5 Great Comedy Movie Sequels (And 5 That Were Disappointments)

The Disappointments

5. Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992)

Home Alone 2 was one of those sequels that just had to happen, regardless of whether or not it was deserved. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the first one, but you knew exactly what was going to happen the second time around. Home Alone 2 is about a half hour too long and it features the same concept as the first one with very little changes. The obvious change would be the setting, but changing the setting to New York City only means that it will take even longer to give Kevin McAllister an appropriate place to defeat the bad guys. Unfortunately, what's lost in the sequel to Home Alone is the charm. Kevin is just a little too smug in the second film, and after watching the film a few times, I started feeling bad for the "sticky bandits." Everything is set up for the booby traps in Home Alone 2 to be even more elaborate and violent the second time around. And man, the older you get, the more you realize that this is a pretty violent movie. Sure, there are a few clever set-ups here and there, plus Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci are gifted slapstick comedians, but it's just not as funny the second time around. They even re-use a similar James Cagney-esque movie clip to fool hotel workers into thinking they're being shot at. I start to feel embarrassed when I watch that scene now. Tim Curry is such a gifted actor and he's so underused in the sequel, he deserved better than this. In fact, it would have been so much better if they changed the concept around and kept the film's plot more centered on the hotel staff. Obviously, not including Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci would be a cardinal sin, but surely John Hughes could have come up with a concept that brought them all together? Instead, they devote entirely way too much time on Kevin McAllister's "friend," the Central Park pigeon lady. Of all the people Kevin learns life lessons from, it's a woman obsessed with pigeons? Unbelievably, after being hit in the head with bricks, getting electrocuted, having their heads set on fire, falling from great heights with tons of paint cans falling on them... pigeons are what bring down Harry and Marv. Pigeons. Give me a break!