MovieChat Forums > Blank Check (1994) Discussion > List Of Home Alone Similarities

List Of Home Alone Similarities

posted 10 years ago by byson5186
8 replies | jump to latest

A lot of people compare this film to Home Alone. Both Home Alone and Home Alone 2 were out by the time this movie was made. I personally like Blank Check better, as I feel like it has more of a plot than a parent accidentally leaving their child Home Alone and he defends against burglars. Here are some similarities.
1. A reserved kid, a kid who seems to prefer spending time by themselves than with other people as in Blank Check we hear his Dad say it's important to get out of your room more. They both want something of their own that's like every kid's dream.
2. Their wish comes true. They get every kid's dream like staying Home Alone, going on your own vacation, and getting $1 Million and your own house.
3. Similar to Home Alone 2 when Kevin was ordering a room he slowed down his TalkBoy to get a fake voice so he could order a room and the receptionist believed that funny voice. In this film, he uses the computer voice to buy the house, and nobody listening became suspicious besides Quigley.
4. At first the kids seem to really like what they got and their wish coming true. But, then they get a little lonely and miss their families and think what they got wasn't such a good idea after all.
5. Like Home Alone 2, a kid gets to ride a limousine alone.
6. The main similarity is the slapstick humor. A kid manages to outsmart a few adults, and then we laugh when they get taken down.
7. Parents are never aware of what happens. In both Home Alones, it seems like his family is never aware that he confronted burglars. In this film, his Dad knows something happened but isn't sure what it was.
8. In the end, the kid sees how much he loves his family and accepts his home life just the way it is.
So, yeah those are the similarities I notice with these films.

[–] VanillaLimeCoke 9 years ago

9) they have a secret friend: Home Alone 1 Marley, Home Alone 2 Pigeon Lady, Blank Check Henry
10) they indulge in a ton of junk food
11) they narrowly evade trouble from the police
12) the wish comes from mistake; Home Alone 1 miscounted; Home Alone 2 wrong guy following; Blank Check wrong check written in rush and wrong guy given money to at correct time
13) they are saved in the nick of time when the bad guys are about to get revenge on them
14) the parent feels very strong remorse for their kid at the end.

[–] byson5186 9 years ago

Wow, it had been almost a year since I wrote that post and you added other similarities. So yeah, people notice the similarities between these films. However, I like Blank Check better as I feel like Home Alone has gotten old and is only worth seeing during the Holiday Season. I feel like Blank Check has more of a plot to it and is more entertaining than seeing a kid spending his time alone at home and defending off burglars.

[–] VanillaLimeCoke 9 years ago

I really like this film too. The characters in it were just awesome.

I had just seen Another Stakeout along with this film back in 1996 and when I saw Quigley, I was thinking isn't that the same bad guy actor from Another Stakeout? And it was. In Another Stakeout he was krazy. He poured gas into the gas lines of this neighborhood which blew up like several houses, so seeing him in this film he was even more krazy I think.

And I do stress crazy with k, when someone is really krazy; like cutting phone cords, threatening families, popping kids balloons with cigars, kicking down doors, holding kids off buildings, smashing game pads, and even and I do mean especially twisting keys out of proportion. I mean Miguel Ferrer had to write that own line. That is probably my number one favorite Miguel Ferrer moment when he twists that key out of proportion.

Biderman in a way reminded me of my high school president.

Juice was just so wise and cool cracking.

Mr. Waters was just that PC type.

And Henry was just so great and friendly. Even though he's in his job for the money he really cared about Preston and you can see it at the end when he takes a moment and asks him, "are you Ok?"

Preston was all right, but he looked like this troublemaker from my middle school who had given me some trouble in 7th and then later in 8th grade.

But overall, Blank Check is a fairly decent film. The kid is going through hard unfair times, he wishes desperately for something, gets it, enjoys it, eventually longs back for the previous life, continues to keep up the charade, then has a grand finale dual with the bad guys, parents feel remorse, the end has everyone learning a lesson.

"Be excellent to each other...And....Party on!"

[–] JohnnyCastle 9 years ago

In addition:

Older siblings that pick on them or give them a hard time.

The way the kid is treated by the whole family, parents and siblings is very similar.

I don't know how you could like this more than Home Alone but to each his own. The acting of Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern make it a much better movie alone. Appearance by John Candy. The humor is a lot better.

Plot wise, Home Alone is more about the kid taking care of himself and the house on his own, surviving without his family which he seemed hopeless without. They said he was hopeless and couldn't pack a bag but he did a lot and led the police to burglars they were looking for. He learns a lot of great life lessons, including the next door neighbor who shows him the importance of family.

Both movies focus on the importance of family but I'd say Home Alone does a much better job of telling that. Blank Check the kid is kinda bratty and unappreciative. He thought it would be easy but really all he got was an unreal experience. It doesn't show that the family was all that important but that it has a happy ending with the bad guys getting taken down, which happens in Home Alone also.

[–] JohnnyCastle 9 years ago

The part where he's grounded is identical to Home Alone. They say he doesn't appreciate a gift that came from the parents. Then he says how he wants his own house, his own money, his own stuff. Identical to Home Alone when he says "I'm living alone" Both parents are just looking at him with disappointment while he gets sent to his room.

[–] byson5186 9 years ago

Yeah, I think Blank Check has more similarities to Home Alone 1 & 2, than Home Alone 3, 4, and 5 have with Home Alone 1 & 2. Again, I like this movie better. Yeah, I like Home Alone somewhat and I'll want to see it again during the Holiday Season. But, seeing Home Alone other times it seems like a lot of that movie is slow, like showing a couple of scenes we don't really care about in his own house while he's alone. This movie seems more faster paced, and less dark and I feel like Marv can be annoying and disgusting at times that it's gross to see him constantly on screen. These are some reasons I prefer Blank Check over Home Alone and Home Alone 2.

[–] byson5186 9 years ago

One other similarity I can think of that I mentioned in another message board. If you've seen Home Alone, you saw how Kevin's first real encounter with the burglars minus Harry disguised as a cop earlier was when they almost hit him in their vehicle. In Blank Check, Preston's first encounter with Quigley was when he nearly ran him over and hit his bicycle.

[–] Dan_Garten 8 years ago

This movie feels like a lost Home Alone sequel.