I'd like to pay homage to Daniel Stern in Home Alone 2 for one of the funniest comedic performances in movie history.

Submitted by firkin_slang_whanger t3_z71r8x in movies

Ranging from his body movements, facial expressions, his play off Joe Pesci, and his vocal range with added emotions, he never fails to make me laugh regardless of how many times I watch this movie. The brick scene is perfection. So I'd like to salute Daniel Stern for always giving me a sense of joy and laughter while watching his performances in these movies.

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Liftin-Larry-92 t1_iy478wg wrote

Please don't forget his brilliance in Home Alone 1 --- that "tarantula scream" is one of the funniest sounds I ever heard in the movies. My bladder literally leaks fluid when I hear it 30 years later. Plus, "he's a kid, kids are stupid" is a very hilarious line!

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NeuHundred t1_iy5wfys wrote

Oh, and he doesn't even DO it on the day, it's a silent take so it doesn't freak out the tarantula. So he holds that scream face, then had to go back and add the scream in post.

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JediTigger t1_iy6yrzv wrote

That scream is precisely the sound anyone would make when a big spider is dropped on their face. It’s so pure.

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nfgnfgnfg12 t1_iy8szh9 wrote

I prefer the scream during the pigeon attack in HA2.

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TheBahamaLlama t1_iy89oq7 wrote

I play it a few times during Christmas season for my kids and I laugh every single time we watch that scene.

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CANTphaseTHIS t1_iy8ajsh wrote

The tarantula scream and when he hits every slipping step down to the basement! Both get me everytime!

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Dinky_Nuts t1_iy4ch2o wrote

“Wow…What a hole”

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The_Elder_Jock t1_iy4ek53 wrote

Things to say while being a cunning linguist.

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deeoh t1_iy4ftyz wrote

And it only works when said by about 50% of master debaters.

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DarkReaper90 t1_iy4wxfj wrote

To this day, his electrocution scene still cracks me up.

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Full_Nefariousness92 t1_iy58ny8 wrote

I’m 40 and my dad is a stoic scot of 71 who very rarely watches anything other that sport. Every year on Christmas Day I make the parents watch Home Alone and this scene has him in tears of laughter every time.

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VaggPounder t1_iy5hr3t wrote

It's kinda nitpicky but some of the traps in "Home Alone 2" are over-the-line --- the electrocution scene and the brick-throwing scene are just too cruel --- I know people bring up the "Wile E. Coyote" comparison but it's just my feelings on it

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NonTimeo t1_iy5meov wrote

I generally agree with you, but Harry has a gun in this one and attempts to use it on Kevin and Pigeona. He’s upped the ante and Kevin follow suit.

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holdupwhut321 t1_iy5n4kx wrote

Yeah people seem to gloss over the fact that Joe Pesci’s character was trying to straight up shoot Kevin in the head in the middle of Central Park and the kid only escaped because 1) the gun got goo all over it from one of the traps and 2) bird lady showed up.

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Pirate_Ben t1_iy6s3yl wrote

I really prefer the traps in 1. They are more sadistic while being sub-lethal. Plus blows to the family jewels never get old.

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VaggPounder t1_iy71r6m wrote

Yeah it's a Christmas movie aimed at kids --- I don't like the idea of encouraging 9 year olds to toss bricks at people from four stories up

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billiebol t1_iy5q0z2 wrote

Totally agreed! I will be showing my kids Home Alone 1 and not 2 this christmas for this reason. It would scare them.

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picklepartyprevails t1_iy4gozd wrote

Check out Bushwhacked (1995, 90 minutes) If you want more "Marv" type character from Daniel Stern. Daniel is the lead, also has the ever favorite bad guy Jon Polito.

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Liftin-Larry-92 t1_iy4iuf3 wrote

He was in "City Slickers" (1991) as well

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FoxOntheRun99 t1_iy4nuz5 wrote

His performance in that party is amazing. How he swings from one emotion to another while providing the laughs.

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Snuggle__Monster t1_iy5jx0l wrote

"Go ahead call him, I'm sure he's home! It's his night to be with the other escaped NAZI'S, isn't it?!?"

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wstacon t1_iy5kb51 wrote

I hate you more!!! If hate were people I'd be... China!

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Liftin-Larry-92 t1_iy5pbza wrote

LOL it's a gem of a movie --- so many early 90's comedies are gold

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dennythedinosaur t1_iy588on wrote

That movie got bad reviews and was a box office dud.

But I rewatched it as an adult and it still holds up, solely due to Daniel Stern's comedic performance.

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BossRaider130 t1_iy5try3 wrote

“Hey, Spider! Why do they call you ‘Spider?’”

“Because I once KILLED a kid who called me ‘Spider’ one too many times!”

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picklepartyprevails t1_iyc343o wrote

I was the only person in the theater for the showing I saw. I dig being the only person in a theater. I may not have accomplished much in life but I was the King Of The Cinema that late Summer Tuesday Matinee in 1995. The movie will always hold a chuckle in my heart.

Glad to see there is others that enjoy the movie as much as I dom

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hankbaumbachjr t1_iy5h0fz wrote

Thank you for mentioning this and saving me the trouble.

Daniel Stern was phenomenal for a 4 or 5 year period including City Slickers, Bushwhacked, Home Alone, and both acting & directing Rookie of the Year.

I know he kept working since then but he totally fell off the map relative to his greatness from 1990-1995.

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VaggPounder t1_iy5io6s wrote

I only know him from Home Alone and City Slickers --- he pretty much disappeared by the late 90's, which is a shame

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Grammaton485 t1_iy78grh wrote

Literally the only thing I remember from Rookie of the Year is him getting trapped between two adjoined hotel room doors.

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somepeoplewait t1_iy5i90s wrote

I believe I read somewhere (could be apocryphal, though) that Bushwhacked was originally even going to be a Home Alone spinoff with Marv, but they decided to make it its own separate movie.

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VaggPounder t1_iy5ittn wrote

I always wondered why there wasn't a Marv-Harry spinoff movie --- perhaps "Wet Bandits Spoil Christmas" ?? It coulda been pretty funny with the right script.

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picklepartyprevails t1_iyc3lgq wrote

I believe Hats Off Entertainment (Joe Ramoni) on youtubes mentions it in his (Almost) Cult Classics take on Bushwhacked. If you are a fan of the movie I recommend his 7 minute revisit of the movie and Daniel Stern.

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BossRaider130 t1_iy4ywfq wrote

“Eat your veggies, eat your starches

Lean back, boys—golden arches!”

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TheBlueLeopard t1_iy5jsg2 wrote

I think about this movie every time I see Sno Balls in the gas station, and I haven't seen it in nearly three decades.

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SalukiKnightX t1_iy9cjil wrote

I read somewhere it was pitched as a spin-off sequel of Home Alone 2, but it was never fully confirmed.

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Karutsu t1_iy4w3ao wrote

He is great in “Rookie of the Year”, he directed it and had a smaller role and he even did a quick YouTube video to bring that same character back to life a few years ago.

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alegzandurr t1_iy48zbg wrote

One of my faves is when he crawls through the window and instead of slowly getting his feet down, dude just straight yams his feet into the broken ornaments. I'll also always remember reading his AmA; real stand up dude.

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TheRealClose t1_iy4gh0j wrote

I love when he tries to spell “Sticky Bandits”.

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PSUDolphins t1_iy4cb4g wrote

Neither of the Home Alone's work without Daniel Stern. His performance is what brings it all together.

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Philcycles84 t1_iy4z81y wrote

You know what, that's fair. Guy doesn't get nearly enough recognition for that. The way he acts after taking that first brick is incredible

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nivem94 t1_iy5f9ts wrote

“Suck brick kid!”

Him and Joey Pesci chemistry was great. Shame they never did another movie together

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remembervideostores t1_iy4emnu wrote

No one ever got hit better with a brick to the face than Daniel Stern.

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transformerjay t1_iy4ghnf wrote

His range of screams kill me every time I watch either Home Alone movie. Respect for Daniel Stern!

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plata_plomo t1_iy4qml6 wrote

I just rewatched City Slickers a few weeks ago-- a childhood favorite-- and was thrilled by how much I enjoyed it again. Daniel Stern is fantastic in it. Hilarious throughout, with some real dramatic scenes. Great performance all around

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nfgnfgnfg12 t1_iy8t9pq wrote

The scene where he talks about being a loser and the one about the best day literally bring tears to my eyes. Such a wonderful movie.

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TheZardoz t1_iy5iwzz wrote

The way he says “why hello” to the lady at the crosswalk is hilarious

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Technicolorific t1_iy4oucu wrote

Daniel Stern and Chris Elliot will always be the same dude to me, they just both have that energy. I can't be the only one who's experienced this phenomenon

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VaggPounder t1_iy5i63j wrote

Definitely two quirky and funny nerdy white guys -- Elliot's humor always seemed a little more "college smarmy" whereas Stern is more "grade school goofy"

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_TheLoneRangers t1_iy4brg4 wrote

You’re scared of the dark too, Marv. Not, not, not !

e: his sound effect skidding down the icy steps i will always skip back to hear a couple times, even after so many rewatches

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Pleasant_Series_8044 t1_iy4ntu4 wrote

He was in CHUD, too. Not CHUD 2: Bud the CHUD. Just CHUD, also.

It sucks, don't see it.

Young John Goodman has a scene, too. Don't see it.

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Baardseth815 t1_iy54e4b wrote

The electrocution scene gets me every time. Absolute comedic gold.

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mcpickledick t1_iy57fi9 wrote

I watched Home Alone 1 & 2 a week ago, for the first time since childhood, and Stern's performance was the most noteworthy factor that I had overlooked as a child. His timings are perfect. It would've been a much lesser film without his incredible performance.

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VaggPounder t1_iy5iexg wrote

Joe Pesci played more the straight-man in the burglar duo --- so Stern was definitely the funnier of the two

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getBusyChild t1_iy60zim wrote

When he briefly turns into a Skeleton while being electrocuted will never not be funny.

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GypsyDishwasher t1_iy69u2h wrote

It's one of the dumbest things ever put to film and it gets funnier every single time I see it. Best bit of live action cartoon silliness ever.

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BrexitFool t1_iy4xog6 wrote

I love it when Harry says they need to go to another country.

Then Marv suggests ‘Arizona’. Gets me every time.

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quitpayload t1_iy5d9ix wrote

His babbling at Harry when he see's that Kevin still has another brick never gets old

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MissyBee63 t1_iy5bx1q wrote

Just watched it the other night, told my family he is a treasure and the best part of the film.

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hankbaumbach t1_iy65vd6 wrote

The top post over on /r/Batman are the Sticky Bandits encountering Michael Keaton's Batman.

No mention of Daniel Stern for nearly a decade+ and now he's in two posts on two different subs...weird.

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datbackup t1_iy6lt4i wrote

>The top post over on /r/Batman are the Sticky Bandits encountering Michael Keaton's Batman.

>No mention of Daniel Stern for nearly a decade+ and now he's in two posts on two different subs...weird

It's Wet Bandits

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hankbaumbach t1_iy6uajc wrote

You know I was going to look to make sure I got it right and just didn't. Curse my drug addled memory!

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boygriv t1_iy6pukf wrote

When he keeps getting hit in the face with the bricks 💀 💀 💀 💀

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techmaster242 t1_iy5ubfk wrote

My grandmother was getting pretty nutty in her later years, and one year for Christmas we all went to see Home Alone 2 in the theater. We brought her with us. There was some scene where he's in the house and the burglars show up so he makes a run for it, and it was a quiet suspenseful scene. She yells out, loud enough for the entire theater to hear: "Oh no, that boy forgot his hat!!!"

​

There was another Christmas where we went to the local city park, where they set up lights all over the park. And it's bumper to bumper traffic, slowly driving through the park and looking at the lights. We brought her with us. Cars have that third brake light, high on the rear window. Well, in bumper to bumper traffic, that light is shining right in your face. She was complaining the whole time.

"That light sure is annoying, I wish they'd turn it off! Oh thank god, they finally turned that light off! Oh no they turned that light back on! They should make it illegal to turn that light on! Oh good, they turned that light off again!" It was that for the slow long drive through that park. And we were all in tears, trying to hold back the laughter.

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dakotabrewer t1_iy6quo1 wrote

I can't watch the edited version on TV, they cut the brick scene short. The first time I saw it I was like "What are they thinking? That's the funniest part of the movie!"

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mythicnygma t1_iy6ydec wrote

Basically just had this same conversation with my fiancé this past weekend. He is the only reason I will go back and rewatch these movies every year. His timing, delivery and just presence as Marv has been a staple of my holiday’s since I was a kid, since the first one came out the year I was born

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Madripoorx t1_iy7c6dk wrote

Easily one of the top 1000 comedic performances of all time

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billiebol t1_iy5pwf1 wrote

Why home alone 2? It was a bit over the top. First Home alone is much better imo.

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bigersmaler t1_iy8e9vh wrote

Watched this for the first time in a while with my kids last night. Wife and I noted several times how much Culkin just plain sucks. Even for a child actor. Stern and Pesci were the only thing making that movie remotely watchable. For some reason I was really betting hard on a Stern cameo in The Irishman. Ah well.

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sgmctabnxjs t1_iy4fvdq wrote

> one of the funniest comedic performances in movie history

Please, can everyone stop it with this shit.

There are over 100 years of films, 3000 new films every year.

It is unlikely you have any idea about film history.

Be a little humble and at least say "of the films I've seen".

I'd challenge people as well to come up with a second choice. This at least makes you have to compare it with something else.

Otherwise you're just saying "I like this", which, I'm sorry to say, isn't really that interesting.

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datbackup t1_iy6m79i wrote

Yeah you make some good points, the amount of media that comes out every day is pretty staggering.

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