Holiday Favorites 2012: Stephen Jannise, 'Home Alone 2'

Welcome to Holiday Favorites, a series in which Slackerwood contributors and our friends talk about the movies we watch during the holiday season, holiday-related or otherwise.

Our next holiday film pick comes from Stephen Jannise, the new film programmer for the Paramount and Stateside Theatres. His previous position was Film Program Director for Austin Film Festival. Stephen has chosen Chris Columbus' 1992 movie Home Alone 2: Lost in New York:

I recognize this pick probably isn't going to win me any respect points with anyone, yet I find myself compelled to offer a few thoughts in defense of this two-hour commercial for the Talkboy tape recorder. Sure, the narrative lazily regurgitates the story from the original Home Alone film almost verbatim, plot point for plot point, which means that two seemingly well-put-together parents somehow forget to bring their own child on vacation for a second time. Plus, by this point, Macaulay Culkin's smarmy kid act felt about as tired as watching your seven-year-old nephew perform "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" for the eighth time.

But, I would argue that Home Alone 2 has a couple of things going for it that keep us coming back. The first is the city of New York, or rather, the outrageous representation of it in the film. I hadn't visited New York before I saw the movie for the first time, so it left an indelible impression on my assumption of what the city would be like. Even now that I've been to the real thing several times and even lived there for a few months, I still see it as a magical land where terrifying prostitutes grab at children as they're running from criminals and police officers are stationed under every bridge in Central Park, waiting for bird ladies to set off fireworks.

Speaking of bird ladies, I think the strongest elements of the film are the wonderful character actors filling some of the supporting roles; in particular, the Bird Lady and E.F. Duncan. These two outlandish, almost fantastical characters briefly elevate the film from its crass commercial motivations to something resembling a Capra classic. Brenda Fricker, just a couple years removed from her deserved Academy Award win for My Left Foot, endows the Bird Lady with a nobility reminiscent of Apple Annie in Capra's own Lady for a Day or more obviously, Jane Darwell's brief but unforgettable appearance as the Bird Woman in Mary Poppins.

And the casting department really scored a coup in giving the role of E.F. Duncan, the FAO Schwartz-esque toy store owner, to Eddie Bracken, star of the beloved Preston Sturges film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. Despite his obvious talents, Bracken only bothered to appear in four films between 1953 and Home Alone 2, but the few moments with which he graces this movie were well worth coaxing him out of his Hollywood hiding. I think, as a kid, I would've given up every present I had under the tree just to be friends with this delightful man and have him give me a Christmas ornament or two.

So, the next time you land on Home Alone 2 during your holiday remote zapping or find it on your DVR, resist the urge to skip to the parts where Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are lit on fire. The film does have some finer things to offer.

Want to watch? Home Alone 2 is available on DVD and Blu-ray.