There are many reasons why this film will always be a Christmas Classic. It's filled with exactly the right ingredients for the whole family to enjoy year after year forever more. The story is simple: A huge family go on holiday, and carelessly leave their son Kevin behind. While home alone, Kevin uses booby traps to fight off two burglars.
The acting by all members of the cast is spot on. They all play a part to make the unrealistic seem believable. We really believe that the parents have forgotten about Kevin until the mother suddenly remembers that he's not there. Her reaction was spot on: Not overdramatic, but believably startled.
I always forget about John Candy's appearance in this film and he will guarantee to make you smile in any movie. So it's always a lovely surprise to see him.
Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins did an amazing job at casting the two burglars, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. They couldn't be more right for the part. They provided most of the silly slapstick, which was always bound to win me over.
It goes without saying that Macauley Culkin is a phenomenal actor. I'm NOT gonna use the phrase "for his age", because that's patronising and he is as equally as talented as all the other adult actors in the film. He is fantastic throughout but there was one shot that stood out for me. He was carrying many bags of shopping home, and all the bags tear at the bottom, and everything falls on the floor at once. He breaks the fourth wall and looks directly into the camera, and his arms drop to the side. This shot alone demonstrates how incredible he is as a comedian and how skilled he is as an actor. No other actor or comedian could have played this shot so well, especially as the camera is quite a distance from him. Oliver Hardy would've applauded that scene. However Macauley does a fantastic job throughout the film. Not just this scene. He is truly remarkable.
The music used throughout this film really makes you feel in the festive spirit. It's an emotionally uplifting ending, as any decent Christmas film is. The whole film is heartwarming and it's absolutely a must watch movie. I will always love it, and I'll be watching it every year for the rest of my life.
Do you remember The naked gun movies? Spy hard? Hot shots? How about Men in tights, or Spaceballs? Monty Python's Life of Brian? All of them are absurd humor comedies, a genre that encompasses many of the most hilarious movies / books / shows, including some occasional masterpieces, such as some of the Discworld books, or the unsurpassable The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the books - the movie was ok, but nowhere near Douglas Adams' brilliance).
Anyway... With Medical police, they went down the same path of absurd humor. Yay! But sadly, they only achieved the absurd part. The humor, not so much. They tried, but it didn't work, at least for me. Most episodes don't have more than a couple of laughs in them; some (such as the pilot), not even that.
It's still worth a watch... if you don't have anything else to do. The first season is only 4 hours long, and the episodes are short enough too. At least they got that right!
I found out afterwards that this is a spin-off of another show called Childrens Hospital, with all the same cast. I didn't watch it, but according to IMDb, it was much better and lasted for 7 seasons. I doubt there will be a second one of Medical police, though. The idea isn't bad, and the cast is pretty good, but they lack the most important thing you can ask of a comedy show: to be funny.
