Great Character: Kevin McCallister (“Home Alone”)

This month’s Great Character theme: Christmas. Today: Jason Cuthbert’s guest post features Kevin McCallister from the 1990 movie Home Alone [written by John Hughes].

The 1990 Christmas hit Home Alone, as in, $476 million Christmas hit, unites two of the biggest youth-orientated screenwriters of the 1980’s — Steven Spielberg’s collaborator Chris Columbus (Gremlins, The Goonies) in a break through directing capacity, and the teen titan scribe John Hughes (The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off). With Joe Pesci as a Scrooged-out burglar, John Candy as a warm-hearted savior and the movie role that made child actor Macaulay Culkin into the brightest constellation in Hollywood’s under-aged skyline — Kevin McCallister. Kevin’s classic scream, precocious confidence and home security acumen turned this protagonist into the most memorable grade school Christmas character since Ralphie in A Christmas Story.

Home Alone plot summary from IMDB:

An 8-year-old boy, who is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas, has to defend his home against idiotic burglars.

Kevin McCallister may only be 8 years young, but his snappy comebacks and articulate verbiage graduate him up to practically an advanced middle school level. When it comes to processing his feelings and launching them into your face as grammatical torpedoes — Kevin is far from shy. He may not fully understand the inner workings and the responsibilities associated with the adult world, but he has no problem expressing his version of them.

KEVIN McCALLISTER: This house is so full of people it makes me sick. When I grow up and get married, I’m living alone. Did you hear me?

The “be careful what you wish for” method of generating a high concept story idea was put to successful use here with Kevin wanting his family to disappear — then having to take care of himself like an adult — for real. Not getting left any slices of cheese pizza, being told to sleep with the not-so-potty trained relative with the ironic bladder-bursting name “Fuller”, then being sent to bed early on an empty stomach may be the genesis of Kevin wanting complete emancipation from his family the night before their Christmas holiday flight to Paris. But when Kevin inadvertently gets his wish of total solitude, and continues his accelerated coming-of-age process by duplicating adult rituals, it becomes a quest to prove that he isn’t the younger, annoying “Toys R Us kid” that he feels his family has written him off as.

KEVIN McCALLISTER: I took a shower washing every body part with actual soap; including all my major crevices; including in between my toes and in my belly button, which I never did before but sort of enjoyed. I washed my hair with adult formula shampoo and used cream rinse for that just-washed shine. I can’t seem to find my toothbrush, so I’ll pick one up when I go out today. Other than that, I’m in good shape.

Kevin may have a fear of the dark basement, but his fear of really losing his family forever is what begins to mature his earlier pouting and complaining. He felt ignored, disrespected and underappreciated by his siblings and elder family tree branches, but his lesson is: anger is temporary — family is forever.

KEVIN McCALLISTER: This is extremely important. Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back. No toys, nothing but Peter, Kate, Buzz, Megan, Linnie, and Jeff. And my aunt and my cousins. And in a few years time, my Uncle Frank. Okay?

Independence is usually the Holy Grail of growing up — the power to choose without having to run things by your parents first. Therefore, when Kevin gets his first taste of alone time, his initial feast consists of all the junk food groups. But like most adults that he strives to be like, once you can eat whatever you want whenever you want, doing so doesn’t feel as cool anymore. This transition is cleverly illustrated by the humorous grocery store sequence with Kevin pretending to be shopping for his mother who is “sitting in the car” and his father “who is at work.” But where are the candy, chocolate and pastries? Instead, Kevin purchases healthier items that actually contribute to what could be considered a meal like: orange juice, milk and macaroni. The kid even clipped a coupon and picked up some laundry detergent.

This church scene truly gives us the opportunity to see just how sorry Kevin is for hating his bloodline because now he sees the importance that family has in another man’s life — especially during the holidays. In this moment, Kevin transforms from just some privileged spoiled brat to a compassionate appreciative kid that you not only feel sorry for, but for whom you can’t wait to witness his family reunion. For his Junior James Bond methods of protection, his awesome John Hughes wit, cute charisma and his fearless solo journey towards finding the real meaning of family — Kevin McCallister is one really GREAT CHARACTER.

In my opinion, this movie is genius. Seriously. Classic high concept, underdog, emotional connection to characters, and inventive Rube Goldberg spirit throughout. And at its center is the Protagonist Kevin McCallister.

What do you think of Kevin as a character? See you in comments to discuss.

Thanks to Jason (@A2Jason) for another great analysis.