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While watching Home Alone, which was released in 1990 and became one of the most classic Christmas films, you may have wondered how rich the McCallisters are, the family of the main character Kevin, who was accidentally left behind at home while the others leave, preventing two thieves from breaking into the house.
In fact, the McCallisters live in a luxurious villa in Chicago in the United States and vacation in Paris during the holidays: two things that have amazed many fans of the film and those obsessed with the idea of how rich one is Family is gendered and to formulate hypotheses in articles and discussions in social networks. This time it was the New York Times that kept things in order, also relying on the assessments of a group of economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
A 1 percent mansion
Written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus (director of Mrs. Doubtfire and two films in the Harry Potter saga, as well as screenwriter of The Goonies), the film is set in a three-story mansion at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Chicago's Winnetka neighborhood , which is among the most expensive in the United States, according to real estate site Realtor.com. According to a 2015 study by Business Insider, it was the second wealthiest neighborhood – the place where people with the highest incomes lived – in the United States, followed by Scarsdale, a suburb of New York.
The house is the first clue to the McCallisters' wealth and the reason why they are targeted by two thieves, Harry and Marv, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern respectively. In fact, at the beginning of the film, Harry tells Marv that the mansion is the main target in this wealthy neighborhood: it's full of stereos, VCRs, and jewels.
According to economists surveyed by The New York Times, a home like this in Chicago was one that the richest percent of the city's residents could afford in 1990, and that's still the case today. Economists determined this by considering income data in Chicago from 1990 to 2022, property values, mortgage interest rates at that time, and general taxes and insurance. Assuming that the McCallisters' mortgage payments could be no more than 30 percent of their income, the economists calculated that their income would be about $305,000 per year, which is equivalent to about $665,000 in 2022 (or $277,000 euros and 605,000 euros).
When the film was made in 1990, the mansion belonged to a couple, John and Cynthia Abendshien, who also had a young daughter, Laura. They filmed for four months instead of the agreed upon six weeks, and after the first few weeks in the hotel, the Abendshien decided to return home and set up an apartment on the second floor, being careful not to appear in front of the windows during the filming of the case were ongoing. In 2012, after living there for 25 years, they sold it for $1.58 million. Today, the website dedicated to the real estate market Zillow estimates its value at 2.3 million dollars, 2 million euros.
The New York Times also contacted Eve Cauley, who was responsible for decorating the interiors of the set at a Chicago high school (in fact, almost all of the interior scenes were filmed here and not at the Abendshien mansion). Cauley, who chose the furniture, miscellaneous items and wallpaper, said he did not furnish the house overly expensively, but rather gave it a “majestic and sophisticated look.” At the time, sea blue and dusky pink were very fashionable, but she was inspired by the reds, greens and golds of Christmas cards and artist Norman Rockwell's illustrations, which embodied America's self-image of “white” – confident, respectable, calming and reassuring sentimental. In fact, producer Hughes had asked them to give the villa “a timeless look”: a classicism typical of so-called “old money” families – that is, those who have had money for generations – or those who aspire to it .
Other signs of wealth
In addition to the furniture, there are other elements that suggest that the family was rich, but not incredibly rich: In the film, they wear elegant and seemingly expensive clothes, and they rent several taxis to go to the airport, notes the New Yorker Times Kevin's mother Kate tries to convince a couple to give her their tickets home from Paris by offering cash and jewelry but adding that his gold Rolex may be a fake.
In addition, the trip is paid for by one of the father's brothers, Uncle Rob, who moved to Paris, where he owns a house overlooking the Eiffel Tower that can accommodate 15 people. In fact, four adults board the plane – Kate, Peter, another of his brothers, Uncle Frank and his wife – and a total of 11 children. A holiday in Paris during the Christmas holidays is not for everyone and the plane tickets alone these days would have cost more than 50,000 euros: adults actually traveled in first class at a price of over 10,000 euros per ticket, while that for children and teenagers in economy Class would have cost around a thousand euros each.
The third brother, Frank, seems to have fewer financial resources than the other two: he doesn't want to pay the pizza bill and tells his wife to use the crystal salt and pepper shakers she discovered in first class. put it in her purse. However, this episode could also indicate wealth rather than poverty, because, as the New York Times writes, shoplifting was more common among the rich than among the poor. A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry also confirmed that it is “definitely more common” in people with annual incomes of more than $70,000 (€63,000).
How could they afford it?
The film doesn't say what jobs Peter and Kate do or how they can afford such a standard of living, and this is also a hotly debated topic online. Todd Strasser, who created the literary adaptations of Home Alone and its two sequels, described his father as a businessman who worked in the stock market because it was “the safest bet” and his mother as a fashionable fashion designer , because there are a lot of mannequins in the house (including one that Kevin used to fool thieves) and sewing machines. However, these are his free interpretations based on what we see in the film. However, according to Strasser, the McCallisters were upper middle class but not super rich.
Some have pointed out that two Buick-manufactured cars can be seen in the garage (a 1986 Buick Electra Estate and a Buick LeSabre), which may indicate that the father worked in some position at the car company.
Another theory widely spread online is that Peter was involved in organized crime: his house was the target of revenge attacks and Kevin's combative attitude also stems from a certain familiarity with violence. Others note that the opening scene with the house full of unidentifiable cousins and relatives would be reminiscent of the opening scenes of Francis Ford Coppola's “The Godfather” trilogy and also some episodes of the television series “The Sopranos,” which tells the story of the Italian American Mafia in New Jersey. Others add clues to the deliberately made gangster movie Kevin watches alone at home and Peter's arrogant attitude towards a police officer (actually Joe Pesci, pretending to be one). There are many suggestions, but no one who made the film has ever confirmed them.
– Also read: There's a before and an after of “The Sopranos.”