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Time - Man of the Year
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Time_Man_of_the_Year_Compact_Publishing_3YX-Disc-1_Compact_Publishing_1993.iso
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1993-04-08
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REVIEWSCINEMA, Page 75A Twice-Told Fairy Tale
By RICHARD SCHICKEL
TITLE: HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK
DIRECTOR: Chris Columbus
WRITER: John Hughes
THE BOTTOM LINE: Surprise -- an uncynical sequel that
actually deserves its assured success.
Act I: an extended, flurried family departs for a holiday
trip, in the process mislaying its youngest member. Act II: at
first the kid is frightened to find himself all alone in a big
scary world, but then he begins to enjoy his freedom. Act III:
threatened by comical bad guys, he begins to long for the loving
comfort of Mom, Dad and even his hateful older brother.
Nevertheless, he copes bravely and funnily with adversity. Coda:
everyone gets back together, Christmas sentiment asserts itself,
and they all live happily ever after. Or until the next sequel,
whichever comes first.
Yes, Home Alone 2 precisely follows the formula that made
its predecessor the biggest grossing comedy in human history.
But no, it is not a drag, and it is not a rip-off. Look on it
as a twice-told fairy tale. And look on its tellers, writer
John Hughes and director Chris Columbus, as craftsmen who have
taken the responsibilities of success seriously. They have acted
not as caretakers of valuable property but as trustees of
something millions regard as a kind of national treasure,
pop-culture division.
Hughes and Columbus have kept the faith in two ways. By
maintaining the overall structure of the first Home Alone, they
create a comfortable sense of anticipation. In a general way you
know what's coming, and you know it's not going to be yucky. On
the other hand, the details of the situations are developed
vividly and originally. And they are presented with an energy
and a conviction that sequels usually lack.
The subtitle, Lost in New York, tells much, but not
everything, about their strategy. They don't just leave little
Kevin (bold, vulnerable Macaulay Culkin) at home this time. They
contrive to get him on the wrong airplane and land him in a
place we all know is a lot more daunting than the average
suburb. Soon his parents are frantic in Florida while he settles
himself in the Plaza Hotel and starts ordering room service.
Soon too, Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), the
goofily overconfident burglars of the earlier film, are
maneuvered into place. And a couple of ambiguously creepy hotel
employees (Tim Curry and Dana Ivey) are added to keep Kevin a
little busier than usual.
But it is Columbus, a director who can make a routine shot
of a couple of airplanes taking off artful and full of portent,
who completes our entrancement. He has -- no kidding -- a
vision of New York City, a nicely dislocating blend of charm and
grunge. It's not quite real, not entirely fanciful. It is a
child's-eye view of the place, full of glamorous shimmer and
eerie shadows, a haunted Disneyland.
It may be that Kevin's final confrontation with the crooks
-- this time he booby-traps a brownstone that is undergoing
renovation -- lacks the bestartling hilarity of his previous
battle with them. It may be that his bonding with a homeless
pigeon lady (Brenda Fricker) in Central Park is a touch too
Christmasy. But it is a good-hearted excess. And that's the
great thing about Home Alone 2. It is going to make a ton of
money, but you never feel that's the only reason it was made.
It respects itself and it respects us, and there's no reason to
begrudge its success.