Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) reviews

The Fuzzy Mushroom take on Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

By Fuzzy Mushroom · Updated 12 November 2026 · The Pros 48 · The Punters 70 · Spore Score 53 · How we write our takes

Why The Punters rate it higher than The Pros

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a textbook case of critics and audiences wanting different things. The Punters give it 70, The Pros just 48, and the Spore Score is 53, with a fuzzy tag. Critics in 1992 mostly said it was the first film again in a bigger city, and they were right. Audiences did not mind at all: the same formula in New York at Christmas was exactly what they wanted, and the sequel is now a festive TV staple.

What it is

Chris Columbus directed again, from a script by John Hughes, who also produced. Macaulay Culkin returns as Kevin McCallister, who this time boards the wrong plane at the airport and lands in New York while his family flies to Florida. Armed with his dad's credit card, he checks into the Plaza Hotel. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern return as the burglars Harry and Marv, now escaped from prison, and Kevin sets traps for them in his uncle's empty townhouse. Tim Curry plays the suspicious hotel concierge and Brenda Fricker plays the lonely pigeon lady in Central Park.

What it does well

New York at Christmas is a lovely setting, with the Rockefeller Center tree, the Plaza and a giant toy shop. Culkin is as confident as ever, and Tim Curry's scenes at the hotel are some of the funniest in either film. The friendship with the pigeon lady gives the sequel its own emotional thread, echoing old Marley in the first film.

Where The Pros have a point

The plot is close to a copy of the original, beat for beat. The traps are bigger and more violent, to the point where it is hard to believe anyone survives them, and the film runs longer than it needs to.

Who it is for

Anyone who loves the first Home Alone and wants more of the same, especially families looking for a Christmas film that children will laugh at. If you want something new, look elsewhere.

How it compares

The original Home Alone has its own page and take on Fuzzy Mushroom, and its scores are higher with both camps. Watch them as a double bill and the second one plays better.

The Fuzzy Mushroom verdict

Hit and miss, with a Spore Score of 53. A louder copy of a classic, but a fun one. On a December evening, The Punters' view wins.