Zoomers Think There's a Giant Plot Hole in Both Home Alone 1 and 2
The Home Alone movies have been cult classics since their release in the early '90s, a mainstay on Christmas must-watches.
The first installment made Macaulay Culkin an instant star and remained the highest-grossing live-action comedy for two decades. Despite its fame, its flawed plot has given fans a lot to nitpick.
Generation Z fans – who weren't even alive when it was released – think they've found a new plot hole.
In the first Home Alone, the McCallister family arrives in Paris after realizing mid-flight that they left young Kevin (Culkin) behind. His parents promptly use a pay phone to call the house and then the police.
One fan on Reddit claimed this was a huge plot hole. Why would the McCallisters not call with a cell phone?
The fan argued that, while cell phones weren't as popular as they are now, they certainly existed in 1990. For a family that was able to spend tens of thousands of dollars on plane tickets for a Christmas getaway, a cell phone seems like a luxury worth purchasing.
The fan wondered why Kate in particular didn't have a cell phone, being a high-end fashion designer.
The fan cited the Robin Williams movie Hook, released in 1991, as evidence of their existence. Williams' Peter Pan had a cell phone, and he was by no means as rich as the McCallisters.
Other fans on the Reddit thread quickly dissented.
One pointed out that the original poster "must be young." They said that cell phones were held by a vast minority of people at that time; it wasn't just the cost, but it simply wasn't yet in style. They were unreliable and difficult to use.
Another user asked if cell phones in 1990 would even have been able to make international calls, a feature that would have been required for the McCallisters to call from France.
One user argued their point using cold, hard numbers. In 1988 – around when Home Alone would have been in development – most phones were analog. The Motorola Dynatac 8500 cost $2,500 and weighed almost two pounds. There were only about 800,000 cell phones in the United States at that time, less than half a percent of the U.S. population. The first digital flip phone came out in 1990 – after Home Alone would have finished production – for around $3,000. It simply wasn't something widely in use.
The Gen Z Redditor doubled down on his theory. A wealthy, fashionable family certainly would have a cell phone in 1990.
But ultimately, they're talking about a minute potential plot hole in a kid's film featuring an eight-year-old creating deadly contraptions to protect his home from intruders. Is the lack of a cell phone the most unbelievable aspect of Home Alone?