Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (PG, 1992)

Here we go again. Kevin McAllister already got left Home Alone one Christmas; now he's on the wrong plane and headed to New York City while his family jets off to Miami for the holiday. Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), once again happy to be free of his boisterous family, sets out on an adventure in the big city. His father's credit card rents him a suite at the Plaza Hotel. Slapstick moments are provided by run-ins with the original movie's goofball villains, Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, respectively). The duo has escaped from prison and is planning to rob a toy store on Christmas Eve -- and Kevin's determined to stop them. Finally, Mom (Catherine O'Hara) realizes that her son's missing and frantically tries to find him.

The early family scenes in Home Alone 2 are some of the movie's funniest moments, as are Kevin's clever survival schemes at the hotel and on the streets of New York. As a sequel, the movie manages to be funny, if predictable, and occasionally borders on heart-warming -- in an odd yet touching moment, Kevin befriends a homeless woman and encourages her to reach out to people more.

It's easy to see why fans took to Culkin's "little big guy" routine in the '90s. He's a charmer. And as Kevin's mom, Catherine O'Hara is a well-wrought mix of funny and sentimental.

Studio: Sony Pictures
Director: Chris Columbus
Cast: Daniel Stern, Joe Pesci, Macaulay Culkin
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 100 minutes
Theatrical release: November 15, 1992
DVD release: October 5, 1999
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: comic action and mild language.