Home Alone: The Holiday Heist is a 2012 American Christmas family comedy made-for-television film. It's the fifth film in the
Home Alone series. It was released during ABC Family's Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas in November 2012. Much like
Home Alone 3, it focuses on a completely different family, but sticks to the standard formula.
Home Alone: The Holiday Heist provides examples of:
- Affably Evil: All of the three villains.
- Answer Cut: Finn asks a hardware store clerk what he can buy with $1.68. The next scene is of him outside the store carrying a ball of string.
- Brother–Sister Team: Finn and Alexis, once the latter is informed about the villains trying to break into the house.
- Didn't Think This Through: When Finn is worried about ghosts in the basement, he sets a trap to reveal if someone opens the door from the other side. Alexis points out that a ghost would just float through it. Finn, after a Beat, replies, "You're not helping!"
- Enemy Eats Your Lunch: Hughes eats one of the gingerbread cookies left on the table during the initial break in. This is later exploited when Finn for one of his traps bakes gingerbread cookies laced with spicy and sour ingredients.
- Finger Poke of Doom: Finn places his index finger to Sinclair's forehead to gently shove him down the stairs while Sinclair is off balance.
- Help, I'm Stuck!: Jessica becomes stuck in a window as part of Finn's booby traps.
- Human Snowman: What Mason, the family's neighbor, turns Jessica (one of the art thieves) into when it is all over (minus the face, which remains exposed).
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Alexis picks on Finn and pranks him and is sometimes a bully, but despite all that, she truly loves him deeply and cares about him.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Finn's a child, Simon's an adult, and the two of them are good online friends, with the latter mentoring the former when it comes to gaming.
- Lethal Chef: One of the booby traps that Finn uses against the art thieves are "gingerbread men" baked with spicy mustard, spicy horseradish, salt, sour vinegar, and jalapeño peppers.
- Mistaken for Servant: Mrs. Baxter's new boss mistakes Mr. Baxter for his late butler Albert.
- Mistaken for Undead: While Finn thinks the house is haunted, he interprets the Art Thieves' first break in attempt as a ghost coming in. Later on, the art thieves think Finn's traps are the ghost working against them (at first).
- Ms. Fanservice: Debi Mazar as the female burglar is rather good-looking.
- Not Now, Kiddo: When Finn's "ghost trap" reveals that someone opened the basement door without them knowing, his parents don't take him seriously. Alexis does seem concerned by the implications, but quickly forgets about it.
- Oddball in the Series: This is the only Home Alone film not to be set in Chicago; it's instead set in Maine.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: When Finn asks for advice on how to handle the villains, his web friend thinks he's talking about a new game.
- Parental Bonus: Appropriately for this series, the painting is said to have been by Edvard Munch. As the ending points out, he was behind The Scream painting.
- Poor Communication Kills: When Simon starts to realise Finn and Alexis may be in actual danger from the burglars, he tries to contact their parents, only to explain himself so badly that he comes off as a kidnapper (or worse).
- Shockingly Expensive Bill: Finn's bill at the hardware store comes to over $2,000. He foregoes everything except for a ball of string after scraping for pocket change.
- Shoot Him, He Has a Wallet!: A toned down variation occurs in this production. When the SWAT team visit Simon (Finn's online gaming buddy), Simon shows them his gaming controller. They respond by spraying his face with mace.
- Tempting Fate: When the mother checks in with Alexis, she mentions how she is reading a magazine and how it’s not War and Peace but is still technically reading, before getting locked in the safe later in the film and then finding a copy of the book in the safe.
- Too Many Halves: When Sinclair's accomplices believe the house they're breaking in is haunted, they demand a bigger share than the initially agreed 25% for each of them. Hughes suggests 50% for him, 50% for Jessica, and 25% for Sinclair. They eventually settle for one third each.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Once the villains grab Finn, they just lock him in their car rather than threaten him or hurt him like Harry or Marv would have.
- You Are Grounded!: For refusing to attend a party, Finn and Alexis's mother furiously grounds them.
