“Home Alone” is one of the most famous and beloved movies of all time — a certified staple of many people’s holiday rewatch list. The tale of the young Kevin McCallister fending off burglars after being inadvertently abandoned by his family has charmed millions of children and adults alike since its release in 1990. But upon closer inspection, I believe it also flops at a fundamental level.

I’m aware it’s awfully exhausting to be affronted by the stingiest type of Christmastime villain — a Grinch or a Gremlin who dismisses the mirthful joys of the season and finds futility in the festive. 

But if disliking this overstuffed fruitcake of a film outs me as a miser, I’m forced to accept that. Beneath the icing of holiday spirit and the syrupy message about family lies a soggy core with a woefully dubious, thoroughly mean-spirited filling.

To begin with the obvious, much-harped-upon criticism: Many of the traps which Kevin rigs are virtually impossible with the budget, time constraints and resources he has. This is persistently true — and persistently exasperating — but I’m more concerned with the sheer improbability of the story. 

All movies require a certain suspension of disbelief. The rule is generally that the appropriate level of suspension is determined by the rules of the universe, which are set in the first act. 

So when Kevin is initially presented as a somewhat useless, whiny brat (“les incompetents” as his sister somewhat cruelly describes him) who is clumsy and unable to even attempt to pack a suitcase for himself, it becomes even more of a stretch to present him only 20 minutes later as a confident young boy capable of rigging elaborate traps and disguises.

Additionally, the lengths to which Kevin goes to not tell anyone about his predicament are absurd. We see that the phone works at the end of the film when he calls 911, so why not call the police and tip them off that the Wet Bandits were going to show up? Why not tell Old Man Marley at the church? Or the mall Santa, whom he clearly trusts? Or the pizza delivery boy?

And of course, this story takes place in the only city in America in which every single family on the block, as well as seemingly every single other person the McCallisters know, has decided to magically flee the area for Christmastime.

While these absurdities should’ve been important considerations for the film’s screenwriters, they’re ultimately semantics for the average viewer searching for a heartwarming flick to watch with their spare 103 minutes. But in this regard, it’s disturbing the manner in which the film masks outright cruelty and mistreatment as common “quirks” akin to those that every family has. 

It is not an exaggeration to say that the only character who is not openly snide and abusive to other people in this film is Old Man Marley. Kevin himself is an entitled brat, and one imagines he’s learned this behavior from the rest of his family, who fail to show an ounce of kindness, concern or humanity when interacting with him. 

When Kevin attempts to apologize for causing a mess, his mother coldly responds, “It’s too late for that,” and then proceeds to send him upstairs and completely forget about his existence in the morning. Cousins and siblings are relentlessly mean to him, and his uncle enables it with the  famously withering condemnation, “Look what you did, you little jerk!” There is no indication that anyone in his family cares about his interests whatsoever until after they’ve already left him. 

And, of course, the viewer is immediately expected to root for the family’s reconciliation. This feels completely unjustified, given the unpleasant, even callous, ways they treat each other. It’s difficult to reconcile this persistent mistreatment with the fairy-tale ending — a significant issue given how central the theme of family is to the plot.

These criticisms are not to suggest that “Home Alone” has nothing going for it, or should be removed from the holiday canon. It’s evident why the film has become a bona fide classic: It’s charmingly shot, well-paced, entertaining and has several memorable setpieces. It’s not a moral or cinematic failure to enjoy Home Alone — evidently, almost everyone does. But we must consider what behaviors and qualities we’re excusing in our holiday movie selections this season. 

James Frazier-Wilson is a Medill sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.