Episode Summary — Home Alone (1990)

You asked for another Coby pick, and here it is: the greatest booby-trap Christmas classic of all time. This week on Raised by VHS, we revisit Home Alone, the 1990 holiday juggernaut that turned an 8-year-old kid into a cultural icon and made every kid in America believe they could survive on junk food, VHS tapes, and pure snark.

We walk through the McCallister chaos, the Wet Bandits’ criminal incompetence, and the sheer genius of Kevin McCallister’s suburban war zone. From the attic banishment to “Keep the change, ya filthy animal,” we break down why this movie hit so hard as kids and why it still delivers nearly 35 years later.

We hit all the big moments from Kevin’s freedom montage to the booby-trap gauntlet, the church scene that gives the movie its unexpected heart, and the legendary slapstick that somehow didn’t kill Harry and Marv. We also go deep on the behind-the-scenes magic—John Hughes writing the script in nine days, the real Winnetka house, Daniel Stern taking a REAL tarantula to the face, the John Williams score that almost never happened, and the movie nearly being shut down mid-production.

Plus, we dig into childhood memories, favorite scenes, best characters, and a Top 5 Christmas Movies list. And yes… the Late Fee Rating System decides whether Home Alone stays checked out forever or gets slammed back into the return slot.

Thanks for listening to Raised by VHS – proudly paying late fees since the 80s.

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