Is Home Alone a Top 5 Christmas Movie? ft. Kylie Kelce | New Heights Film Club

Summary

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New Heights Film Club: Is Home Alone a Top 5 Christmas Movie?

Podcast: New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Episode Date: December 19, 2025
Special Guest: Kylie Kelce

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Episode Overview

In this festive episode of the New Heights Film Club, Jason and Travis Kelce are joined by Kylie Kelce to revisit and dissect the beloved 1990 holiday classic Home Alone. The trio reflect on their personal connections to the film, its timeless appeal, and debate its place in the pantheon of Christmas movies. Along the way, they deliver their trademark sibling banter, share nostalgic family stories, and assess Home Alone through their own tongue-in-cheek "PFF grading" system.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Reflecting on Nostalgia and First Memories

• Time Capsule: The Kelces express surprise at Home Alone’s 1990 release date, highlighting its enduring presence across generations.
  • "I was surprised by that too… Definitely thought it was more mid to late 90s because we were, we were kids when we first were watching it." – Travis (01:16)
• Family Viewing: Kylie notes her own children’s reactions to the movie, sharing that while “Ellie calls it ‘Home Alone’… Benny does not like the slipping.” (02:11-02:26).
• Iconic Scenes for Kids: The trio recall how elements like the attic zipline sparked their childhood imaginations.
  • "When I was a kid, that was one of the parts of the movie where I was like, Dad, I want that for sure." – Travis (03:00)

The Magic of the Movie

• Holiday Atmosphere: The hosts celebrate the film’s Christmas spirit, from the memorable score to its place as a seasonal ritual.
  • "When that first scene hits… It's so magical. It, like, lifts me and I start floating." – Travis (03:33)
• Timelessness with Dated Elements: Jason and Travis agree the movie holds up but note, "there's a few things that are starting to get dated." (04:02)

Relatability & Family Dynamics

• The brothers discuss sibling archetypes, with Travis relating to Kevin and Jason to Buzz.
  • "I always watched the movie thinking I was Kevin." – Travis (07:07)
  • "I never watched it and saw myself as Kevin. I liked Kevin… but I never was Jay." – Jason (07:12)
• Kylie raises a social media challenge: photograph an actual kid’s runaway bag, not just adults’ recollections.
• Funny family memories of “running away” echo the film’s childhood escapism.
  • "I think I, like, grabbed a bag of chips and threw it in a backpack and… just hid in the bushes." – Travis (05:17)

The Plot and Parental Perspectives

• Plot Recap: Jason thoroughly recaps the story, highlighting the mix of kids’ wish fulfillment and pure ‘90s logic. (12:01–16:29)
• Plausibility Problems: The crew pokes many holes in the plot’s believability.
  • "This might be the most unrelated parents I've ever seen in a Christmas movie. I mean, it's just, it's blatantly..." – Jason (16:58)
  • Kylie: "She did call the cops in her neighborhood." (17:45)
  • Travis: "That's the nostalgia of the 90s, though, is that... it sounds so easy to just pick up your cell phone..." (18:40)
• Issues with the Wet Bandits' inept burglary strategies are also dissected humorously.
  • "Poor, poor banditing... I just felt like that wasn’t the wisest of choices." – Jason (21:11)

Favorite Scenes

(Highlighted at 21:44)

• Jason: Loves the opening family chaos—“It feels very relatable... running around getting pissed off about really stupid things that only like siblings would be pissed off about.” (21:51, 21:56)
• Kylie: Enjoys the mayhem and meticulous planning of Kevin’s house defense (22:48).
• Travis: Picks the “toothbrush chase” scene and Kevin’s immediate remorse—"He stole something… and then, like, as he’s walking home, he’s immediately like, and I didn't mean to steal this.” (23:22–24:11)

The Cast

• All hosts agree the casting is pitch-perfect, especially Macaulay Culkin as Kevin.
  • "I think it's probably... the best cast Christmas movie of all time. Could you think of anybody other than Macaulay Culkin being Kevin?" – Jason (24:32)
• Praise for Joe Pesci (Harry), Daniel Stern (Marv), Catherine O’Hara (the mom), and John Candy.

Character Comparisons & Survival Skills

Who would fare best in a Home Alone scenario?

• Jason is adamant: "Travis. Not even question. And I've always thought Kevin McAllister was in Travis." (30:15)
• Travis embraces the role but admits Kylie might be “more planned out.” (30:28)

Debating Home Alone's Rank in Christmas Movie Canon

Is it Top 5?

• "I'll go top five. I can't rank like..." – Travis (30:49)
• Jason: “I think it’s just out of the top five for me.” – noting he prefers Elf and classics like Christmas Vacation, Christmas Story, and claymation specials. (32:02, 31:23)
• Kylie and Travis keep Home Alone in their top five, with Kylie placing it at #5 (32:32–32:47).

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PFF-Style Grading of Home Alone

(Discussion at 32:47–36:51)

• Christmas Spirit: 98/100
  • "It has the soundtrack, the setting, all of it... just very Christmassy." – Jason (33:06)
• Acting: 100/100
  • No bad performances noted.
• Directing: 100/100
• Plot: 65–85/100
  • Highly entertaining, but "not a believable plot" and “so 90s… but delightful.” (34:40–35:13)
• Action/Entertainment (renamed from 'Violence'): 90/100
  • Physical comedy and inventive mayhem.
• Overall score: ~95/100 (rounded)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sibling banter:
  • "He ran away the same way he goes to Vegas… I know where I'm going. It has everything I need." – Travis (06:06)
  • "We would really have to search for him." – Kylie, on 'Aimless Jason' (06:25)
• On Home Alone’s legacy:
  • "I don't think I've ever met anybody that hasn't seen Home Alone." – Jason (11:43)
• On holiday chaos:
  • "It feels very relatable. Like running around getting pissed off about really stupid things that only siblings would be pissed off about." – Jason (21:51)
• On casting:
  • "Could you think of anybody other than Macaulay Culkin being Kevin? Like, the facial expressions… it's… He crushes it." – Jason & Travis (24:46)
• On the plot’s holes:
  • "There is precisely 0% chance that I am just waiting a couple days before I can fly back to Chicago to see what happens with Kevin." – Jason (17:58)
• Final verdict:
  • "Unbiased opinion. Home Alone 2 is better." – Travis, closing (38:09)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Nostalgia and First Memories: 01:16 – 04:05
• Discussing the Score and Christmas Magic: 03:24 – 03:56
• Favorite Scenes: 21:44 – 24:46
• Character Archetypes/Family Dynamics: 06:30 – 07:53
• Plot Recap: 12:01 – 16:29
• Plot Plausibility Critique: 16:42 – 19:08
• Debate: Is It Top 5? 30:49 – 32:47
• PFF Grading Home Alone: 32:47 – 36:58
• Final Thoughts & Rankings: 37:10 – 38:09

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Conclusion

This episode sees the Kelce brothers and Kylie blend heartfelt nostalgia, sharp-witted analysis, and playful family rivalry, ultimately celebrating Home Alone’s enduring holiday charm. They agree on its near-universal appeal and entertainment value, but also gleefully poke fun at its plot holes and the wild logic of ‘90s family movies. While Travis and Kylie place it firmly in their Christmas movie top five, Jason pushes it just outside his. The episode ends with their “PFF scores” giving Home Alone a near-perfect rating for holiday rewatchability—and with a challenge to revisit Home Alone 2!

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Memorable Sign Offs:

• "Merry Christmas, you filthy animals." – Jason (37:26)
• "Go and have the creepiest Christmas ever." – Travis (37:32)
• "Unbiased opinion. Home Alone 2 is better." – Travis (38:09)

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Transcript

[A]

The only way this would have made sense is if the plane crashed upon taking off so that they never knew and everyone just died. That would have made sense that he was left alone for a little bit. The hell it wouldn't have been as Christmassy.

[B]

Welcome back to another edition of New Heights Film Club, where your host. I'm Travis Kelsey. This is my brother, Jason. Kelsey. Smoothest guys. You know, the guys that watch movies very closely, critique and. And. And give you good. Subscribe on YouTube One plus wherever you get your podcast and follow the show on all social media at new heights show with 1s. Jason, why don't you tell the people what exactly we have for this episode?

[A]

Coming up on this film club, we are joined by Kylie Kelce to revisit this 1990 Christmas classic, Home Alone.

[B]

Ooh, it's a good one. It's a good one.

[A]

Check it out right now.

[B]

Let's hear it.

[A]

That's right. We're gonna do a little Christmas New Heights Film Club edition. And the. The film that you guys chose for us to review is none other than the Christmas classic, Home Alone 1990. This movie came out in 1990.

[B]

It was a 1990. I was surprised by that too.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

It's old.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Older than I thought it was.

[A]

I don't. Did I. I feel like I saw it when it was like, brand new, but I was only three years old. I doubt I did. I think it.

[B]

No, I think Home Alone 2 was the one that we were like, New York. Yeah. When was that? You're looking it up.

[A]

No, I'm not looking up anything.

[B]

Home alone 2 was. Nope. It was 92. So. No, we still were pretty young. Yeah. Either way. Definitely thought it was like more mid to late 90s because we were. We were kids when. When we first were watching it, but.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Still. Still a classic, though.

[A]

When did you see the movie? You weren't.

[C]

I wasn't.

[A]

You weren't even born.

[C]

Yeah. Look at me. So young.

[B]

So young.

[C]

I probably saw it. I saw it sometime in the 90s. I know that.

[A]

Okay. Okay. I mean, that narrows it down.

[C]

So before I was 8.

[B]

It's a good one for the kids. Have the kids seeing it.

[C]

Yeah, the kids have seen it. Ellie calls it Home Alone. Very, very Del.

[B]

Love that.

[A]

Benny does not like the slipping.

[C]

She does not.

[A]

She freaks her out. She says it.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

I don't know why. I don't picture out that much.

[C]

Ellie was asking me about the zip line the other day. Took us a while to figure out what the hell she was talking About. And she was asking me whether or not you can zipline on the power lines.

[A]

She didn't say the word zipline.

[C]

No, she didn't. She said on that rope. And then we had to get to, you know, the guy in Home Alone does it. I'm like, I'm gonna need more context than that. And she's like, you've seen the movie, Mom? And I'm like, yeah, a couple times, but I still don't know what the hell you're talking about.

[A]

Still making no sense.

[C]

Yeah. So we got to the bottom of it. She meant zipline.

[B]

I will say that when I was a kid, that was one of the, like, parts of the movie where I was like, dad, I want that for sure.

[C]

You can zipline out of.

[B]

That's what I wanted. Out of my window. I don't even need. They don't even need to see me downstairs.

[C]

No.

[A]

I can go right to my tree house. I wanted a tree house. I mean, the whole thing, it was just.

[B]

Yeah. I will say this. When that. When the first scene hits after, like, the.

[A]

Like when that music starts cramping. Yeah. Yeah. Yep.

[B]

So magical. It's just like. It, like, lifts me and I, like, start floating.

[A]

Yeah. The score is fantastic. That's a very well made film.

[B]

I'm glad it was the first Christmas movie I watched this year because it really did make me be like, oh, wow, it is. This is Christmas. It is Christmas. Christmas is happening. And we're here. We finally made it to December. And that is. The magical season is upon us.

[A]

Well, let's start recapping the movie. Let's do this. Okay.

[C]

Oh, gosh.

[A]

How does it hold up?

[B]

Oh, it still cracks.

[A]

It's still incredible.

[B]

Still good. There's a few things that are starting to get dated.

[A]

There's a few things that are starting to get dated. But because it's a nostalgic movie that takes place in a time that it's a period specific film now, I think it's sold. So. Yeah.

[B]

Teaches kids can't trust cops.

[A]

Well, you can't trust anybody.

[B]

Crooked cops. Yeah, you can. You can't trust cops, but you can trust the creepy man across the street.

[C]

Man with the shovel.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He just looks at you awkwardly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Have you ever wished for your family to disappear? For sure.

[C]

Who are you talking about? When you were growing up or right now?

[A]

All the above.

[B]

Maybe not wish for it, but definitely, like, thought of a life where it wasn't the reality and then was like, all right, whatever. That's not ever going to Happen.

[C]

It's not even worth wishing.

[B]

It's not even worth. I only get a few wishes. The ones that I really want to come true. Yeah.

[A]

Did you guys ever run away from home?

[C]

No.

[B]

I definitely did.

[A]

Yeah, me too.

[B]

I definitely ran away.

[C]

I might have packed a bag, but I was such a rule follower. I was like, I can't run away.

[B]

I think I, like, grabbed a bag of chips and threw it in a backpack and, like, a few toys and then fucking got down the street and just, like, hid in the bushes.

[C]

I do think that there should be a trend on social media of what was packed in a kid's runaway bag and not grown ups recounting it. I'm talking about when a grown up takes a picture.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Takes a picture of a kid's runaway bag. I think that that would be because, you know, it's gonna be. It's gonna be three Legos. Right.

[A]

Juice box.

[C]

A stuffy. A single juice box. Probably already drank and maybe a half a snack. Done.

[A]

Yeah, I didn't. You guys are ahead of me. I never. I didn't even pack it back. I just walked. Fuck you guys. And I walked out the door, and I started walking.

[C]

He ran away the same way he goes to Vegas.

[B]

Just. I know where I'm going. It has everything I need.

[A]

I got to the stop sign, I said, I don't know where I'm going, and I don't.

[B]

Friend's house.

[C]

He doesn't know how to get there, Trav.

[B]

It was.

[A]

I was not good at that.

[B]

Aimless Jason. Yeah. Everyone was terrified of Jason leaving away.

[C]

Because he'd never make it home.

[B]

We would really have to search for him.

[A]

All right, I'll let you answer this, Trav. Who was the Kevin and who was the Buzz in the Kelsey household?

[B]

I think it's. I think it's gonna stand true no matter what household it is. The older siblings is buzz versus the younger siblings. Because it's just. I mean, it is what it is. The older siblings always, you know, have fun with picking on the younger ones, and the younger ones always wish that they were older and, like, had more responsibility so they would stop getting treated like they were irresponsible.

[A]

So you. You identified as Kevin?

[B]

Yes. 100. I always watched the movie thinking I was Kevin.

[A]

I never watched it. And I, like, saw myself as Kevin. I liked Kevin. I liked the movie, but I never was Jay.

[C]

I don't know that you're a planner like Kevin.

[A]

The honesty. The Rube Goldberg system that he implemented is the map.

[B]

The. The entire map that he had that he's.

[A]

I mean, second offensive coordinator.

[B]

He should be an officer who is brilliant. I was like, holy. I didn't know. I did. I didn't even remember that from like the first, like 30 times I watched the movie I saw that map and I was like, whoa.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

This kid Kevin's gonna be something dialed.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[C]

Kevin's going somewhere.

[B]

He's going somewhere for sure.

[A]

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[B]

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[C]

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[A]

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[A]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[A]

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[B]

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[D]

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[A]

All right, well, let's recap the plot for those of you that don't know if you've.

[C]

Are there people who haven't seen Living.

[A]

Under a rock since the 90s?

[B]

I don't think I've ever met anybody that hasn't seen Home Alone.

[A]

I mean, there's some young people that have probably not seen it. If we're being honest, it is made in the 90s. There are people that surprisingly don't know anything about the 90s that I frequently encounter. So I, I think they're out there.

[C]

That's sad for them.

[A]

All right, recap of the movie. There is a family, the McAllisters who are vacationing over the holidays to France. Not just mom, dad and the kids.

[B]

But going to business, family over there.

[A]

Big family vacation, going over to France for Christmas. And as they are getting ready, there is also a group of burglars. This is a very well off area who have decided to try and stake out a neighborhood to find out which families are leaving for the holidays and which homes might be good ones to rob. And when the family is getting ready to leave the night before power outage so their alarm clocks don't go off on time, the family has to rush out the door in the morning because they're running late to the. To the airport. And in this rush, the. They forget one of their sons. They forget Kevin Mallister. He's in the attic, up in the attic, asleep. They get to the airport, they think they got everybody. They take off for France. And mom doesn't realize till she's halfway over the ocean that poor old Kevin is still in the mean streets of Chicago. Kevin wakes up. Where's my family? Has no idea. All of a sudden.

[B]

Well, he wished for his family to never.

[A]

Right. I didn't want to. Yeah, I guess that is an important part. He did wish. So he. At first, he thinks that he actually. His Christmas wish them away and Santa Claus had granted him his Christmas wish. And then he realizes the predicament he's in and that he's a child and he can't fend for himself. And he starts to panic. And all of these things happen where he's fearful and whatnot. And I guess in order to say the plot. These burglars that have been casing out the neighborhood know that the McAllisters are leaving. So they go back to this neighborhood to burglarize a bunch of different homes. They call themselves the wet bandits.

[B]

And that's our thing. It's so good.

[A]

In the process of burglary, burglarizing these homes, Kevin notices one of the burglars who was in his house. And perhaps the worst idea ever for a burglar to go expose your face to a bunch of people before you rob their home, before you've done it. It just seems like a very bad.

[B]

The wet band worked good.

[A]

He go rob all these homes. Hey, first let's go show up at their house and show our face. And then when they come back, like, hey, the cops were coming around the neighborhood earlier this week. No, we weren't. We had a cop in our house. We didn't know no cop was in that neighborhood that night.

[B]

Yeah, it's a cop with a gold tooth.

[A]

Anyways. Yeah. Anyways, Kevin notices this burglar, and he realizes that he's in trouble. So instead of having a security system like you would expect, a very wealthy family of the McAllisters. What's the 90s? 1990. Okay. They still had security systems 1,000%.

[C]

They did.

[B]

1,000%. But nice neighborhoods. Yeah.

[A]

Anyways, McAllisters, they're all gone. Kevin's by himself. Wet bandits are coming in. Kevin has to try and figure out a way to deter them. He does a great job of utilizing light systems and all the typical things, but eventually the Wet Bandits realize he's on his own. He knows that they know that he's on his own, so he's got to think smart. So he decides to set up a series of Rube Goldberg events throughout his entire house to inflict damage, harm, and slow these burglars down. He's not calling the cops. What? Because the power line, the. The phone lines don't work in this ridiculous made up scenario. Is that what's happening? Get.

[B]

I don't think he ever thought to call the cops. I think he just, like, took it upon himself to defend himself this whole fucking.

[A]

Okay, so, yeah, I want to get to the end of this so we can get to the absurdity of this plot. Anyways, in epic fashion, Kevin gets the better of the Wet Bandits time and time again. Joe Pesci and. God damn it, what's the other actor? It's not Randy Quaid. What's the. He's very good. Daniel Stern. Daniel Stern. What are the two names in the.

[B]

Harry and Marv.

[A]

Harry and Marv. Thank you. Marv is Daniel, sir. All right. Anyways, Harry and Marv, they try to get into the McAllister's house. Kevin McAllister does a great job of setting up all these booby traps. They can't get in. They're trying to get in. Eventually they get in. Then they get up to the attic. Then he zip lines out of the attic. It's a whole thing. At no point are they robbing them. They're just trying to apparently get Kevin and kidnap him or something like that.

[B]

At some point, they just say, this. This kid is ruining our day. We're about to get after this.

[A]

And it. It all ends with the neighbor down the street saving the day and the Wet Bandits being caught and Kevin being reunited with his family, safe and sound. Where do we want to start off with this.

[B]

I want to start off with. We've kind of mentioned earlier that. That I always thought I was Kevin. Do you guys now watch that movie as if you're the parents?

[A]

I don't.

[B]

Put yourself in.

[A]

This might be the most unrelated parents I've ever seen in a Christmas movie. I mean, it's just. It's blatantly. I mean, listen, everybody goes to like. Like, you leave with one without one of your kids. At some point, I feel like that's, like, a very standard thing. You should not feel shame for that necessarily. Maybe you forget about it long enough to take off an airplane. Yeah, probably should feel some shame there. But who the. Like, I just don't understand how you can't call somebody to go get this kid. Like, there's.

[B]

There wasn't cell phones back then, Jason.

[A]

Ridiculous premise that this one neighborhood is out of phone activity. You could call the cops. They have ways.

[B]

They called the cops.

[C]

No, she did call the cops.

[A]

She called the cops in, like, that area.

[C]

No, she called the cops in her neighborhood.

[A]

Why are we calling if they aren't helping? I'm calling other cops. I'm calling family members that are still there. They're. Hold. I'm calling friends.

[C]

Ruin the plot of the movie.

[A]

There is precisely 0% chance that I am just waiting a couple days before I can fly back to Chicago to see what happens with Kevin.

[B]

It was ridiculous. She got back in, like, a day and a half.

[A]

I don't. There's no scenario where you wouldn't be able to get somebody. Like, anybody who got that call. Anybody who got that call said, hey, I'm in the airport. I'm on an airplane going to France. I'm in France. I left my kid. Could you go do that? If it was, like, two hours away, I would drive to go get a kid out from being by them. Like, this is just. It's the dumbest thing I've ever.

[B]

You only get so many calls at the airport, Jason.

[C]

It's like jail. Everybody knows that.

[B]

That's the nostalgia of the 90s, though, is that there is like that. Like, it sounds so easy to just pick up your cell phone right now and just call everyone in that area and find it.

[A]

I'm not letting. I am not letting. I don't know.

[B]

Was that easy.

[A]

It was that easy. Everybody had landlines, and anybody in the 90s could have received a phone call. This isn't the 30s where you had to go to the operator and do it, though. People knew people's numbers.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I could have called Aunt Judy, who would have drove 40 minutes across town.

[B]

All their family. All their family went with them to France.

[A]

I could have called Steve Bogus, I think, to come pick you up. I could have called.

[B]

I will say this. The dad in this movie doesn't give a. Was very disinterested. He was like, all right, sweetie, you're gonna try me. That says there's no flights for three days. Oh, you're gonna keep fighting Uphill battle right now.

[A]

He's lost. Yeah.

[B]

He's done. It's over.

[A]

You'll figure it out.

[B]

We got the whole other family to be.

[A]

We can't ruin everyone's vacation. It's so true. God damn. That's a great.

[B]

Forgot how easy it was to get on a plane with, like a ticket. Like, you didn't. Like, they. She just handed an entire pile of tickets to the flight attendant. It was like, yeah, this is all of us. Like, all right, cool. Go on up. Good luck. Didn't even count the. How many tickets they had and how many people they had. Yeah. I was like, oh, nice. We were looking for you.

[C]

It's not good. It's. I do think they did their best to explain away as much as they possibly could by.

[A]

That a child would be home alone.

[C]

No, by saying that all of their extended family, like every single person in their family was going on this.

[A]

But we. Why are we acting like we don't have phone numbers to people that aren't immediately our fan? This guy worked at some business. Like, you could have called a co worker. Like, there's no way. There's nobody.

[C]

He actually didn't give a.

[B]

So yeah, he really is like, that's.

[C]

That. He's like, are we getting.

[A]

The only way this would have made sense is if the plane crashed upon taking off so that they never knew and everyone just died. That would have made sense that he was left alone for a little bit.

[C]

What the hell?

[A]

It wouldn't have been as Christmassy.

[C]

That's so messed up.

[A]

All right, so. Yep. Poor, poor banditing. To go and show your face to the place you're about to rob. Before you go in there, just have like somebody else that's not going to rob it. You just pay somebody else to go in there and scope it out.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

I guess then you're adding another person to the knowledge that you're doing it.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But wait till everybody leaves.

[C]

You got to split it.

[A]

Yeah. I'm not a professional bandit. I just felt like that wasn't the wisest of choices.

[B]

What was your favorite. What was your guys favorite part of the movie?

[A]

I like the opening the most, to be honest with you.

[B]

Watching the chaos of the Christmas and there's like so family there.

[A]

It feels very relatable. Like running around getting pissed off about really stupid things that only like siblings would be pissed off about. Like the one like family member that wets the bed.

[C]

There's this not being enough pizza.

[A]

Yeah. It just felt I. It's. And it also like the. The 2 liter jug of soda and like the paper plate. All of it is just, like, very reminiscent of my childhood. I feel like, other than the enormously expensive house. Yeah.

[C]

And the big. And the big family.

[A]

And the big family. But we already. We were around a lot of people around the holidays, even though it wasn't family, it was friends. And we'd go to holiday parties.

[B]

Yeah. The halls and their holiday party. Their New Year's Eve party was always so much fun.

[A]

It was great. Yep.

[B]

Shout out to the halls.

[A]

What? Yeah. What was your favorite part?

[C]

I just. I love the. I love the mayhem. I love the mayhem of him planning how to. With them.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So good.

[A]

So you're more about the planning than the actual.

[C]

No, I think the execution. But I do just. You have to. You have to appreciate how much thought and effort went into it and the fact that it went off without a hitch.

[B]

For things that happen precisely off of, like, a door opening.

[C]

Yes. Yes. Very well orchestrated. I like.

[A]

Pretty good. Trav, what about you?

[B]

I'm gonna go with the scene where he steals the toothbrush, then he runs away from the cops. It's an exciting scene. I think it was a very fun. Yes. You flanked. And I think the funny part of that whole thing is that the scene right after that, he immediately feels terrible for. For stealing. And he. I'm pretty sure he goes to church.

[A]

Well, I thought he. Well, he goes to the church to run away from the Wet Bandits when he. By the way, Very perceptive by Kevin in that moment to see Harry and realize that's the cop that was in my house and that this is not an actual cop and to, like, start walking away. And then he runs to the church. Does he goes into the church before that or after that?

[C]

He's in the church twice, isn't he?

[A]

Yeah, well, he goes into the church the night before, but then there is a scene where he runs to the church.

[B]

I just thought it was so funny that he stole something. And then, like, as he's walking home.

[C]

Immediately tried to repent.

[B]

He's immediately like, and I didn't mean to steal this.

[C]

I didn't have any other choice.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I do gotta say, I. I think it's probably.

[B]

I didn't want to run from the cops.

[A]

I think it's. It's got to be the best cast Christmas movie of all time. Like, could you think of anybody other than Macaulay Culkin being Kevin? Like, the facial expressions. It's.

[B]

He crushes it.

[A]

He just did such a great job. Like, I Don't know, like the way he talks. He like feels more grown up than what his age is. But he still looks like a child and innocent. But he's got like this great dry humor.

[B]

The only one that I know that talk to grown ups at that age like as if they were a grown up was Patrick Bacon.

[C]

At the exact.

[A]

Because we've talked about this before.

[B]

He has literally had the same demeanor and like ability to have conversations with grownups since we were like fucking three. He would like, bargain with our, our east side kickers coach on like how many laps? Like it was like a discussion. Like every, like conditioning. You had to do five laps. Like, I don't know, what do you think about three? Three is good enough, right?

[A]

I'm running.

[B]

I mean, we're getting it, we're getting it done, right. We're gonna be running during practice too, so we might as well, you know.

[C]

It'S an interesting skill to have.

[B]

Shout out to the Bacons. It's time to thank our partner.

[A]

Who's that?

[B]

Reese's. Or Reese's, however you like to call it. I'm pretty sure they would like us to say Reese's. So we're gonna say Reese's and their perfect holiday companion. They're Reese's trees.

[A]

Oh, they are so good. Nothing says the holiday like Reese's perfect peanut butter stuffed chocolate trees. They might be the best holiday candy ever. It's up for debate. Every holiday tradition is better when you add Reese's trees.

[B]

Holiday movies.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, those go definitely better with Reese's trees.

[B]

Ugly sweater parties.

[A]

I mean, who doesn't like chocolate stains all over their ugly sweater?

[B]

I do. Skipping the ugly sweater party to watch football in your sweats instead.

[A]

I mean, that's a no brainer. Of course.

[B]

I mean, you throw on that ugly sweater anyways.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So celebrate the season with peanut butter. Perfection. And be sure to grab Reese's trees today. Jason, why don't you tell them where.

[A]

To get them from? What's found? Wherever candy is sold, literally, you can find it everywhere.

[B]

I think I called you Jason.

[A]

Jason. Jason. Thank you to our partner, Gillette.

[B]

All right now, Jason, you've been retired for a full year. Let's talk pregame rituals. Do you miss them? Still have them?

[A]

I kind of have one, I guess for Monday night Countdown. Like I kind of. I go do the production meeting, then I kind of iron out what's happening in the rundown, then I go to the makeup lady, then I go to the hair, and then I go on.

[B]

Set just Curious to see if you were putting that same game day energy into your new broadcasting routine. That's all.

[A]

Well, first and foremost it includes making sure that this beard is looking real nice which is finally starting to show some of my grays again after dying it. I'm getting those natural colors back.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Thanks so much. But yeah, I have a some, some grooming individuals that make sure it's looking nice and tidy.

[B]

If you were looking for a tool to help wrangle it in a little bit, look no further than Gillette Labs NFL license razor Special edition razors have.

[A]

Those long lasting Gillette Labs blades and the precision trimmer on the back. It's perfect for cleaning up this guy.

[B]

Nice. I hear it's a must have for NFL fans this season. And clearly you too.

[A]

Sold. Available now in 12 teams including the Eagles and Chiefs. Get it while you [e-mail] NFL Gillette the best of fan can get what But I think the the cast just because Macaulay Culin, Joe Pesi and what is again Daniel Stern. Marvin Harry. Katherine o' Hara is the mom. John Candy. Yeah.

[C]

Leaving. Yeah. Leaving out the band is a.

[A]

He was more invested than her own husband was in finding. Yeah. Who is better, Marv or Harry? When you brought up best scenes, my favorite scene is really any scene where Marv is screaming. He is.

[B]

He's got it fantastic. Like it's just he has an electric scream.

[A]

That's where his head is one of.

[C]

The greatest things set off the baby.

[A]

Monitor or I guess he's his. He gets electrocuted. Harry's the one that has the head on fire when he's getting electrocuted. And the whole like.

[B]

So good.

[C]

He's. He also steps on the ornaments. I do think that.

[A]

Well, they both do. Right? Or is it just him?

[C]

I think it's him because I think Harry's at the door handle. Oh yeah, the burning door handle.

[A]

Joe Pesci kills it too. They're both so good. They're just good in different ways.

[C]

It's a great movie.

[A]

It's got a whole like Lenny and like Of Mice and Men feel with like Marv being the dummy and Joe Pesci being the. The witty one. But he's really not that smart.

[B]

Where are you guys ranking Home Alone as a Christmas movie?

[A]

Well, we're doing pff. Grades.

[B]

Right, but where. Where does Home Alone rank?

[C]

Wait, why does no one. Why does no one want to ask? Who would. Who would nail this?

[A]

Who would nail what?

[C]

Who would go. Who would handle a Home Alone scenario? The best out of all of us.

[A]

Travis. Not even question.

[B]

Are you kidding me? I would thrive.

[A]

And I've always thought Kevin McAllister was in Travis.

[C]

Kelsey, you don't even think I have a. You don't even think I have a shot.

[A]

I mean, it just.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

No, you would have been more planned out, for sure. My instincts would have been fantastic in situations like this.

[C]

Guys, they around. I really think I could help them find out.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

Well done.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, where's the ranking in everybody's rankings?

[B]

I'll go top five. I can't rank like.

[A]

Yeah, it's hard to go like 1, 2, 3, 4.

[B]

Exactly. And I actually. I think I like Home Alone two more.

[C]

Really?

[B]

I don't.

[C]

I'm gonna have to go back and watch Home Alone 2 now.

[A]

I like Home Alone 1 definitely the most. Home Alone 2 is good, though. Still has the great. Same cast. Yeah, I like the pigeon lady in Home Alone too.

[C]

Yeah, she was great. Top five.

[A]

Just trying to think. I like. Okay, which movies do I like more than Home Alone?

[C]

Love, actually.

[A]

Christmas Vacation, Christmas Story, the Santa Claus, the Grinch.

[C]

Oh, great one.

[A]

I'm not putting Santa Claus above, but I do like the Santa Claus. It's a good movie. I just. I think I like Home a little more than that. You know which one I really like, which is a newer one, but I watch it every Christmas now is Claus. You do love Klaus from Netflix. Great Christmas movie. I'm kind of like a sucker for the claymation. Rudolph.

[C]

Oh, O.J.

[A]

I think I like Elf better than Home Alone.

[B]

So not top five.

[A]

I think it's just out of the top five for me.

[B]

I'm going. I'm going. I'm putting it in the top five with Grinch, Home Alone 2, and an elf. I'll probably say those are. Those three are probably the only ones. I'm taking over it.

[C]

I think it's either top five, maybe it's six. But I'm saying, like, the Santa Claus is up there. The original Grinch. Not the original. I'm sorry, the Jim Carrey Grinch.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, love. Actually, that's not a surprise to anyone. Don't say anything. Nobody was asking. Yeah, I. I'd say. I'd say it's probably top five, but I think it's like the number five slot.

[A]

All right. Pff. Grades. Christmas. I think this is high in Christmas. So all throughout the film. The whole reason this is happening is Christmas. It has. It also has, like, the.

[B]

The.

[A]

The soundtrack, the. The setting, all of it. Like, it's just very Christmassy.

[B]

Yeah. 10. I don't know if it can get more Christmassy other than the Grinch.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, it doesn't have, like, Santa Claus, I guess, or, like, it has.

[C]

A reference to him.

[A]

It does. It does. I don't know.

[B]

It literally has him going to the church. It has, like, the Jesus. Like, what is it called in front of the church every time.

[A]

Nativity scene.

[B]

Yes, yes.

[A]

It's not. But it's not like the Grinch or Rudolph or Frosty. Like, it's not like a story that.

[C]

Is directly associated with the concept of Christmas.

[A]

Yeah. I'm trying to, like, think of it. It's. It's not like 10 out of 10 to me, but it's definitely very Christmassy.

[B]

All right.

[C]

I'd say like 98.

[A]

I'll go 90. You go 98. You go 100. You want. You want to go 98? Boom. 98.

[B]

Acting.

[A]

Acting. Over 100 on this. I don't think there's one piece of bad acting in the whole film.

[B]

Directing.

[A]

Oh, I'm gonna go another hundred.

[C]

Just giving hundreds away.

[B]

Just giving a hundreds out.

[A]

I think I'm waiting for. I. Listen. I. You.

[B]

This movie wasn't. Is that more plot?

[A]

I like it. It's just.

[C]

Yeah, I think that's more plot. I think that's more plot. He's gonna have a lot of questions. He's gonna take. It's going to take the hit on the block.

[B]

We can go. We can go.

[C]

Okay, if.

[B]

Yeah. 100. Fine. Plot. Where are we going?

[A]

Plot. I will go.

[B]

It's not a believable plot. But is it a fun plot?

[A]

It's a fun plot. It's not believable. It's not based on a true story. So I guess it doesn't have to be that believable, but it does have some holes. So I. I'll go. I'll go 70. I'll go 65.

[C]

65. I was going to say 80 or 85. I think the plot is so 90s.

[B]

It's so 90s.

[C]

It's so nineties. And it's delightful.

[A]

What do you mean? That way?

[C]

It's delightful in that way that. It's so 90s.

[A]

Airport.

[B]

Like. Yeah.

[C]

I'm going, Trav, what's your number?

[A]

So 80.

[B]

85. Nice. Violence. Violence. What? Why is.

[C]

Do you guys really enjoy violence?

[B]

We needed a pot. We needed a category.

[C]

Decent amount of.

[A]

What is the other category? When it's usually not violence? What is it? We don't do Christmas action.

[C]

What is it?

[A]

Acting, directing, plot.

[C]

All right, it ha. It has. I. I mean, the violence is high.

[B]

It's not violent.

[A]

It's not violent.

[C]

It's. It's physical harm.

[A]

Yeah, but it's not like a violent. It's like a jokey. It's like a three.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But, like, I mean, everybody knows the iron print on the forehead.

[A]

I'm going to go. I mean, I just don't know. It's. It's low on violence. High in violence for a Christmas movie, but low in violence.

[B]

This is gonna ruin his.

[C]

Pff. Great. It really is.

[A]

What do we. I don't. Yeah. Can we do a different category?

[C]

You should do. You should do category. You should do. If you're leaning towards, like, the action part of it, you should do more of, like, the. The finding out action. Yeah, like the action of it. Like when they. What the action. Like the meat of it.

[B]

It's a high.

[A]

Is him doing the right entertainment, entertaining this.

[B]

The action in it is. Is. I give it a 90.

[A]

Yeah. Sounds good.

[C]

Yeah, that feels good.

[B]

There you go.

[C]

Who's doing the math? Brandon?

[A]

Yeah, they do the math for us.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

They put it in Excel.

[A]

It's going to be somewhere. Yeah. 95.

[C]

Great.

[A]

It's a roundinger. It's a little bit.

[B]

Yeah. They definitely rounded that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

No chance. We got an 80.

[A]

Look at him.

[C]

He's going to type more. Look at him. Yep.

[A]

There you go.

[C]

94.6.

[B]

That was one of my favorite radio stations growing up. All right, now, well, that does it for our home alone New Heights Holiday Film Club recap right there. Jason, you did a great job on recapping the movie as always.

[A]

Merry Christmas. You feel the animals.

[B]

That was great. You guys go and have the creepiest Christmas ever.

[C]

Oh, God.

[A]

And that wraps up another episode of New Heights Film Club. Thank you to Kylie for joining us. Thank you so much. We know that that is a lot for you sometimes we're. We've also got a full holiday episode with Kylie dropping on Christmas Eve. Make sure you subscribe to new Heist channel on YouTube and follow new Heights channel on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast. You listen to new episodes of New Heights ad free right now by joining Wondery plus plus in the Onery app or on Apple podcasts.

[B]

Once again, New Heights was a wonry show. Please follow the show on all social media at new height show with 1s. And thanks to our New Height production team for being the best team that any teammate could ever ask for. We love you guys. And we love you, 92 percenters. Appreciate you tuning in. Unbiased opinion. Home alone. Two is better. See you guys next week.

[A]

Sam.