Christmas Classics Box Set: Home Alone/A Christmas Carol/Jingle All the Way/Miracle on 34th Street

Editorial Reviews

After shifting from his 1980s teen cycle to general family dysfunction in Uncle Buck (1989), writer/producer John Hughes unexpectedly hit the blockbuster jackpot with the family comedy Home Alone (1990). Placing precocious Uncle Buck supporting player Macaulay Culkin center stage, the Chris Columbus-directed portrayal of a clever eight-year-old accidentally left behind by his vacationing family swiftly moves from the expected forays into ice cream gorging and late-night TV to an extended, Rube Goldbergian defense of his well-appointed suburban home from a couple of dim-witted burglars. With Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern executing some overly painful slapstick as the thwarted criminals, a number of critics objected to scenes of "cartoonish" violence that were a bit too intense, but Culkin's easy, wide-eyed charm won over audiences. The unheralded, inexpensive Christmas-season release went on to become a sleeper hit and one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time, turning Culkin into the top child star of the early '90s. Culkin also starred in the highly popular sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), but by the time the franchise got around to Home Alone 3 (1997), the thrill -- and Culkin -- was gone. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi A thoroughly enjoyable family comedy, this holiday film represents the high water mark of director Brian Levant's career, one marked by a specialization in light, intentionally fatuous comic fare. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays, as usual, a thinly veiled variation on himself, the "funny" version recognizable from Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and Junior (1994). The rest of the cast plays against the star's mountainous gravity, however, with delightful results; in particular, Phil Hartman has oodles of fun as an oily neighborhood lecher, mocking and lampooning his leading man's stoic demeanor and sheer physical size. As the film's mailman foil, stand-up comic Sinbad is not utilized very well by the script, which never seems quite sure if he's a villain or not. Performances and clear character motivations are beside the point, however, as the script does its job, delivering the gift of many memorably amusing moments. Among them: scenes in which the star is attacked by a rogue band of elves, another in which he's attacked by angry mothers at a mall, and yet another in which he shudders to imagine his son growing up to be a boozing postal worker. There's also some fun with a rented reindeer and Schwarzenegger in a superhero costume, which is probably where he belongs. It's certainly not witty enough for the stage, but Jingle All the Way is a fun seasonal treat that will probably be popping up on cable TV as a December programming staple, one in which weary parental shoppers will grimace and guffaw to recognize themselves. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is one of the most filmed stories in the history of cinema, so saying that Clive Donner's 1984 version is one of the best out there is no small bit of praise. Donner's interpretation has a Masterpiece Theater quality that permeates all aspects of the production, with George C. Scott setting the standard in the central role. Scott brings a thespian's commitment and a highly intellectual tone to the proceedings, making clear that Ebenezer Scrooge's disdain for Christmas springs from a place of logic and premeditation, not just reactionary negativity. Scrooge's disposition is not nearly so chilling when the actor and director choose to blame it on meanness only; the courage of his convictions is what makes Scrooge so dastardly. His joy in the final scene is therefore that much more cathartic, having been dug up from such a deep place. David Warner, a villain in such films as Tron and Time Bandits, turns out to be an excellent Bob Cratchit, and Edward Woodward is particularly memorable as a booming Ghost of Christmas Present, accounting for much of the film's humor. The grim reaper effects are sufficiently creepy, and Donner's film has a good period authenticity in its look as well. This A Christmas Carol is distinctive and enduring enough that one tends to forget it was originally made for television, and those origins don't undermine its credibility in the slightest. Truth be told, by 1984, the story had been told so many times, straightforward versions had stopped getting theatrical releases. Only modern updates like the Bill Murray vehicle Scrooged still found their way to the multiplexes. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi