Home Alone Plot Synopsis
The McCallister family are journeying to Paris to celebrate Christmas. However, in a pre-travel mix-up, they accidentally leave their youngest kid Kevin behind. While the family is stuck in Paris, Kevin is alone in a home that is being targeted by a pair of burglars, Harry and Marv. Kevin has to go to extreme lengths to keep himself and the house safe.
How is Kevin left behind?
Kevin, being the youngest, is an easy target for his siblings and cousins. He is constantly bullied – and blamed for almost everything that doesn’t go as planned. After a brief scuffle with his brother Buzz the night before, Kate, his mother, sends him up to the attic. Feeling bad about his mistreatment, Kevin wishes that his family would disappear. At night, a power outage causes the alarm clocks to reset. As a consequence, the family oversleeps.
In a hurry, they leave for the airport forgetting Kevin is asleep upstairs and during the headcount, accidently count the next door neighbour’s kid.
How does Kevin feel being home alone?
Kevin is excited, believing his dream has come true. Finally, he has the kind of freedom he was after. The little kid does everything he wouldn’t dare to do in presence of his family. He jumps on the bed, eats all kinds of junk food, watches violent films, and even steals all of Buzz’s savings. However, his joy is short-lived as unwanted events start taking place.
The Chicago Police department shows up at the request of his parents to check on him. Kevin gets scared when he sees “old man Marley” outside, who is rumoured by local kids to have killed his own family. Eventually, a pair of burglars, Harry and Marv – known as The Wet Bandits – set their sights on Kevin’s home.
Is Old Man Marley really a killer?
Kevin’s family aren’t able to return immediately from Paris because all the flights are booked for two days. Kate, however, manages to fly back to Scranton, Pennsylvania. She has to travel in a van as no flight is available to Chicago.
On Christmas Eve, Kevin overhears Harry and Marv planning to break into the house at night. He starts missing his family. He requests a local Santa Claus impersonator to bring his family back for Christmas.
At the church, he meets Marley who is there to see his granddaughter performin the choir. As he converses with the old man, Kevin realizes all the rumours about him are false. In fact, he is actually a very nice man. Marley tells Kevin that he doesn’t get to see his granddaughter often because of an argument he had with his son way back. Kevin suggests he should forget the differences and reconcile with his son.
How does Kevin deal with the burglars?
After returning from the church, Kevin covers the entire house in booby traps. As Harry and Marv break in and try to explore the place, they spring every trap. Meanwhile, Kevin phones the cops. When the duo try to catch him, Kevin runs out to a vacant home in the neighbourhood. The burglars finally get hold of Kevin and get ready to punish him.
However, Marley comes to Kevin’s rescue just in time. He knocks down the burglars with his snow shovel and takes Kevin back home. Harry and Marv are arrested afterwards.
On Christmas morning, Kevin wakes up sad – missing his family. However, Kevin’s gloom is soon over when Kate arrives and calls for him. He excitedly runs downstairs and the two reconcile. The rest of the family also arrive right after. Kevin keeps silent about the ruckus that took place while the family was away. He goes near the window where he notices Marley reuniting with his son and his family. The two wave at each other as the film comes to a close.