At Christmas, the McCallister family, an uncle, aunt and their children, leave for Paris for a few days. The uncle, aunt and their children stay overnight with the McCallisters and the whole house is full, while everyone is feverishly packing. In the hustle and bustle, everyone is short-tempered and Kevin's older brother Buzz teases him. When Kevin gets angry and loses control, he is sent upstairs as punishment. The next morning, the family leaves late, they overslept and are in a hurry and forget Kevin in all the hustle and bustle.
On the way, they realize that they have forgotten Kevin. In a panic, they try to arrange a flight back home, but that is not possible around Christmas. Kevin wakes up later that morning to an empty house and finds himself all alone. And no adults means... no rules.
Kevin has the Christmas of his life. He can do whatever he wants without his parents forbidding him or sending him to bed early. He no longer has to endure Buzz's teasing and can even search his room unhindered. Kevin stuffs himself with sweets and watches television as long as he wants. He makes friends with Marley, an old street worker who everyone claims is a murderer, but who in reality has become soured by a fight with his eldest son.
Meanwhile, two burglars, Harry and Marv, have a good view of the houses in the street, including those of the McCallister family and the Mevissen family. Kevin realizes that he has to defend the house. At first, he manages to convince them with tricks that there are adults at home, but the burglars still discover that Kevin is 'home alone'. On the third night, they decide to strike. After all, there is only an eight-year-old boy at home... that shouldn't be a problem.
However, Kevin has booby-trapped the entire house. The burglars make slow progress and every meter they gain they pay for with bruises, a singed head of hair or even a badly burned hand. Kevin alerts the police, but before they arrive he is grabbed by Harry and Marv, who want revenge. When Harry is about to 'bite off those little fingers', he and Marv are unexpectedly knocked unconscious by Marley. The police find the unconscious crooks and arrest them.
The next morning Kevin is still home alone and has started to miss his family. His mother comes in and a little later the rest of the family. Strangely enough, at least the ground floor of the house has been cleaned up after the havoc of the burglary, which makes it seem as if Kevin dreamed it all. Kevin also doesn't tell his parents anything about the incident. His father finds Harry's gold tooth and doesn't understand it. Kevin sees from his window that Marley has made up with his son and a smile graces his face, until the angry voice of his brother Buzz sounds: "Kevin, what did you do in my room?!!"
More information at: TMDB, IMBd
