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Scorecard Weekly (Christmas Edition) - 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'

Christmas Event! Day 4 of 10

By Donovan BarlowPublished 5 years ago 5 min read
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Have yourself a merry little Christmas… sing with us!

We’re really trying to keep the holiday spirits up as we inch closer and closer to that wonderful day. We’re staying busy with this special event we’ve got going on and we couldn’t be happier. (Well, I’m not going to lie—my fingers hurt, but I’m good. I’m good.)

It doesn’t matter how long it takes! We will get these scorecards finished... nothing worse than low morale. Before we begin, quick reminder: If you’d like to make any suggestions and/or comments, please head over to Facebook and LIKE our page @ScorecardWeekly. There, you will get the latest and greatest news about our series. As always, thank you for your continued support.

WELCOME TO SCORECARD WEEKLY! The place where you come to get honest, uncut, and uncensored reviews of the newest and oldest TV series and movies. Before we begin today’s card, let’s recap on what we are grading, shall we? Please turn your attention to the invisible, non-existent whiteboard codename JARVIS—

Using our state-of-the-art scorecard, we grade:

  1. Setting/Characters
  2. Obstacles/Conflict
  3. Tone
  4. Concept

The minimum score for a section and card is one. The maximum score is five. Finally, we decide if it’s recommend or a pass.

Sometimes we’re given films that make us think: “Damn, how could they possibly top that?” then the Hollywood God’s laugh and point at us and reply, “Silly peasants, haven’t you ever heard of sequels?” It’s at this point, we’re completely blown away... NOT REALLY.

However, that holds true today, as we will be scoring our first sequel; National Lampoon’s doesn’t count here! We’ve already conquered the first film of this childhood classic, but now it’s time for round two. Brought to us by 20th Century Fox and starring Macaulay Culkin, we present to you... HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK.

1. Settings/Characters

Let’s start with some good news, shall we? This film is in New York City in the 90s—yay! Let’s get away from the most boring street in the United States and head to one of the busiest cities. Now, here comes the bad news. We’re having a bit of déjà vu, because it seems like we’ve seen this all before. A horrible display at parenting and a main protagonist who can’t help but find himself in shitty situations. For crying out loud, can we put a leash on this guy? Or put a chip in his arm? For Christ sake, how is this kid even let out of any adult’s sight? Oh wait! I know...

“What is poor plot structure, Alex?” DING DING!

These characters went from bad to worse, and we don’t understand how that’s possible. One thing I do know is the main protagonist needs an ass whoopin’ after the little stunt he pulls in the beginning. Luckily, we’re saved this time by a woman who’s covered in bird droppings, but can get you some amazing seats at Carnegie Hall—all for the low price of three chocolate chip cookies and a turtledove.

Seriously, we aren’t going to rant endlessly about the lack of development of these characters—but even the new additions are complete idiots, who, sure, provide comedic relief, but to what end? Where are the intelligent adults?

Score: 2

2. Obstacles/Conflict

You guys won’t believe what happens? The main protagonist got left behind again—well, he actually got on the wrong flight because he followed a man who coincidentally had the same coat on as his father. To make matters worse, however, he ends up in New York City along with our main antagonists who somehow broke out of prison during a riot. Not only must this kid survive a few more encounters with those two buffoons, but he now must con the hotel staff and stop a toy store robbery. The fate of Christmas now rests on his shoulders... seriously? Give us a break—how the hell are all these adults being outwitted and out played by a fourth grader? The foolishness needs to stop. He fills a townhouse with booby traps and you know the rest…

Score: 2

3. Tone

One of the only upsides to this film is the comical approach that they’ve mastered. This film is quite funny and if you’re looking to watch something just to get a good laugh… this is the film for you. It sure misses on a lot of things, but the comedy within this film is still wonderful. I even find myself quoting some of my favorite scenes as they play out because they are comedic gold. There’s nothing quite like a furious mother slapping the Christmas cheer out of someone or hotel staff being duped by a kid and a VHS—"get down on ya knees and tell me ya love me." CLASSIC!

Score: 5

4. Concept

We had high praise for the original film for being unique, but we won’t be giving that same praise here. Did they raise the stakes a bit? Yes, of course. However, all they did was recycle an idea and attempt to build something from that. We go into this film already knowing what the issue will be, however, we can say that they did find a way to make this movie widely entertaining, even if the idea is still ABSURD! We shouldn’t ask or expect anything less than the completed project we were presented. Like I said, we knew what we were getting into.

Score: 3

Overall Score: 3/5

Final Verdict: Recommend

Final Thoughts

We’re surprised it scored so well, given the fact that looking at the film on paper, it doesn’t look that great. We see this happen in film and TV time and time again, but even still, we can’t deny the fact that this film has a special place in our hearts. At the end of the day, we will continue watching and reciting it because it’s become a part of our lives.

Its very existence is a staple of what the Christmas holiday is all about… family. This film isn’t going anywhere, and no matter the score, it will go down as one of the best family Christmas movies of our generation—but we will be throwing films three and four in the trash on our way out, just an FYI.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for stopping by! Until next time, see you later!

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About the Creator

Donovan Barlow

Screenwriter, Father, King of the pirates, Demogorgon Killer, and The People’s Champion (Sorry Rock)

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