• Like Poltergeist with Spielberg or The Thing From Another Planet  (1951) with Hawks, creative credit for the film is usually given to producer/screenwriter John Hughes here over Chris Columbus
  • Far and away the biggest hit of 1990—seems odd in today’s world—not animated, no stars, not a sequel
  • Featuring Hughes’ suburbia, his knack for nailing the holidays – it’s soaked in Christmas (national lampoons Christmas vacation, planes trains and automobiles with Thanksgiving), solid performances (from Pesci to Daniel Stern, the instant star Macaulay Culkin, the solid Catherine O’Hara– and even the reliable John Candy comes in for a minute and kills it) and cartoon slapstick
  •  John Williams’ wonderful score carries the film. And when he isn’t doing the heavy-lifting (there are hints of the score for 1993’s Jurassic Park in the score) the wall-to-wall soundtrack carries us. We have the absolutely best Christmas songs here and on top of that we have quick shots of it’s a wonderful life (in French- a hilarious scene) and miracle on 34th street– even the cartoon of The Grinch
  • Love the house loaded with 1990 wallpaper
  • Again about 15 Xmas songs in a 103 minute movie—almost like Easter Parade and Chicago on a song per minute ratio
  • Song amusing situation comedy and some weak—“what if an 8 year old tried to buy a toothbrush?”
  • There’s detail in the family angst – each has a great line and personality even in a few minutes
  • I think the detail in Christmas is a clear influence—not quite on that level but the Chicago-based detail is there as well. We have the 4 star flag in the attic, the Michael Jordan cutout
  • It’s manipulative but I love the old-man next door neighbor narrative strand
  • Recommend- not in or near the top 10 of 1990 but in the archives