Watching Home Alone over the years, there has been one question bugging fans for the nearly 35 years since it came out – how the f*ck did they afford that house?
The family, who primarily are presented to be middle class Americans, is huge, which would cause a large amount of spend.
Even given the fact that Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) was left behind is a result of the massive family that they are supporting, yet somehow, they are also able to afford a huge house.
There’s no shortage of fan theories behind it, with some on TikTok even speculating that Peter McCallister (John Heard) was a Chicago mob boss – even providing ‘evidence’ to back it up.
Catherine O’Hara, who played Kevin’s mom, even gave her two cents on fan theories behind the McCallister’s wealth earlier this year.
However, Chris Columbus, the director of Home Alone (not the explorer), has finally revealed why in a recent interview.
The director, who also went on to direct the sequel and the first two Harry Potter films, spoke recently on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter, the magazine’s awards podcast.
Whilst appearing on the podcast, Columbus was asked about the internet’s long held debate over how they could afford the house.
He said: “Back then, John [Hughes, the writer] and I had a conversation about it, and we decided on what the jobs were.”
He went on to say that Catherine O’Hara’s Kate McCallister was ‘a very successful fashion designer’, which he said was made clear via the mannequins in the house’s basement.
He stated of the dad’s job: “The father could have, based on John Hughes own experience, worked in advertising, but I don’t remember what the father did”.
The only profession that was ruled out though was criminal, as he said: “Not organized crime — even though there was, at the time, a lot of organized crime in Chicago”.
This, of course, caused more conversation than it addressed, as now every Home Alone fan is speculating as to what Kevin’s dad does.
One commented on Twitter: “’Not Organized Crime’ Exactly what a mobster would say,” while another said: “The dad was a hitman. Look at how good Kevin was at preparing traps. Runs in the family.”
A third commented: “In our time, this seems like an unaffordable luxury, but in the ’90s, it was an achievable reality”.
This is ultimately, the big difference as to why in 1990 two middle class people could afford a luxurious house like the one in Home Alone, and now it’s far less likely.
In 1990, the average cost of a house in the US was $151,200, according to the Federal Reserve Economic Data. In 2024, the average cost is $420,400.
In this time, wages have barely risen in comparison, while in 1990, the average wages were $50,200 which, despite the massive change in house prices, has only gone up to $62,027 in the US.
In essence, want to know why it’s so crazy that the iconic Home Alone house Kevin fortifies from intruders is afforded by two middle class parents?
Blame capitalism.
