Lots of trivia on this one: The McCallister house exterior and interior are two different locations. The exterior is a real house, but the interior is a set built inside a high school gymnasium and has no relationship to the layout of the actual house. The interior of the Ferris Bueller house was built at the same location. The flooded basement was built in the high school swimming pool. The production spend over $100,000 on fake snow, only to have it blanketed by a real snow storm. John Candy was extremely professional in working with the production schedule provided to him; which had the scene with the interior of the rental truck being shot in the middle of the night. Kevin's close encounter with the hood of the Wet Bandits' van was shot backwards and is shown in reverse for safety (sorry, now you won't be able to unsee that one). The production wasn't allowed to shoot the sprint through the airport during the holiday season, but the airport agreed to leave their decorations up for well over a month to accommodate the shoot.
The other things about John Candy's appearance... his entire appearance was filmed over one 23 hour shooting day, all of his lines were improved, and he did it all for the then SAG pay of $414.
There was also a rumor That originally it was going to be reveled that uncle Frank hired the robbers. and that he also cut the phone lines in the house to stop calls.
Really dope facts! It's crazy that they built the interior sets around a high school gym! And the reverse edit is nuts because it looks so great! That's the scene that always makes me laugh the hardest. 😂 I didn't know any of these, except the John Candy improvisation and pay. I did hear that either director Chris Columbus or writer John Hughes (can't remember which) was notorious for hating when people didn't say their lines exactly as written, and doing as many takes as it took to get it "just right", but that they were just so grateful to have Candy agree to the project that they let it slide. 😊
True story: my late father would crack up just watching the trailer on TV. My sister came home from college for break and we took him to see it on opening weekend which was also Thanksgiving. It was packed! We were in the middle of a huge theater, surrounded by little boys. There was a row of kids in front of us that were having a birthday party (matching shirts) and one of them almost made me have a stroke. I'll come back to him. Anyway, you all know the movie, but when the third act started up, the whole theater exploded with laughter. It was friggin bedlam in there! However, no one laughed harder than my dad! He had the greatest laugh that ever existed! He was also very short and round. I was taller than both of my parents by the time I was 8 (I'm 5'4) by a lot. So this little boy from the party turned around, pointed at my dad, who was in his late 60's, and screamed, "even the big kid is laughing!" I almost died from laughing. My sister laugh-cried herself into a bloody nose. It was awesome! Flash forward to a year later when they released "Home Alone" on to video (for the kids out there, it could take years for a film to be released on to VHS back in the day) and my genius mother pre-ordered it for us. We hosted a "Come Watch Dad Watch "Home Alone" Party," which we had catered and 25 adults showed up, to sit with their backs to the TV, on the floor, just to watch my dad laugh. Best. Party. Ever.
One of my favorite stories - Joe Pesci (Harry) was in the film Goodfellas the same year, which won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Because his character did so much swearing, they couldn't find an appropriate clip to play at the awards ceremony. So, they played clips from this film instead!
@@AwesomeUSMovies even though he didn't have face hair he still put shaving cream on his face and ran a razor over it, so he likely had tiny cuts, then add After shave. You'll figure it out pretty quickly lol
Catherine O’Hara and John Candy were close friends. They, as well as Martin Short, Rick Moranis, Harold Ramis, and Eugene Levy, all got their start on a Canadian comedy show called SCTV.
@@AwesomeUSMovies fun fact John Candy turned down director Hughes offer of a peace of the films profits whith out knowing how big the film would be, because he took the role as a favor because Hughes was his friend & John had a successful career already. John took the role for only $414 dollars and filmed all his scenes in a 22hr period.
It is so great to watch somebody close to my age reacting to movies I grew up with! Makes me smile. Daniel Stern's shriek at the spider being put on his face still gets a huge laugh from me 32 years later.
Daniel Stern stole the show in the end. That man could take abuse like no other. I laughed so hard my stomach ached. He stole it again in Home Alone 2.
Also another fun tidbit, Daniel stern mimed the scream with tarantula on his face as to not scare spider. He recorded the scream later and they edited it in.
Did you know that Marv’s scream was voiced over? He didn’t actually scream in the movie because he didn’t want to scare the spider and have it bite him.
@@AwesomeUSMovies I heard that Daniel Stern mimed the scream when they filmed it, because he didn't want to startle the spider. When films are being edited together, the actor often comes in for what's called an ADR session, which is used to make sure your lines and the other sounds are loud enough. You stand in a studio in front of a microphone, watch yourself on film, and repeat your lines. Daniel Stern added the sound of the scream during one of these sessions.
The family reunion I will never forget had a similar nail-in-foot situation take place. My cousin and I, and I can't stress enough how young and dumb we were, decided it would be a good idea to climb up one of those pointed-tip fences, with spikes both low and high, to get onto a big stone corner post. I was wearing my tennis shoes, but my cousin was in flip flops. Thankfully the venue was literally between a hospital and a fire station. I'd never seen my great aunt, who was in her 70's at the time, run before. I'd certainly never seen her lay flat on the ground and roll underneath a partially opened fire station garage.
Can you PLEASE react to these awesome movies next: KNIGHT AND DAY WHY HIM KILLERS MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL LITTLE MAN THE BABYSITTER 1 & 2 GAME NIGHT HORRIBLE BOSSES 1 & 2 HOT CHICK LET'S BE COPS ROAD TRIP/EUROTRIP ROUGH NIGHT REPLI KATE SORORITY BOYS VAN WILDER And if you have the time & energy to react to a sitcom I highly recommend SANTA CLARITA DIET (zombie alert!) & WRECKED (Lost "parody"), both only 30episodes/20min long so you can finish both pretty fast plus they are just freaking brilliant!!! THANK YOU!!!
When it comes to the injures of Marv and Harry, it's actually quite slapstick. There have been people that have done videos assessing what type of injures they'd have and how many times over they'd be dead from just a fraction of the injures they sustain in both the first and second film.
When I first saw this as a kid, I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. I've come to appreciate and understand all the scenes with Marley as I got older. The scene where he's talking to Kevin in the church is my favorite in the movie. I love when a movie can be a comedy and also move you at the same time.
The reason Kevin gasped and looked surprised when Harry smiled at him is because Harry did the same thing at the beginning when he was impersonating a cop. Same smile, same twinkle of the gold tooth. Kevin remembered and realized that Harry wasn’t a cop.
Holy Moly! I've watched that movie many times as a kid... just HOW did I never realize that the cop in the beginning is one of the burglars?! Just watched many of your reaction videos of movies I know and love your infectious laugh!
I can assure you that Daniel Stern stopped on a rubber spike during the park when Marv walks up the stairs barefoot. And when Marv steps on the Christmas ornaments, Daniel was walking on ornaments that were made of sugar and it was all sound effects dubbed in
Catherine O'Hara (mother of Macaulay Culkin) is a Canadian actress who worked with John Candy (also a Canadian), amongst others, were cast members of the Canadian TV Show "Second City". It was nice to see them reunited in this movie (the trip back home in the van as the Polka music players). As a Canadian, I'm kinda happy about that. John Candy unfortunately refused a share in the profit of that movie (as they all thought it wouldn't make too much money but turned out to be a huge profit and a classic). BTW, Macauley recognized the burglar Joe Pesci (Harry Lyme) as the cop who came to the house, from his gold tooth. The other burglar Daniel Stern (Marv Murchins) insisted on doing his own stunts, but one of the best part is the part of the spider. Daniel was terrified of spiders, so the scene where he screams is a true scene, which the director only had one shot at it and it worked perfectly, so he kept that scene in the movie. Please watch Home Alone 2 as it is also hilarious. Unfortunately, the sequel continued, but to me, isn't that funny. Enjoy.
Throughout the movie, with every scene after the first one, Old Man Marley (the "Salt Shovel Murderer") has an injured hand, symbolizing the wound in his heart from his estrangement from his family. Throughout the movie, as he interacts with Kevin and then reunites with his son, the injury slowly heals, likewise symbolizing his own emotional healing. A nice little heartwarming detail.
Alcohol aftershave on fair sensitive skin, burns, hence Kevin screaming 😱 lol. Logistically nothing is suppose to work out and yet here we are laughing our asses off and getting caught up in all the feels of the holiday spirit. This whole movie is lightning in a bottle. Everything came together harmoniously between John Hughes' script, Chris Columbus direction, the entire cast giving performance that warrant them memorable and quotable. For me, the funniest scene comes After the hilarity of Marv and Harry trying to make their way in the house and them getting knocked out by the old man. Where Gus is trying to have a heart-to-heart with Kate and he just makes it worse until she wants to change the subject 🤣 🤣 It's not over the top by the subtly of the performances and neither Catherine O'Hara and John Candy are trying to be funny, they play it so seriously and that's what makes it so funny.
Your grandfather's reaction reminds me of a story my DH told me about his Dad. He and MIL were out in the woods, I can't remember why, and Dad was driving one of those big tool trucks. Mechanical problems ensued and in the process of working on it the hood slammed down on his hand, causing the skin on his forefinger to accordion upward. He just looked at it, showed it to Mom and said, "Looks like I rurn't (ruined) that one!" Mom managed to not faint or be sick and drove him to the ER. The finger WAS damaged, but thankfully not actually ruined!
This is one of the Classic Christmas movies we watch every year. I’m sure Elf will be on your Christmas movie list. But if not, please add it. As always James, it was fun watching your reaction. Merry Christmas to you and your family ✌🏼
@@AwesomeUSMovies Can you PLEASE react to these awesome movies next: KNIGHT AND DAY WHY HIM KILLERS MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL LITTLE MAN THE BABYSITTER 1 & 2 GAME NIGHT HORRIBLE BOSSES 1 & 2 HOT CHICK LET'S BE COPS ROAD TRIP/EUROTRIP ROUGH NIGHT REPLI KATE SORORITY BOYS VAN WILDER And if you have the time & energy to react to a sitcom I highly recommend SANTA CLARITA DIET (zombie alert!) & WRECKED (Lost "parody"), both only 30episodes/20min long so you can finish both pretty fast plus they are just freaking brilliant!!! THANK YOU!!!
17:33 It’s easy not to think about, because it’s a big house full of people, so of course there’s a ton of stuff around … but the beauty is you expect it in that setting, so you don’t really see it until Kevin’s using it - but you can watch for it 😁 This movie’s awesome. Glad you’re having fun! 😃🎄💙
This is actually a real venomus tarantula. They head a mechanic one, but they didn't use it because didn't look like a real one. You can find on RU-vid a video about Home Alone making off. Marv (Daniel Stern) was scared do not make the tarantula bite him while he screams. I love Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci acting. They are such a good burgler's couple. Marv's character pretends to be the stupid one while Harry supposed to be the one a little smarter...
When my mother was a kid, she jumped out of a hayloft into a pile of hay (because that's what you do for fun out in the country, I guess), and she got a long rusty nail through the foot. She had to drag the board it was attached to all the way home so her mother could pull out the nail. I can't imagine that being a particularly fun time.
When I first moved to Chicago I drove past the Home Alone house and took pictures. When they looked out of the curtains, I took off. 😂😂 I’m sure they’re tired of it.
"They didn't check their tickets or anything?" Before 911, I flew from Indianapolis to Seattle. They didn't check my ticket when I boarded the first plane. Some airports were a bit more relaxed in the 1990's.
i managed to form a good friendship with my pizza place because of this movie and the no contact covid measures. i put a Bluetooth speaker light on my porch to play the "leave it on the door step and get the hell outta here" sound bite i always prepaid anyways
Fun fact. When Marv has the tarantula on his face, he had to fake scream so as to not anger the spider. And the van almost hitting Kevin was done in reverse, you can see the exhaust going into the tailpipe.
This is my all-time favorite movie ever! I've probably seen this movie the most of any movie. And never did I notice the Santa being pushed around by the wind during the wind storm. You pointing it out made me see it. I heard the noise from it. But never saw it. I thought it might have been other stuff like newspapers and trash. So I never knew until NOW (30 something years later) that it's a plastic Santa decoration.
Very fun reaction video! You’ll be shocked when you get around to watching another film starring one of the actors who played the burglars. That actor has a notorious reputation for the types of roles he plays. That your first time seeing him in a movie is Home Alone is hilarious!
One burglar stars as the title character in the Oscar-winning My Cousin Vinny, and the other co-stars in City Slickers, both amazing comedies I think you'll love! Did you recognize the mom in this as also the mom in Beetlejuice? He keeps needlessly shaving like a grown-up--he screams because the aftershave stings.
My grandfather was a corn farmer in Illinois, when you mentioned how sharp the corn leaves are I shuddered cause when I was a kid I ran out in a Tshirt and got covered in little paper cuts all over my arms. I looked like I got into a fight with a cat an lost
I can't recall whether it was before or after this movie but I remember as a kid setting boobytraps in the basement and then having my siblings traverse the room trying not to set off any. Good memories!
This is my all time favorite Christmas movie, I was 11 when it came out in 1990. A must watch every year! Yeah, if you stop and think about the logic of any of it, not just the severity of the injuries, but the whole movie, it's an absolutely ridiculous plot, but it somehow works. Maybe because there are some really touching and warm moments inside the film. The whole scene in the church when he has a conversation with the old man, feels so real and sweet, it is probably my favorite scene in the movie. Well, second only to the spider on the face and that scream. Great video! Merry Christmas!
I still remember seeing this one in the theater, it was such a treat, I even have it on vhs. Another one you might enjoy with this actor is my girl, it's a coming of age movie, it also stars Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis
37:30 that happend to me few times; even this year once. I am used to it. I am used with pain... And about the corn, yes, it's true. I spent my childhood in country side. I had to work a lot and sometimes accidents happens if you don't pay enough attention...
My grandma grew up on a farm and loved to talk about all of her injuries lol. Including stepping on a nail and how her mom used home remedy medicine which involved mud and a leaf wrapping of some sort that was supposed to "draw out" the rust and whatever (no idea if that home remedy is legit or just a wives tale they believed, but at least she turned out okay). But broken glass in the foot is no joke, either. One time I broke a glass in the kitchen and thought I cleaned it all up. But a few days later I was in there barefoot and stepped on a tiny piece smaller than a pea. Hobbled to a couch and managed to get it out and it bled a surprising amount. The next night I somehow stepped on *another* piece, a little bigger than the first, and more jagged. This was like 3am when I was getting a drink of water. Even with a tweezers the jagged edges were acting like barbs and I couldn't get into a twisted enough position and enough leverage with just two hands to get it out so I had to wake my dad up and it took him like 30 minutes of painful pushing and pulling and twisting on it to get it out. The tiny bit still sticking out was so small and also pointy so the tweezers just kept sliding off without getting a good grip. Eventually I just told my dad to get me a fillet knife and I cut a little extra bit around the barbed part and then he was able to pull it out with a pair of pliers. After that I grabbed a broom and made sure to sweep every inch of that floor and then wet mopped it to make sure there was no more glass on the floor under a counter ledge or anything lol. Different note, but still painful, my parents and I were out on a lake in our boat fishing. I set a small lure down on the side of the boat while swapping which I was using. When I went to pick it up I managed to hook the treble hook on one end under a metal lip on the side which caused my hand to slip and the treble hook on the other side dug into my finger. And it was a small lure, just like an inch or two between the hooks so we didn't have much room to work with while trying to get me unhooked. After like 15 minutes of painful twisting and rocking on the waves I finally just asked my mom to get me one of the icepacks from the little cooler she put drinks and sandwiches in to numb my finger and then just yanked my finger off. And on the note of hooking ones self... I remember one time being at my grandma and grandpa's house. My grandpa had Parkinson's but was determined to stay active and be handy and just keep himself busy as much as possible. Most days he couldn't, but on his better days he found things to do. So I was in the kitchen helping my grandma with dinner and my grandpa slowly hobbles in holding a fishing rod. And then we see the line from the end going to his ear. Apparently he'd had a moment when he twitched or shook too hard and hooked himself in the ear lol. But he wasn't steady enough to get it out himself so he had to have my grandma do it. Anyways. Glad you enjoyed this movie. Always love your intense laughs! Sorry about inundating you with stories, but I hope you get a little kick out of reading, at least lol.
A: It isn’t Christmas without watching this movie. 2: I think this movie had something to do with Domino’s no longer guaranteeing delivery time. D: What the heck did these people have in their house that was so worth all that abuse?
Most, if not all of John Candy's lines in this film are unscripted and improvised by him as he was a frequent collaborator with Writer John Hughes and was only on set to film for a day. The Funeral Parlor story was a 4:30am improve that caught everyone off guard.
A tradition every year in our house, many people argue whether this one or the second one was best! I think I like this one better because he is protecting his own home!
Loved your reaction! This is one of my favorite movies and I love to watch someone else see it for the first time! I was 16 when it was released and I remember seeing this for the first time in theaters. It was playing in the biggest theater they had and it was packed. I remember the fan and the feathers scene and just being stunned by it. Such a fun movie. 😊
I mean, after the iron to the face and the nail, Marv should have realized that if the window was open, that meant Kevin wanted hin to try going through, so actually he could have anticipated it. But he was an idiot, the first hint he had of the traps (ignoring the ice steps) was that the basement door was unlocked, which Kevin obviously did because he wanted Marv to trigger the traps. So he had multiple hints that where he was going was rigged up with traps. Marv was never the sharpest tool in the shed, in fact he’s even dumber in Home Alone 2. Fun Fact: The “maybe he committed suicide” line was ad-libbed by Daniel Stern. Also, Joe Pesci ad-libbed the “snap off your cojones” threat and Daniel Stern ad-libbed the “why the hell are you dressed like a chicken?” line.
Love this video!! I also stepped on a nail as a kid on a small little farm. Right through my Ked sneaker. But another time I was running to the barn and shoved the top of my foot through a pitchfork tine. Ouch!!
Yup, the same thing happened to me. I was running in the backy of the neighbor's house who did construction. I didn't run for long. That board with a nail in it turned into a clown shoe or a ski & I did a face plant. Tetanus shot was a load of fun.
In recent years, people have brought up the idea that Kevin is a sadistic sociopath ("He grew up to be the guy in SAW!"), but that's not exactly true. He clearly cares about his family (when he's not being actively abused) and is willing to put himself in danger to help others, as well as go out of his way to comfort people when they're clearly suffering. Old Man Marley, the Pigeon Lady, the toy store owner, and all the kids that would have gone without Christmas presents, and how Kevin went out of his way to help them, show that he very much does care. He's just willing to go above and beyond when protecting himself and others. Plus, he's a small child. He can't defend himself directly, so he has to set up traps to do it. And taunting the robbers keeps them focused where Kevin needs them to be, so they're less likely to pay attention to the traps so they stumble right into them. Also, he's a kid. Kids are basically natural sociopaths, as it takes time to develop empathy, so him having fun watching the robbers hurt themselves isn't exactly unusual. (Slapstick is a thing; even adults find watching Harry and Marv hurt themselves, so you can't really blame Kevin for laughing at them.)
Kevin’s dad in the movie, aka, John Heard has made some Great films. My favorite is not new. Name of it is “Deceived”, with Goldie Hawn and John Heard. I’ve seen ALOT of movies and that is the only one that ever had me stumped for a bit. One of the best movies I’ve seen. Super suspenseful. Fun reaction. As usual. Thanks
Kevin should be on a sabotage/booby trap 2 man stealth unit. These 2 man units are no joke. Sneak into an enemy bivouac and poison the water. Take out 40-50 guys. These sneak ops guys can make or break an entire war.
Omg this was unexpected growing up this was my movie everyone in our family watched as it was my Mum's 2nd favourite Chrisman's film just behind Gremlins. Weird to think about but my mum was 20 when this movie came out and I'm 21 now so it's kinda cool that two generations watched these films when they were young adults while i grew up watching it because of my mum. The 2nd movie is also pretty good i love them both. everything after Home Alone 2 have nothing in common with the first two movies different actors and everything even though i kind of enjoyed Home Alone 3 as a kid i recommend just watching the 2nd one. Joe Pesci the actor who plays Harry (short robber) is known for his collaborations with Directors Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, and The Irishman. He's also appeared in other movies such as Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America an amaing movie along with films for other Directors like My Cousin Vinny, Lethal Weapon 2 to 4 and A Bronx Tale to name a few. All these movies are amazing very gangster Mafia focused which is why it was such a surprise to see him in a Family movie such as Home Alone his characters in these other movies are not that kid friendly lol