I
hope you're all enjoying The Pop Culture
Addict's Advent Calendar for this month! Coming up with
topics for this month has been a lot of fun, and I still have
twenty-two more days to go!
We're
heading into Day 3 of the near month long event, and this is our
first look at a Monday Matinee. So, why not feature a movie that
brings us all into the Christmas spirit?
Before
I get into today's blog entry, I thought that I would talk about a
subject that many people seem to get annoyed at, but I think that in
some instances, it's okay.
I'm
talking about product placement.
Product
placement in film and television has been a regular sight to be seen
since the days of the 1950s when some sitcoms acted out built-in
commercials for products right in the show. You see it all the time
in movies, such as subtle references to company logos, people
name-dropping various brand names within the dialogue, and setting
key scenes inside of a well-known restaurant chain.
I
imagine that a lot of people hate the idea of product placement in
movies, and for the most part, I tend to agree. People go to the
movies to watch a couple fall in love, or to watch someone save the
world, or to see a group of people get turned into hors d'oeuvres by
a group of hungry zombies. They don't like being bombarded by
impromptu commercials for items that they have no interest in
purchasing. I know I certainly don't like watching ads within
movies, especially now that I am an adult.
When
I was a child though, I admit that I did like seeing toys and games
played in various movies and television shows. After all, I will
readily admit that a lot of my early Christmas lists were inspired by
things I had seen in movies and television shows. For example, the
1988 film “The Wizard” was largely forgettable, but it was also
the film which showed exclusive previews of the Nintendo game “Super
Mario Brothers 3”, which was a game I received one Christmas
morning. I also remember watching the 1982 film “ET: The Extra
Terrestrial” and suddenly getting a craving for Reese's Pieces.
It's funny how product placement really worked on my young mind,
looking back on it.
I
have one more story to tell you about product placement, and it takes
place almost 20 years ago to the day.
In
1992, I was eleven years old, and I remember that Christmas being a
particularly memorable one. My big gift that year was my Super
Nintendo, and I also remember it being the first year that my mom's
extended family had a get together on Christmas Eve, where we
exchanged gifts. Christmas '92 was the second Christmas without my
grandmother and right around that time, family togetherness was very
important and we wanted to make a tradition to spend more time
together.
(Ironically
enough, the tradition only lasted a few years, as some family members
kind of got along the same way that water got along with a frayed
electrical cord...but hey, at least it was nice for the remainder of
the 1990s.)
In
addition to my Super Nintendo that year, I had also gotten some cash
that year, and I decided to spend it at the movie theater. Back then
there was a movie that I had wanted to see since it was released a
month earlier, but never had the money to afford it. I ended up
seeing the movie on the last day of 1992, and I thought it was a
great way to ring in 1993.
The
movie was actually a sequel to a popular 1990 film, and I remember
wanting to see it because I had loved the first film. And for what
it was worth, although the second film was very similar to the first,
I did like it a lot. It helped that almost the same cast returned to
the sequel to reprise their roles...but there was also something in
the film that was featured a lot.
Something
in the film that I really wanted.
You
see, the main character in the film used a particular device
throughout the film that helped him out a lot. He used it to
manipulate his voice, recorded movie scenes that he played at certain
times to escape danger, and used it to cause mischief around the
house.
It
was a device known as the Talkboy tape recorder. And I wanted one so
badly. The problem was that at the time the movie was released, the
Talkboy was not available in stores. I come to find out that the
Talkboy tape recorder was made especially for the film itself. But I
still wanted one, and apparently so did millions of children all over
the world. The demand from children got so high that in 1993, Tiger
Electronics began manufacturing the Talkboy tape recorder for sale in
retail outlets, and it soon became one of the best-selling toys of
1993. I ended up getting my own version of the Talkboy for Christmas
1994, I believe, and I admit that it was neat toy the amount of time
I owned it...though the sound quality wasn't that great.
But
that Talkboy tape recorder sure did help Kevin McCallister out in a
bind. With it, he checked into a hotel and kept the bad guys at bay.
Not bad, considering that at the age of ten, he ended up lost on the
streets of New York City.
And
that's the basic plot of the film “Home Alone 2: Lost in New
York”, a film directed by Chris Columbus and which starred Macaulay
Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara, John Heard, Brenda
Fricker, Tim Curry, and Eddie Bracken.
The
film was released on November 20, 1992 – a little over two years
after the original “Home Alone” debuted, and the plot for the
sequel was almost exactly the same as the first movie, only with a
twist. Instead of Kevin McCallister (Culkin) being left home alone
in his comfortable Oak Park, Illinois home, he somehow boards the
wrong airplane and ends up in New York City while the rest of his
family goes to Miami, Florida.
As
if things aren't bad enough, Kevin is unaware of the fact that the
Wet Bandits that he helped put away in the first movie have escaped
police custody and are on the loose...in New York City.
The
parallels between the original Home Alone and Home Alone 2 are eerily
similar. Within the first half hour of the film, both movies begin
almost exactly the same way.
(Home
Alone) Kevin is forced to sleep in the attic after he pushes Buzz
away and spills milk over the family's plane tickets to Paris.
(Home
Alone 2) Kevin is forced to sleep in the attic after he pushes Buzz
at a Christmas concert for making his ears glow during his big solo.
(Home
Alone) Kevin wishes his family would just disappear.
(Home
Alone 2) Kevin wishes he could go on his own vacation without his
family.
(Home
Alone) Kevin oversleeps and his family leaves without waking him up.
(Home
Alone 2) Kevin ends up following another man wearing the same jacket
as his father (Heard) and boards the wrong plane.
(Home
Alone) Kate (O'Hara) realizes Kevin is missing on the airplane to
Paris.
(Home
Alone 2) Kate realizes that Kevin is missing at the Miami
International Airport and faints.
(Home
Alone) Kevin watches the movie “Angels With Filthy Souls” and
gets scared.
(Home
Alone 2) Kevin watches the movie “Angels With Filthier Souls”
and gets scared.
(Home
Alone) Harry (Pesci) and Marv (Stern) call themselves the Wet Bandits and they break
into people's homes and steal things.
(Home
Alone 2) Harry and Marv call themselves the Sticky Bandits, and they
scheme to rob Duncan's Toy Chest.
(Home
Alone) The McCallisters have a miserable time in Paris.
(Home
Alone 2) The McCallisters have a miserable time in Miami.
(Home
Alone) Kevin is initially afraid of Old Man Marley (Roberts Blossom)
but later becomes his friend.
(Home
Alone 2) Kevin is initially afraid of the Central Park Pigeon Lady
(Fricker), but later becomes her friend.
Okay,
so I see what you're saying here. The films are more or less the
same movie with a different setting. But one reason why I loved the
sequel of Home Alone was for the storyline.
You
see, Home Alone was a great film as far as having an eight year old
boy crafting up a blueprint of schemes and booby traps to stop Harry
and Marv in their tracks. We learned that ice on a staircase is
dangerous, crazy glue and feathers make an interesting costume, and
that a blowtorch can be used as a hair removing device. And yet, the
whole idea of the film was kind of self-serving. When you stop and
think about it, yes, Kevin did learn a lot about what it was like to
fend for himself, but ultimately he was only preventing Harry and
Marv from taking his family's stuff. Electronic devices, jewelry,
expensive clothing, and antiques. Things that could have been
replaced with decent insurance coverage.
Not
so in the second version.
You
see, one of the many things that Kevin does on his sudden vacation to
New York City (after using his Talkboy and his father's Visa card to
check into a luxury suite at the Plaza Hotel) is head down to
Duncan's Toy Chest, a toy store that is supposed to be almost similar
to FAO Schwarz. And aside from purchasing such objects as bubble
bath that looked like green slime (which served to aid Kevin later on
in the movie), his attention was drawn to a Christmas tree that was
on display on the counter of the toy store where Kevin first meets
Mr. Duncan (Bracken). Mr. Duncan explains to Kevin that the tree
contains ornaments of things that were featured in the classic
Christmas carol “The 12 Days of Christmas”. He even allows Kevin
to take home the two turtle dove ornaments, telling him that the
doves are a symbol of friendship between two people.
Mr.
Duncan also shows Kevin a chest filled with money, which Mr. Duncan
explains is for a nearby children's hospital. The money not only
funds the expenses needed for the hospital to run, but the money also
helps the staff purchase gifts for the patients who are unable to go
home for Christmas.
Right
around this time, Harry and Marv discover that Kevin is in New York
City, and try on multiple occasions to catch him and get rid of him.
Of course, taking on Kevin McCallister is no easy task...and when
Kevin overhears Harry and Marv talking about robbing Duncan's Toy
Chest, Kevin discovers that he can't let them take Christmas away
from sick kids, and he decides to take revenge on them. Luckily for
Kevin, his uncle's townhouse is undergoing renovations, and he ends
up using it as a home base to cause all sorts of pain to Harry and
Marv. Now with 25% more paint, pipes, fire, and heavy objects!
Meanwhile,
the McCallisters are trying to find Kevin and when they discover that
he used Peter's credit card at the Plaza Hotel, the entire family
travel there to find him, which leads to a rather humourous
confrontation between Kate and the concierge of the Plaza Hotel
(Curry).
The
climax of the film takes place in Central Park, and it appears as
though Kevin's luck has run out. Or has it?
I
won't reveal what happens...but at the very end of the movie, Kevin
has an unexpected ally come to his aid, and the turtle doves that Mr.
Duncan gave him feature prominently within the last five minutes of
the film.
So
there you have it...the sequel to Home Alone 2. Not quite as good as
the original, but still a movie worth watching for the holidays.
It
certainly beats the lame third attempt and the even lamer fourth
attempt following Home Alone 2 anyway.
Coming
up tomorrow is Day #4 of the PCA Advent Calendar, and it also
happens to be a Tuesday Timeline entry. We're going back to the
1950s to examine a Christmas album by a popular artist that many
radio stations refused to play...until one Canadian station decided
to take a stand.
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