I just watched this movie again after many years and was seriously disturbed by the way all the kids were allowed to bully Kevin. His parents were present while the other kids were saying rude and hateful things to him and they said nothing.
And the uncle called an eight year old boy a jerk??
It was mostly just Buzz being a bully to Kevin in the two movies. He knows how to push Kevin's button and make him get in trouble. Yeah, some of the kids said some things during the pizza scene, but they seemed genuinely concerned later on when they found out Kevin was home alone.
shareMakes you wonder with Peter and Kate but don't forget I don't believe either one of them was even in a good mood with Kevin once he ran into Buzz and spilled milk onto the pizzas along with soda pop going over the places either.
shareMy parents never would have let any of us speak to another sibling in a rude or bullying manner, and I never would allow my children to bully each other.
Further, if any adult would say, "You jerk!" to my eight year old I would make him apologize and if it happened again he would no longer be a guest in my home, relative or not.
The irony is that Uncle Frank was clearly a jerk more than anyone. Even once on the plane, he doesn't have any concern for Kevin's well being ("If it makes you feel any better, I forgot my reading glasses!"). I think Buzz was mostly just an obnoxious big brother (instead of mean spirited the way Frank was), but he was still being kind of an a/hole towards him, like about the pizza.
I know the "out of touch parents" was a thing in John Hughes 80s movies, but it's a little disturbing how his parents never put their foot down or even seemed to notice.
The parents were out of touch to the point of being neglectful. If I ever heard anyone call any child a jerk I would have to say something. I'm sorry, but a little boy should not be considered to be a jerk.
The parents allowed the verbal abuse to go on without saying a word. In a real life situation, constant verbal abuse from siblings and an uncle along with being ignored by parents could cause emotional harm that woukd follow the child into adulthood.
Could you provide some examples? The only time we see one of the kids bully Kevin in front of the adults is when Buzz pretended to barf up the cheese pizza and he seemed to be making sure nobody could hear.
24/04/1916
One example is Kevin's other brother Jeff loudly saying "Kevin you're such a disease." Then of course the Jerk comment from Uncle Frank.
shareLike others say, it was mainly Buzz; his other siblings mainly seemed annoyed with him, while Buzz actively antagonized him. And we never really saw him interacting with his cousins at all. And the parents didn't really see any of it, but they still should have listened to Kevin's side of it.
The film seems to try to partly justify this by showing that everybody was high strung, rushing around to prepare to leave for the trip the next morning, there were a lot of people in the house (eleven kids, four adults) and what they saw as Kevin making trouble as extra stress they didn't need.
Kevin's parents were useless letting Uncle Frank call Kevin a jerk. I don't have children, but if my husband ever called our nieces and nephews that I would tell them to apologize to them. It took Kevin's parents hours to realize Kevin was left home. They were stupid.
shareWell all his sisters and his brothers were guilty of being a verbal bully. That one sister basically tell him he's helpless and complains about everyone having to do everything for him. It's not like it's his fault he's the youngest kid. That one sister calls him lazy and incompetent. One of them makes a comment about how she might as well say, "Congratulations you're an idiot." So yeah. I admit me and my older brother and 2 older sisters didn't get along all the time either. My older brother wouldn't share his Legos with me.
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Out of all his siblings, Buzz was definitely the worst one. When they were in Paris, he was the only one out of his siblings that wasn't even the slightest bit worried about Kevin.
Its amazing how people hang around message boards of movies they dont like
Well all his sisters and his brothers were guilty of being a verbal bully. That one sister basically tell him he's helpless and complains about everyone having to do everything for him. It's not like it's his fault he's the youngest kid. That one sister calls him lazy and incompetent. One of them makes a comment about how she might as well say, "Congratulations you're an idiot."
I thought Linnie was nicer to the rest of him than the others. When Jeff was telling him off she told him about packing crap. Then she reassured Kevin that his mum would do it for him
shareShe was being nice at first, but then she made the "Les incompetents" comment.
Its amazing how people hang around message boards of movies they dont like
I don't care what my kid did I would never let ANYONE family or otherwise call that kid a "jerk" or anything else related. What a dick!
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The only time the parents should have intervened was when Frank called him a jerk. The other times they didn't hear or see what was being said and Kevin would never tattle. I also don't see everything the siblings did as bullying it was more just being annoyed by the baby of thr family acting like a baby. Buzz (was that his teal name) was the real bully.
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