For my generation, Home Alone was our It’s a Wonderful Life.

You could not escape this movie when it came out. Macaulay Culkin’s face was plastered everywhere, from lunch boxes to Nintendo games to Pogs, you name it. Every kids movie from that point forward was a desperate attempt to ape Home Alone’s formula, mostly with disastrous results.

I watched it again for the first time in years, half expecting it to be America’s Funniest Home Videos: The Movie. But there’s some solid comedy in there: Kevin’s checkout aisle banter, the yuppie McCallisters’ antics, and John Candy’s cameo still crack me up.

Then again, I laugh every time that tarantula gets placed on Marv’s face. Keep da change, ya filthy animal.