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Perhaps coincidentally, the title “The Wave” recalls Todd Strasser’s 1980s YA novel of that name, which became a staple of Gen-x and early-millennial English syllabi, on the strength of some easily digestible allegory in its tale of a notionally empowering student movement gone fascistically awry. A fast-building student movement is also the subject of Sebastián Lelio’s new film “The Wave,” though in this case its politics stay strictly and righteously on course, rippling through a university campus enraged by manifold cases of sexual misconduct against young women by male peers and staff. Inspired by a real-life wave of #MeToo-adjacent demonstrations that shut down multiple Chilean colleges in 2018, Lelio has collated an assortment of testimonies into a stylized modern-dance musical centered on one fictional victim — a bold approach that yields spotty rewards as both entertainment and message movie.

Composed and choreographed with energetic aplomb, shattering various fourth (and fifth...

Most people have grown up watching Home Alone when they were children, and Kevin's adventures after his family forgot him at home were thrilling and fantastical. The film has become a Christmas tradition for many, but growing up meant wanting to know how the family afforded such a big house, so many children, and a lavish trip to Paris.

This was one of the biggest mysteries about the beloved Christmas franchise and director Chris Columbus addressed the question in late December. Over the years, there have been countless theories about the McCallisters' fortune, including allegations that his family had ties with the mafia. While the director's answer clarified that, in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Home Alone star Catherine O'Hara had a different idea.

Related'Well, Not This Time': Home Alone Director Explains Passing on Chris Farley After Audition

Chris Farley auditioned for an interesting role in Home Alone, but...

Viewing Home Alone has been a part of many people's Christmas traditions for decades now, but the opulent homes and extravagant vacations enjoyed by the McCallister family have left many fans wondering how the family pays for such expensive Christmases. Trips to Paris, wallets overflowing with cash, and their Mansion-like home in the pricey neighborhood of Winnetka, Illnois indicate the McCallisters have deep pockets. The antagonists of the film, burglars Harry and Marv, state that the McCallister home is their top target, calling it their "silver tuna."

In recent years, fans have become obsessed with estimating and calculating the costs of the McCallisters' holiday shenanigans. In December 2023, a TikTok analyzing the cost of Kevin's solo grocery store trip went viral. Many fans marvel at how much cash the McCallisters have on hand to pay for ten boxes of pizza, paying a $122.50 bill that would be about $240 today. Neither Home Alone...

Economists conclude that the McCallister family in Home Alone were likely in the top 1% of earners based on their property. The filming location of the McAllister house in a wealthy suburb provides a clue to the family's financial status. The novelization of Home Alone and analysis suggest that Peter is a prominent businessman and Kate is a fashion designer, indicating their wealth.

The question of McCallister’s wealth in Home Alone has been the subject of debate for decades. How could Peter and Kate McAllister afford their huge house, abundance of presents and lavish holidays? It seems that economists have the very simple answer – the McCallisters were loaded with cash.

Having been speculated about in social media posts for many years around this time of year, The New York Times decided that it was time to get a professional opinion from the Federal Reserve on the family and their seemingly endless wealth,...

Economists reveal that the McCallister family in Home Alone would need an annual household income of $305,000 in 1990, to afford their house, putting them in the top 1% of earners. The McCallisters' house is located in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the U.S. Specifics regarding Peter and Kate McCallister's jobs aren't really explored, though the novelization describes him as a business man and her as a fashion designer.

One of the biggest mysteries of Home Alone has always been the McCallister family's wealth, and economists have now teamed up to provide answers. Released in 1990, Chris Columbus' Home Alone stars Macauley Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who fends off two intruders after accidentally being left at home by his vacationing family. Despite remaining a holiday favorite, questions have long swirled regarding just how parents Peter (John Heard) and Kate (Catherine O'Hara) afford such a beautiful Chicago home and lavish vacations.

It’s been 33 years since Home Alone was released on the big screen, and fans are just now getting an answer to an age-old question: How wealthy was the McCallister family?

Not only did the famous movie family — Peter (John Heard) and Kate McCallister (Catherine O’Hara) and their five children, including Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) — live in quite a large home, but they were also headed out on a trip to Paris in the 1990 film.

So The New York Times decided to get to the bottom of it, working with three economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago — Max Gillet, Cindy Hull and Thomas Walstrum.

Since the McCallisters’ home is an actual real-world property in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, the economists were able to compare data from household incomes in the Chicago area in the 1990s, the house’s property value and mortgage rates, as well as taxes and insurance.

The McCallister parents in Home Alone are revealed to be a prominent businessman and a fashion designer, which explains their ability to afford a big house and expensive trips. The novelization of Home Alone reveals this detail about the McCallister parents' jobs, putting to rest one of the biggest mysteries in the franchise. Despite Uncle Rob paying for the first trip to Paris, the McCallisters were still incredibly wealthy, enabling them to afford luxurious vacations and a fancy house in the Chicago suburbs.

Home Alone is a true Christmas classic, but there has always been a big mystery about the McCallister family that one detail finally explains. The film premiered in 1990 and was so beloved it spawned an entire franchise, with two sequels and three made-for-tv installments. Home Alone followed Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) and his vicious adventures after his family forgot him at home while going on a family vacation to Paris,...

With so many people passing through them over the years, it would only make sense for hotels to be haunted. T.S. Rue is one of many storytellers who agrees with the possibility, and starting in 1993, the young-adult author explored the goings-on at a ghostly getaway called Arcadia. Rue, who also goes by Morton Rhue […]

The post T.S. Rue’s ‘Nightmare Inn’ Series Opened With Murder and Time Travel [Buried in a Book] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In 1994, when I was eight years old, I became obsessed with “Home Alone.” At the time, I owned both “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” on VHS, along with two “Home Alone” posters, a “Home Alone” video game and even the novelization of “Home Alone” by Todd Strasser. I have no explanation for my fandom, other than the fact that I saw the film's protagonist, Kevin McCalister, as some type of hero, one who was forced to defend his house from two burglars on Christmas. Soon enough, I found myself writing a letter to the film's writer/producer John Hughes. Several months earlier, I had created a new chapter in the “Home Alone” series, and was now wondering whether Mr. Hughes would be willing to option it. At that point, my only knowledge of the filmmaker was that he was somehow involved with creating “Home Alone,...

The Anchor Bay Entertainment re-release of director John Schultz' 1999 teen romance comedy "Drive Me Crazy", is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

The film is based on the novel "How I Created My Perfect Prom Date" by author Todd Strasser :

"...'Nicole Maris' (Melissa Joan Hart) and 'Chase Hammond' (Adrian Grenier) live next door to each other. Nicole lives with her divorced mother and Chase's mother died, , making them two teens living with their single parents. However, they are worlds apart. Nicole is up on the latest fashions. Chase, on the latest protest. She wouldn't miss a pep rally or basketball game with her scheming socialite friends. He can usually be found in a dark coffee room with his friends who don't care what they wear.

"Nicole wants a dream date with the star basketball player, but right before it was certain they were going together, he falls in love with a cheerleader.

"Drive Me Crazy" is a sweet but very slight teen comedy that despite its contempo look feels like a throwback to another era. The film should play well to young females, especially with Melissa Joan Hart -- starting her fourth season in the title role of ABC's "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" -- as the film's star. But "Drive Me Crazy" is definitely bucking a trend in teen movies, which these days either lean heavily on raunchiness ("American Pie") or mean-spiritedness ("Cruel Intentions").

Hart plays a high school senior, one of the campus elite, who is mortified when the star basketball player fails to ask her to the school's centennial celebration. Fast running out of acceptable candidates, she reluctantly decides to create her own date out of the grunge-loving boy next door.

Her neighbor (Adrian Grenier, who played the title role in festival hit "The Adventures of Sebastian Cole") only goes along with the scheme in hopes of making the girlfriend who just dumped him (Ali Larter) jealous.

But the sight of Grenier in a new haircut and with-it clothes perplexes his weirdo friends, who fear he has joined the "other" side. And, predictably, the two young people wind up liking each other more than they ever could have imagined.

Writer Rob Thomas, working from Todd Strasser's novel "How I Created My Perfect Prom Date," sprinkles the simple story with mildly amusing secondary characters, including Designated Dave (Mark Webber), so named because he's head of the drive-safe program; his video-geek pal (Kris Park); a coed Keri Lynn Pratt) trying very hard to be popular; and a girlfriend of Hart's Susan May Pratt) with her own malevolent agenda. The movie winds up with everyone learning a life lesson about the nature of true friendship.

The director is John Schultz, whose "Bandwagon" traveled the film festival circuit a couple of years ago. His work here is straightforward and uninspired. Similarly, technical credits are adequate if unexceptional.

One major plus is a soundtrack that includes the Backstreet Boys hit "I Want It That Way" and Britney Spears' "(You Drive Me) Crazy," the song that suggested the film's title.

DRIVE ME CRAZY

20th Century Fox

An Amy Robinson production

Producer: Amy Robinson

Director: John Schultz

Writer: Rob Thomas

Based on the novel by: Todd Strasser

Co-producer: Nancy Paloian-Breznikar

Director of photography: Kees Van Oostrum

Production designer: Aaron Osborne

Music: Greg Kendall

Costume designer: Genevieve Tyrrell

Editor: John Pace

Color/stereo

Cast:

Nicole Maris: Melissa Joan Hart

Chase Hammond: Adrian Grenier

Mr. Maris: Stephen Collins

Alicia: Susan May Pratt

Dave: Mark Webber

Ray Neeley: Kris Park

Brad: Gabriel Carpenter

Dulcie: Ali Larter

Dee Vine: Keri Lynn Pratt

Running time -- 91 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...