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Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman rip apart the feel good Christmas movie of the early 90s, shedding a whole new light on what started out as a light romp about a kid enjoying some time off from the family, but really deals in a post Cold War, pro Christian world where greed is good and Jesus Saves.
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Welcome to a very special holiday edition of the Muckrake Podcast Weekender Edition.
How you doing, Nick?
You know, I love this time of year.
I gotta tell you.
I love the music.
There are some movies out there that deal with Christmas that I really, really enjoy and like to watch whenever I get a chance during this time.
So I'm feeling pretty good.
Well, we're going to focus today, we're going to break down the 1990 movie, the Macaulay Culkin vehicle, Home Alone.
We're going to talk about neoliberalism, we're going to talk about a lack of faith, the importance and cult of property.
But before we do, I want to point something out, Nick.
You had never seen this before.
I had, you know, I'm looking it up right now.
I wanted to see exactly when it was released because I was a senior in high school.
I know I'm old, but let's see, it was released... I have to assume seniors in high school were not lining up at the multiplex to see Home Alone.
Yeah, so here's what it was.
November 16, 1990.
I had just gotten to college, you know, in September of that year, so we're not seeing movies.
I'm too busy being in college.
So that explains a real... because listen, Hughes, growing up in Chicago, yes, you'll see every movie.
And if you worked in movies and films like I did, you'd work on those films.
It was a whole ecosystem that he created in Chicago.
But yeah, I'd never, never seen it.
I had never, I guess, had a desire to see it?
I don't know.
I mean, certainly we're all familiar with the famous shots of, you know, violence to people on stairwells and faces with aftershave.
But yeah, I had never seen it, and man, it was an experience.
It's a romp, is what it is.
Yeah, I guess so.
It's not good, right?
It's got moments.
I will say, and we'll get into of course when we do these deep dives, because Nick and I, we love movies, we dissect movies, we get deep into them.
We're going to talk not only about the politics of it, but also the story, the structure, how it's carried out.
I will say, And real fast, I want to point out, this was, back in the day, one of the heavily in rotation movies for me.
Like, this was a Christmas thing that I watched back in the day.
I don't know if you have nostalgia for this, Nick.
The old VHS boxes.
That very particular type of cardboard, glossy kind of look at them.
I, in my mind's eye, I can just imagine going over to my grandmother's giant TV, you know, the massive TV in the living room that, like, when it eventually moved, like, there was a spot at the carpet that was never going to come out, and one of those big, weird, brown VHS boxes, you know what I mean, that holds all the tapes with all the slots, and going in and grabbing that out, putting it in, and watching it, and having a great time.
So this was, it wasn't something my family watched.
I saw it first in theaters.
This was an excellent, because I was, so November 90, I'd be, I would have been nine.
It was a hell of a good time for me.
That was a nine year old Jared Yates Sexton.
Wanted to defend his house and wanted there to be someone to to break in and actually weird little side Nick not to get too morbid someone did try and break into my house and Yeah, there was a stalker situation and I did put booby traps out I mean inspired by this movie as we were saying it was after the movie.
I have to assume on some level Conscious or unconscious, I was influenced by this.
Not the best thing in the world, I have to say, when you are trying to bring Home Alone out into the real world.
That's probably not great.
But I was wondering real fast, I was gonna go through mine, what were your Christmas movies in the rotation?
What were your holiday movies in the rotation?
Oh, well, It's a Wonderful Life absolutely is the one I love to watch as much as possible.
You know what I haven't done, but I've had this irrepressible Desire and like need to see is the Cornelius Yukon, you know stop-motion Rudolph one I really got to see it again because that is my childhood We watch that so much and I don't think I've seen it.
Maybe it doesn't always come on.
Maybe I got to find it streaming I'm sure it's on easy somewhere, but I have to do it this year We know what's awful about that.
Last night, actually, I watched the Peanuts Christmas, which, I've got to tell you, you want to talk about a critique of capitalism.
The Peanuts Christmas special is just about consumerism.
And by the way, I want to point out sometimes during the holidays, which is of course like consumerism central, that's where people of course make their money in corporate sales.
It's funny, like we do have these moments where all of these movies always sort of have a critique of capitalism at their heart, and it's like a moment where you can sort of get close to it, you know what I mean?
Because it's supposed to be meaningful.
But those stop-motion movies and the Christmas classics, they've all been eaten up by the streaming services.
They used to just show up on CBS, you know, on a random Thursday and you just kind of had to look in the TV guide to find them.
The stop motion, Rudolph, I love it.
I love it so much.
It feels so different.
It feels of such a different time.
I tried watching Frosty last year.
Frosty does not hold up.
It doesn't?
What a dope.
I was devastated by Frosty the Snowman.
Devastated.
Now listen, when Frosty melts, that's a hard moment.
I mean, I'm traumatized to this day.
I'll never forget that moment.
It's as bad as E.T.
dying.
Is what it is.
It's really, really awful.
It's too much for a kid.
The ones for my family, A Christmas Story, because it's set in Indiana, that became like a regular family tradition, but the one we watch every Christmas Eve, probably the movie I've seen more than any other movie because we watch it once a year, is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Because it's a representation, I come from white trash, you know, poor white family, The Griswolds with Uncle Eddie were a great representation of what my family felt like.
So that's, every Christmas Eve, that's what we watch.
Well, I gotta tell you, that's another movie.
Are you for real?
Are you for real?
I've seen, I mean, listen, I've seen regular vacation, you know, 150 times.
I know, you know, but I don't think, and I saw the one when they go to Europe.
I love European vacation, but I stopped there.
And I bet you it also came out when I was in college or something.
We didn't work on a lot of movies.
I don't know how to explain it, but I've never seen the Christmas vacation.
You should remedy that.
Also, I want to point out, just because it's a holiday episode of the show, I'm amazed that we talk so much, so constantly, and yet somehow or another, I'm still learning things about you.
Like, how in the hell is that possible?
How am I just learning you've never seen Christmas Vacation?
You know, we have a very specific crossover in our lives.
We have a very specific lane.
And if we had just been in the same city and had a couple beers at some point, I would have... Because I want you to know, I lead off with most of my conversations telling people that I haven't seen Christmas Vacation.
That probably makes a lot of people uncomfortable.
Probably.
They're like, Nick, it's April, why are we having this conversation?
By the way, speaking of National Lampoons, this of course was written by John Hughes.
And John Hughes is a very interesting figure in Hollywood.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
And of course, Home Alone is Macaulay Culkin.
We'll get to him and his performance and what he does.
This is a child movie.
John Hughes's movies are very famously about children or teenagers who live in a suburban atmosphere.
There's a lot of weird stuff that goes on in John Hughes movies.
They are not uncomplicated young people.
They have a lot of psychological hang-ups.
There's always like weird elements of like sex and like adult themes that start sweeping into their lives that cause tension.
What's your opinion of John Hughes?
Well, you know, growing up again in Chicago with things like Ferris Bueller coming out right when I was a teenager, you know, the guy knows how to write.
And, like, if you want to study how to introduce characters, just watch Breakfast Club.
Because within, you know, two minutes, there's a lot of characters.
He is able to completely and utterly establish exactly who these people are in such a quick manner and in a clever way.
Like, that is, every film school should be teaching that when you're trying to develop, you know, The Breakfast Club characterization is one of the best in the business.
Whenever I taught screenwriting, I either showed the beginnings of Breakfast Club or the first five minutes of The Big Lebowski.
Because it's like the first time you see The Big Lebowski, you know who he is.
You know, like everything about him in the grocery store, paying with a check for 59 cents, like a bathrobe and like those jelly flip-flops.
But you're exactly right.
John Hughes establishes characters so quickly so fast and so permanently that you you feel as if you've known them for a very long time right and then you know what's what makes a bad movie is exposition and like talking talking about who you are hey Jared you always are doing that funny thing that we're talking about right now for the next two minutes like that is all like bad filmmaking and you rarely ever see I don't think that happens ever in a huge movie he's able to put us in
And that goes for even the ones like Some Kind of Wonderful, the ones that are a little bit more... Actually, Some Kind of Wonderful may not have been his, but it was based on... Anyway, the point being that even the ones that might not have been as well-received still have that kind of discipline from him that he's not going to get into a lot of the extra exposition.
So, that's probably the thing I take away the most, is the character development is so good, generally, with this, and you relate, and you can connect, and you know exactly who they are very quickly.
And by the way, I think that this one, Home Alone, I think it is a classic Christmas movie.
I do.
And here's the thing.
You asked, is it good?
Compared to most of the movies that come out now, it is.
You know, it's competent filmmaking.
The combination of John Hughes Who writes incredible moments of dialogue, exposition, the setups in it.
I have issues with this movie, which we'll get into.
There are problems with this movie, and I actually think that the problems come from a lot of the politics that we're going to discuss.
But Chris Columbus I mean, what a whimsical filmmaker, you know what I mean?
It's like you take the John Hughes sort of child, family, suburban setting and you infuse it with like Chris Columbus's sort of eye and grandness and sort of colorfulness and the music.
The music in this film is tremendous.
By the way, that's the first thing you hear is the music.
And let's not forget, he later on goes to direct Harry Potter movies.
It's the Harry Potter music, just about.
It was very startling.
My wife and I were watching it going like, whoa, that is weird.
And we knew, you know, because Christopher Columbus, we knew he was directing it and he did it.
That is a weird connection, which doesn't exist, but like somehow does now, you know, in the future.
I agree.
And here's the thing, and I want to go ahead and start venturing into discussing the movie.
I want to say what everybody knows about Home Alone is this.
Well, two things, actually.
One thing is Macaulay Culkin, an absolute star.
I would say one of the best young person, child performances.
I would put his performance in Home Alone up there with, oh, Dorothy.
Wizard of Oz?
Judy Garland.
Wow, okay.
I would put it up there with, oh, Taxi Driver.
Yeah, Foster.
Yeah, Jodie Foster, yes.
Man, I'm bad with names.
I'm only on my second cup of coffee.
Wow.
I would say this is like one of the best sort of star-making performances.
I would say it's so good, in fact, that it ruined Macaulay Culkin as an actor.
And maybe as a person, this is such a quintessential performance that people can't get past.
The second thing, I will say, everybody knows it for the violence.
Him setting up these traps to protect his home.
I would make the argument, Nick, that I think that it shouldn't have all of that.
I actually think it should be about a kid who got left at home and had to take care of himself and learn to miss his family.
I think the misstep in this movie is the violence.
I think the misstep is all of the traps and the fighting off of the burglars.
And I know that that's probably going to be controversial with our listeners.
I would love for people to weigh in on that.
I think that it actually is a problem that messes with the theme of the movie and messes with what the movie is actually trying to say about everything, is what I would say.
Well, what it channels in my mind is there are people who believe that you are, and the laws will dictate this, that if you kill somebody who is broken into your home, then you are, you're just protecting your home.
That's totally okay.
So you can light someone's head on fire, you know?
You can.
The nail on the, um, on the stair.
I actually, like, I yelled, yelled and, like, cringed and whatever on the couch.
I couldn't.
Brutal.
Yeah, it is brutal.
Um, you know, it may be, I think what you're also saying is that perhaps it needed to be a little bit more stylized and a little bit more cartoonish and it really ends up not being that way.
It doesn't know if it wants to be that.
Some of it is very cartoonish, right?
Like him getting his hair, his headset on fire.
Then there's him stepping on a nail.
That's not cartoonish.
No.
That's, no, it was, honest to God, him stepping on the, I'm so glad that you pointed that out because I would have forgotten about it.
When he steps on the nail on the stairs, Nick, it looks like something in an Eli Roth movie.
Yeah, right.
It stays on it and it makes you look at it.
And so I think that the way that that feels is so off, but it also runs counter to what's happening in the movie.
And I want to get into the defense of the home in a minute, but I want to start with the start of the movie.
We have a well-to-do suburban family, right?
A big, giant family that is getting ready to go to Europe.
Which, by the way, do you remember why they're going to Europe?
The father has a job in Paris?
She said something really quickly about, like, you know... I think a brother?
It's not well-established, right?
All we know is that they're going, right?
And we see Kevin McAllister, Macaulay Culkin, who is just like, he feels like the outcast in his family.
You know, he's sort of the young one that sort of everybody looks down on and kind of picks on.
And at some point in the midst of all of this, he wishes that he doesn't have his family, right?
That they would just go away and he would be by himself.
And I want to point out, Nick, why does he wish that?
It's not just because they're mean to him.
It's also because Things like he doesn't get the pizza that he wants, right?
He doesn't get to sleep in the room that he wants.
It's all about sort of comforts that he doesn't necessarily get that other people are getting, you know what I mean?
And it's this wish to be away from your family.
And when it happens, Nick, He's celebratory.
He's so happy that he literally loses every member of his family, everyone that he supposedly loves.
The beginning of this movie is straight-up celebration.
Well, I gotta go back for a second and tell you, I am completely sympathetic to Kevin.
I think that the parents allowed bullying, they were assholes to him, and like, almost like little kids themselves, which the mother says to him and forces him to go up into the attic.
I thought, you know, this would never stand now, the way you treat a kid, and how you allow the other siblings to treat him.
And I'm glad you pointed that out, too, because... So here's the thing, Nick.
When I watch, like, a movie that has, like, sequels, I get my OCD flares up, and I want to watch, like, see how the thing changes.
So I watched Home Alone 2, which is a garbage movie.
Okay.
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