit favorite, so this pizza is not the apex.
  • Along Came Polly and the first Home Alone join the pizza discussion; a thin New York slice looks better on screen than messy Chicago deep dish.
  • The fake-movie comparison includes the Home Alone gangster films, Logjammin’, Boogie Nights’ Angels Live in My Town, Simple Jack, Stab and South Park’s Terrance and Phillip film; Cleaver and a Forgetting Sarah Marshall television parody are added without a definitive apex answer.

Cruise or Hanks?

Tom Hanks as Marv

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:56Read transcript
  • A proposed Cruise-and-Hanks pairing as the burglars is rejected as breaking the selection rule; Hanks wins for physical comedy as Marv.
  • The reported19–15 Hanks score is the ongoing series tally, not this episode’s vote count.

Best Race Horse Name from This Movie

Wet Bandits; Sticky Bandits; Angels with Even Filthier Souls; Duncan’s Toy Chest

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:22Read transcript
  • Four names are offered, each jokingly resembling an adult-film title: Wet Bandits, Sticky Bandits, Angels with Even Filthier Souls and Duncan’s Toy Chest.

Is There a Porn Parody of This Movie?

No Home Alone2 parody title selected

The panel proposes a new category here.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:05Read transcript
  • A proposed recurring porn-parody-title category is considered; examples include Meat the Parents, Cliff Banger and Forrest Hump rather than a settled title for this film.
  • The discussion recalls parody titles following popular movies and a Hamilton example built around pounding fathers.

Picking Nits

Concert laughter; escape and geography; pigeon-lady story; pristine city; TV gunfire; unsecured store

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:29:08Read transcript
  • The concert crowd laughing is reiterated; the inept burglars escaping a prison riot and reaching New York in a fish truck seems unlikely.
  • The airport’s immediate picturesque skyline view is questioned without identifying the exact airport.
  • The pigeon lady’s social isolation seems more substantial than her stated fear of heartbreak.
  • Nighttime New York and the empty renovation site look implausibly clean, safe and deserted.
  • A small hotel television should not convincingly simulate machine-gun fire, unlike the first film’s added firecrackers.
  • The toy store lacks a guard, cameras or an alarm despite cash on site; an incapacitated watchman would have improved the sequence.
  • Kevin’s supply of traps and tools is questioned, with the renovation crew’s Christmas break offered as the explanation.
  • Kevin descending a high rope without safety equipment demands implausible athletic ability for this child.
  • Giving the woman who saved him only an ornament seems inadequate compared with inviting her for food, a shower and Christmas company; Planes, Trains and Automobiles provides a more generous contrast.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Samuel L. Jackson as the video gangster; Nell in Central Park

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:36:03Read transcript
  • Jackson is imagined as the black-and-white gangster, combining period dialogue with Jules from Pulp Fiction.
  • Nell is imagined alongside the pigeon lady in Central Park.

Just One Oscar

John Williams

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:12Read transcript
  • Williams is chosen despite joking that he already has many Oscars.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bad-parent comparisons; burglars’ lasting injuries; pigeon-lady danger

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:32Read transcript
  • The parents’ negligence is compared with worse or abusive parents in The Great Santini and This Boy’s Life, preventing a definitive worst-ever answer.
  • The burglars are imagined with severe lasting brain injury in a sentimental sports-documentary parody.
  • A dark hypothetical imagines the pigeon lady robbing Kevin after bringing him to Carnegie Hall; it is a joke about the fictional scene, not an established plot event.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Companionship versus Kevin’s liberating escape (disputed)

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:42:01Read transcript
  • One proposed lesson favors company over isolation, but the opposing reading jokingly celebrates Kevin escaping an unpleasant family for food, swimming and adventure.

Producer review

Fun sequel; original preferred for fresher, less exaggerated jokes

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:43:11Read transcript
  • The response calls the film enjoyable and potentially a classic had it come first, but prefers the original because the sequel repeats jokes with less nuance and excessive intensity.
  • The hosts defend familiar comforts, while the response asks for fresh jokes from the same filmmakers; New York’s Christmas atmosphere is praised despite the repetition.

More from the conversation

The hosts record together in Los Angeles after years of remote conversations, recalling a tequila-and-Real-World discussion before the2008 Super Bowl.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:14Read transcript
The first Home Alone is considered a Christmas viewing tradition that could occur on another holiday; the sequel needs New York at Christmas, its tree and toy-store atmosphere.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:24Read transcript
The sequel is preferred by one response as a smarter repeat of the first film and an unapologetic return to familiar pleasures; Tim Curry and the hotel staff are the major new advantage.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:25Read transcript
Kevin’s extended torture of the burglars differs from defending his own home and invites an American Psycho comparison.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:12Read transcript
A William Goldman holiday-film essay is cited for the idea that audiences seek comforting similarity in sequels, likened to hearing a band’s hits rather than new songs.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:28Read transcript
The improbable-repeat sequel list includes Die Hard2, Speed2, Jaws2, the Taken series and Weekend at Bernie’s2; the joke adds the Chiefs repeatedly escaping losses in2024.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:56Read transcript
Culkin is judged the defining child star of the1990s, with a reported four-and-a-half-million salary plus five percent of gross underscoring his indispensability.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:26Read transcript
Home Alone’s box-office dominance, SNL hosting, Michael Jackson appearances and My Girl illustrate Culkin’s extraordinary visibility.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:35Read transcript
The Good Son’s ending prompts incredulity, and Kevin’s torture of the burglars is compared with that film’s evil child and Saw’s Jigsaw; a third escalation would have nowhere acceptable to go.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:09Read transcript
Stern’s memoir reportedly describes Culkin as sweet but isolated from ordinary childhood play and surrounded by toys from Jackson, prompting concern about fame’s distortions.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:59Read transcript
Culkin’s later relationship with Mila Kunis and Kieran’s adult success prompt speculation about a possible adult acting career.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:03Read transcript
Culkin is explicitly described as repeatedly denying anything improper happened during his friendship with Jackson; the hosts nevertheless express parental discomfort with an adult seeking a child’s company.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:30Read transcript
Culkin appears to be doing well as a married parent despite the pressures of childhood fame; Columbus reportedly applied lessons from working with him to the Harry Potter children.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:22Read transcript
Earlier child-star scandals shaped pessimistic expectations, while Elijah Wood is offered as a successful contrast; Culkin’s reported family difficulties are acknowledged without assuming his current life is troubled.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:38Read transcript
Getting Even with Dad and Richie Rich mark diminishing personal interest in Culkin’s films.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:29Read transcript
Pesci’s range across comedy, action, family films and Goodfellas is praised; the podcast’s claim about Lethal Weapon2 in1992 is retained as chronology uncertainty rather than external metadata.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:29Read transcript
Stern’s physical comedy evokes Michael Richards, while Curry, Heard, O’Hara and Schneider round out a strong supporting cast.
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:43Read transcript
The movie’s use of Manhattan, the World Trade Center, Central Park, Times Square and brownstones makes it a compelling holiday-city portrait.
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:19Read transcript
A family trip recreating Kevin’s Plaza and toy-store visits illustrates the film’s tourism effect.
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:13Read transcript
The film is reported to have a twenty-eight-million budget and359-million gross, third among1992 releases behind Aladdin and The Bodyguard.
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:16Read transcript
The limousine fantasy recalls Silver Spoons and Richie Rich; a Bateman interview leads to affectionate discussion of It’s Your Move, The Hogan Family and his reluctance around Teen Wolf Too.
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:58Read transcript
The Angry Video Game Nerd’s Culkin appearance leads to criticism of movie tie-in games, including Home Alone, Rambo, Friday the13th and E.T.; wrestling games and later Disney games provide contrasts.
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:46Read transcript
A hotel digression distinguishes the Plaza from the Chicago pool location and recalls the Drake as Chicago’s comparable landmark.
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:31Read transcript
Modern room-service prices, ambiguous service-charge tipping and the bellhop’s finger-rubbing gesture prompt hotel etiquette discussion.
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:59Read transcript
A Days of Our Lives role involved a soldier losing a leg and a scene with Heather Mills-McCartney, recalled as an unusual acting-reel highlight.
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:17Read transcript
A hypothetical child named Buzz Horlebeck prompts an extended imaginary Saints tight-end and NC State football biography; this does not establish a real person.
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:42Read transcript
The McAllisters’ expensive brownstone, home and international travel contrast with their cheap Florida motel, possibly selected by Uncle Frank.
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:40Read transcript
Pesci’s bizarre Tales from the Crypt episode prompts appreciation of older HBO programming and hypothetical returns for The Hitchhiker and Dream On.
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:38Read transcript
Cleaver is considered worth making as a real film instead of the Sopranos prequel, with Christopher’s story interpreted as reflecting his resentment toward Tony.
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:41Read transcript
A Saturday Night Live parody is recalled in which Kevin brings pizza only for the birds, extending the criticism of his unhelpful gift.
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:53Read transcript
The Good Son’s disturbing finale and Culkin’s villainous role inspire unusually enthusiastic discussion and plans for a future episode.
Approx. transcript time · 01:39:14Read transcript
Closing plugs discuss Human Versus Hamsters with Sarah Sherman, its Canadian shoot, and football broadcasting work.
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:30Read transcript
An undefeated-Chiefs remark is immediately corrected to one loss.
Approx. transcript time · 01:46:23Read transcript