A rare case in which the sequel lives up to original, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York once again saw Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, left behind on his family's vacation. Stranded in New York City and alone for the holidays, Kevin must again outwit Harry and Marv, the two bumbling burglars from the first film.
The first movie launched the career of star Culkin and featured a strong supporting cast of Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern and Catherine O'Hara — as well as a cameo by the future president, Donald Trump.
As the movie celebrates its 25th anniversary on Nov. 20, The Hollywood Reporter checks in with the Home Alone 2 cast to see where they are now. (And click here to take our quiz and see how much you remember about the movie.)
Reprising his role as Kevin McCallister from 1990's Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin ends up alone in New York City when he gets on the wrong plane for a family vacation to Florida. Kevin uses his dad's credit card to stay at the Plaza Hotel and explore the city until he runs into villains Harry and Marv and must out-trick them once again. Culkin was 12 years old while filming Home Alone 2, but began his acting career when he was just 4. Home Alone made him a household name in the early '90s, when he also starred in Uncle Buck and My Girl and even hosted Saturday Night Live. He retired from acting until 2000, when he appeared in a number of small movies and guest television appearances, including on Will & Grace. Most recently, Culkin went on tour with his comedy rock band The Pizza Underground in 2014.
Joe Pesci was a seasoned actor by the time he joined the Home Alone franchise, having gotten his big break, and an Oscar nomination, in 1980's Raging Bull. He would go on to work on films including the Lethal Weapon sequels, Once Upon a Time in America and Goodfellas before taking on the role of Harry in Home Alone and Home Alone 2. In both films, Pesci plays one-half of a blundering duo of burglars trying to rob the McCallister home but repeatedly gets pranked by Culkin's Kevin. In the sequel, the burglars have just escaped from jail when they run into Kevin in New York, setting off a series of hi-jinks that involve robbing a toy store. Although he was in a series of smaller movies throughout the '90s, Pesci announced his retirement from acting in 1999 to focus on a music career and has released two albums.
Before his role as Marv in Home Alone, Daniel Stern was featured in a mix of popular '80s and '90s films, including Diner and City Slickers. He also was the narrator for The Wonder Years and directed several episodes of the show. In Home Alone and Home Alone 2, Stern starred alongside Joe Pesci as inept burglars trying to rob the McCallister house and getting consistently pranked by Kevin. After the film and its sequel, Stern largely worked in theater and television, doing voices for shows like Dilbert and Family Guy.
Catherine O'Hara had built up a large comedy resume before the release of the Home Alone films across both television and film. She worked on Heartburn, After Hours and Beetlejuice, as well as on sketch comedy show SCTV. In Home Alone, she plays Kevin's mother Kate McCallister, who twice finds out that her son did not make it onto their family vacation. In the sequel, she searches all over New York City for him while he fights back against the burglars, then eventually finds him at the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. After the two films, her star continued to grow, particularly on television. She has worked on shows like 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Modern Family and has been a regular character on Schitt's Creek since 2015. O'Hara has also done a lot of voice work for animated films, including The Nightmare Before Christmas, Brother Bear 2 and Frankenweenie.
John Heard appeared in a number of plays and smaller films before starring in the Home Alone series as Kevin McCallister's father. He had supporting roles in Big, Beaches, Deceived and Gladiator throughout the late '80s and early '90s, and then would go on to play Peter McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2, losing his son on family vacations in both films. After the hit films, Heard would focus more on television, with recurring roles in The Sopranos, CSI: Miami and Prison Break, as well as guest roles on Entourage and Modern Family. On July 21, 2017, Heard died of a heart attack.
Home Alone was the big break for Devin Ratray, who previously had a small role in Little Monsters. Ratray played Kevin McCallister's bullying older brother Buzz in the movie and its sequel, and soon after had roles in Dennis the Menace and The Prince and Me. In recent years, Ratray has guest-starred on shows like The Good Wife and Elementary as well as appeared in smaller indie films.
The real estate mogul — then-owner of the Plaza Hotel and nearly a quarter-century before becoming the president of the United States — makes a small cameo in Home Alone 2 when Kevin arrives at the hotel and asks Trump for directions to the lobby, not realizing who he is. In addition to hosting and executive producing the Apprentice reality-show franchise for years on NBC, Trump has appeared in a variety of shows and movies, including Sex and the City, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Little Rascals and Zoolander.
Home Alone 2 marked one of Rob Schneider's first roles, where he played a bellhop at the Plaza Hotel where Kevin is staying. He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live at the time of the film and would continue to grow his comedy career throughout the 2000s, frequently starring in films with friend Adam Sandler. His most notable works include 50 First Dates, The Longest Yard and Grown Ups.
No comments: