Script Structure: Lessons from Home Alone

Written by maverick John Hughes, Home Alone made Macaulay Culkin an international star, spawned several sequels, and grossed over $285 million in just the United States alone. But its mega success isn’t the only reason this family comedy is worthy of study.

Released in 1990, the hit flick is still entertaining as ever. Anything which can endure for more than twenty years and still captivate the attention of increasingly more jaded audiences has to have a strong structure.

While Home Alone is solidly built (in particular, pay attention to the way the story escalates, forcing Kevin McCallister to employ more and more drastic measures to protect his home), there are other three key screenwriting issues to examine:

credibility
timelessness
heart

Credibility: Sure Home Alone is high-concept. But if executed poorly, it would have come across as outlandish. How could reasonably sane parents forget to take one of their kids when they fly to Paris for Christmas? How could that kid, who’s only eight years old, protect himself from two inexperienced (but admittedly bumbling) burglars?

With regards to the former, Hughes sets up the abandonment sequence so deftly that many credibility hurdles are overcome right away. Because of a winter storm, the parental alarm clock was reset, resulting in pure mayhem. An annoying neighbor’s kid who resembles Kevin from the back temporarily joins the fray, ruining a head count made by a bored teenager. Because of a temper tantrum thrown the night before, Kevin was banished to the third floor attic, a locale remote enough to be forgotten easily.

In the rush to make their flight, it’s perfectly credible that the McCallister family left Kevin behind. Plus, audiences would still feel empathy for Kevin’s mom (even though she left Kevin home alone) as she desperately tries to return to Chicago. As you’ll see below, it’s important to maintain this kind of emotional connection.

With regards to the bumbling burglars, Harry and Marvin, there are several reasons why Kevin is able to elude them. He scares them away with a violent movie, Angels with Filthy Souls, which features lots of gunfire. It was established in Act One as the movie Uncle Frank wouldn’t let Kevin watch, even though the “big kids” could.

At one point Kevin manages to escape Marvin who’s latched onto Kevin’s pant cuff because Kevin scares him with his brother’s giant tarantula, also set up in Act One. At the end, when Harry and Marvin apprehend Kevin, the boy is rescued by his neighbor, Old Man Marley, who was introduced to us…in Act One.

Sensing a pattern?

Hughes wielded the power of setup and payoff to maximum advantage so that audiences would be able to focus on the comedy instead of on credibility.

Timelessness: One reason that Home Alone is still funny–and relevant–years after its release is because it was written and directed with a view towards timelessness. For example, the jokes aren’t based on pop culture references which become less funny with each passing year.

Sure, a lot of the humor is rooted in physical comedy gags which are fairly timeless, but it goes beyond that…and into the relationship dynamics at the core of the story. Because of Kevin’s immaturity, he’s rejected by his siblings and cousins. This drives some of the humor, and is also used to show Kevin’s growth throughout the movie. It’s the kind of dynamic which was true then, is true now, and will be true twenty years from now.

If you eliminated the comedy gags in your script, are the relationship dynamics between your characters something which will be recognizable years into the future? If the answer is yes, there’s a good chance that your movie will also have timeless appeal.

Heart: People don’t just go to the movies to be entertained. They also go to the movies to experience genuine emotion, emotion which they can’t find in their own life because everyone is either too lazy, stressed, or plugged-in to be consistently authentic. Lesser writers than Hughes would have focused on Kevin’s hijinks with the burglars to the exclusion of “heart.” But the subplots with Kevin’s mother and Old Man Marley made the movie so much more.

Remember that when you’re writing your own comedy. After a certain point, if the same comedy gag is watched repeatedly, it becomes less funny. But scenes full of emotional truth will always resonate, no matter how many times they are viewed. If you want inspiration on how to combine humor with heart, take a look at the relationship dynamics in Back to the Future and Sherlock Holmes.

But for now, let’s focus on Home Alone…

Plot Points from Home Alone

A beautiful colonial is decorated for Christmas. Inside, the home is filled with mayhem. A cop tries to extract info from anyone–child or adult–with no success.
Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister complains to his mom that his uncle won’t let him watch a movie that all the “big kids” can.
When she doesn’t listen, he then complains to his dad who urges him to pick up his toys.
The police officer continues his queries, still getting nowhere.
Kevin’s siblings and cousins tell him he’s helpless because he doesn’t know how to pack a suitcase. He throws a temper tantrum.
Kevin’s older brother, Buzz, frightens Kevin with tall tales about their neighbor, Old Man Marley. Buzz claims Marley killed his family with a snow shovel.
When a pizza delivery boy arrives, the police officer manages to extract some information from Kevin’s dad.
Kevin whines about the lack of plain cheese pizza, eventually attacking Buzz who gobbled up the last of it. Milk spills everywhere, almost destroying passports.
Kevin’s mom pays the pizza boy and tells the police officer that they’re all about to visit Paris for Christmas. The officer smiles, revealing a gold tooth which Kevin regards with suspicion.
Kevin’s mom banishes him to the third floor attic. Kevin yells that he’d be happy if he didn’t see her or the others for the rest of his life.
The electricity goes out, resetting the alarm clock in Kevin’s parents’ room.
Because the alarm clock didn’t go off like it was supposed to, the whole family gets ready in a rush.
They board airport shuttle vans. Accidentally, Kevin’s older sister includes a neighbor in her head count (instead of him).
The McCallisters race through the airport in an organized frenzy. They make their flight. Whew!
Still in the third floor attic, Kevin wakes up. He searches for his family everywhere–including down in the basement, home to a scary furnace. He’s thrilled to discover that his family left him home alone!
Hijinks ensue. He jumps on his parents’ bed, invades Buzz’s privacy, uses a BB gun to shoot at toy figurines, and watches the movie his uncle banned him from seeing, the infamous Angels with Filthy Souls.
On the plane en route to Paris, Kevin’s mother gets a terrible feeling…finally realizing they left Kevin behind.
Kevin sleds down his stairs–and out the front door. Meanwhile, his mom freaks out.
It’s revealed that the police officer from Act One is in fact a burglar named Harry. Eying the McCallister home with avarice, he plots a spree of crime with his accomplice, Marvin.
Kevin spots the two thieves sneaking into the basement. He turns on the lights which scares them away. Frightened, Kevin hides under the bed.
At the airport, Kevin’s mom commandeers a pay phone and calls everyone she knows.
Kevin talks himself out of hiding, but then he runs into Old Man Marley, and races back under the bed.
Kevin’s mom tries to contact the local police who transfer her from one employee to another. Finally, the police agree to check on the McCallister residence, but–
–when they knock, Kevin thinks the burglars have returned, so he doesn’t answer the door.
Kevin’s mom decides to remain at the airport in case a standby seat becomes available.
After experiencing the sting of aftershave, Kevin ruins Buzz’s shelves, steals Buzz’s life savings, and, without realizing it, sets Buzz’s massive tarantula free.
Like two kids in a candy store, the Harry and Marvin raid another home on Kevin’s block. They overhear a message from Kevin’s dad which reveals the family’s in Paris. Convinced the home is unoccupied, the burglars plan to rob it that evening.
At a small mom and pop store, Kevin tries to buy a toothbrush. But Old Man Marley appears, terrifying Kevin, who races out of the store without paying for the toothbrush.
Accused of shoplifting, Kevin is pursued by a cop.
While robbing a home, Harry yells at Marvin for leaving the faucets running. Marvin claims it’s their “calling card.” As they make their getaway, they almost run Kevin over. Harry apologizes, revealing his gold tooth. Kevin realizes that the cop and the burglar are one and the same.
He flees to the local church, hiding within a nativity scene. He vows to be ready for the thieves when they return.
Kevin uses mannequins, music, and a cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan to make it look like there’s a huge party going on at his home.
In Paris, one of Kevin’s sisters feels sorry for him. Buzz, however, is unconcerned.
The pizza delivery boy arrives. Kevin uses the violent movie, Angels with Filthy Souls, to scare the boy away…and enjoys the plain cheese pizza which he has all to himself.
Kevin’s mom tries to bribe airline passengers for one of their seats. Finally, success!
Kevin wishes for his family to come back home. He gets ready for the day–he still hasn’t mastered the application of aftershave. He shops for milk, even using coupons for his groceries.
Kevin does the laundry in the basement. This time, he isn’t terrified by the scary furnace.
Harry orders Marvin to investigate the McCallister home. Kevin uses Angels with Filthy Souls (and firecrackers) to scare Marvin away.
Marvin claims that someone else beat them to the job of stealing from the McCallister home. Harry decides to stakeout the home and discover who the other burglars are.
Kevin’s mom lands in Scranton, but can’t get a ticket to Chicago. She flips out. Gus, the polka king of the Midwest, and his band are planning to drive to Chicago. He volunteers their services.
Harry realizes that the kid they almost ran over lives inside the McCallister home. In other words, they’ve been scammed.
Hanging ornaments onto the Christmas tree, Kevin spots Harry’s reflection in one of the baubles and overhears the burglar’s plan to return at 9 PM.
Kevin’s mom listens to polka music as the band’s van cruises through the Midwest.
Kevin asks one of Santa’s “surrogates” to give Santa a message–for Christmas, all he wants is his family back.
Kevin visits a church and listens to the carolers. Old Man Marley is there and politely joins Kevin in his pew. Marley confides to Kevin that he and his son had a disagreement and are estranged. Kevin tells Marley that he’s too old to be afraid and shares his victory over the basement furnance. Finally, he counsels Marley to call his son.
Kevin rushes home for his last stand against the burglars. Under the observation of Buzz’s tarantula, he sets up various booby traps around his house.
Harry taunts Kevin about being all alone. Kevin shoots first Harry, then Marvin, with his BB gun. The crooks split up.
At the front of the house, Harry slips on thick sheets of ice Kevin created. At the back of the house, so does Marvin. Finally, Marvin succeeds in breaking into the basement–and is rewarded by a hit on the head by a hot iron.
Harry is burned by a hot doorknob–and rolls down the front steps.
Marvin is tarred, then nailed in the foot. Harry tries to enter via the kitchen, but his head is set on fire, and his hair is burned right off.
Finally making it inside, Harry is covered in feathers. Marvin enters through a window, and broken ornaments slice his bare feet. Both slip on Kevin’s collection of toy cars.
Harry and Marvin are hit by paint cans, one of which dislodges Harry’s gold tooth. Kevin calls the police, but is then caught by Marvin, who latches onto Kevin’s pant cuff.
Kevin spots Buzz’s tarantula and uses it to scare Marvin, who screams like a girl. To kill the spider, Marvin hits Harry. Harry beats up Marvin. Using a homemade “zipline,” Kevin flies out the window and into his treehouse.
Harry and Marvin climb out the window to pursue Kevin, but the kid cuts the rope they’re hanging onto with a pair of clippers. The burglars fly into the side of the house.
Kevin flees into a neighboring home, whose basement is flooded (thanks to Marvin’s calling card). Harry and Marvin capture Kevin, pin him to a door, and plan to maul him–but Old Man Marley hits them with a snow shovel.
The police arrive, capturing the “wet bandits” who can be linked to a string of robberies thanks to Marvin’s calling card.
Kevin puts out stockings for his whole family.
Gus tries to comfort Kevin’s mother with a story about leaving behind a kid at a funeral parlor.
Kevin wakes up and is excited to see it’s snowing. He calls out for his mother, who’s not there–
–until she bursts through the front door. She’s overjoyed to see Kevin safe and sound. She’s also pleased to see the stockings and Christmas tree he set out.
Everyone returns–they missed Kevin. He brags about buying milk and fabric softener at the store.
Kevin’s dad finds Harry’s dislodged gold tooth; through the window, Kevin observes Marley patching up with his son. It’s a wonderful Christmas all-round!