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.
How Wholesome! 💜
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.
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
Neither of the Home Alone's work without Daniel Stern. His performance is what brings it all together.
“Wow…What a hole”
Things to say while being a cunning linguist.
No one ever got hit better with a brick to the face than Daniel Stern.
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And it only works when said by about 50% of master debaters.
> 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.
I love when he tries to spell “Sticky Bandits”.
His range of screams kill me every time I watch either Home Alone movie. Respect for Daniel Stern!
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.
He was in "City Slickers" (1991) as well
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.
His performance in that party is amazing. How he swings from one emotion to another while providing the laughs.
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
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
To this day, his electrocution scene still cracks me up.
I love it when Harry says they need to go to another country.
Then Marv suggests ‘Arizona’. Gets me every time.
“Eat your veggies, eat your starches
Lean back, boys—golden arches!”
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
The electrocution scene gets me every time. Absolute comedic gold.
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.
>that "tarantula scream" is one of the funniest sounds I ever heard in the movies.
That's my sex noise
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.
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.
Just watched it the other night, told my family he is a treasure and the best part of the film.
His babbling at Harry when he see's that Kevin still has another brick never gets old
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.
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
You must have a great orgasm
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"
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.
Joe Pesci played more the straight-man in the burglar duo --- so Stern was definitely the funnier of the two
I only know him from Home Alone and City Slickers --- he pretty much disappeared by the late 90's, which is a shame
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.
Have you seen "Bushwacked"?
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.
"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?!?"
"If hate were people, I'd be China"
I hate you more!!! If hate were people I'd be... China!
Is that an order?
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.
I agree 100% VaggPounder
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.
LOL it's a gem of a movie --- so many early 90's comedies are gold
Totally agreed! I will be showing my kids Home Alone 1 and not 2 this christmas for this reason. It would scare them.
I heard reddit has a lot of bots so could be.
“Hey, Spider! Why do they call you ‘Spider?’”
“Because I once KILLED a kid who called me ‘Spider’ one too many times!”
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.
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.
He was the voice of Dilbert. Don't see it.
When he briefly turns into a Skeleton while being electrocuted will never not be funny.
LET’S PLAY SOME BALL
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.
"Well...it was a bitch!"
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.
You heat up. The ice cubes.
>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
Yeah you make some good points, the amount of media that comes out every day is pretty staggering.
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!"
I really prefer the traps in 1. They are more sadistic while being sub-lethal. Plus blows to the family jewels never get old.
Daniel Stern and Harland Williams for me
You know I was going to look to make sure I got it right and just didn't. Curse my drug addled memory!
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
That scream is precisely the sound anyone would make when a big spider is dropped on their face. It’s so pure.
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
Literally the only thing I remember from Rookie of the Year is him getting trapped between two adjoined hotel room doors.
Easily one of the top 1000 comedic performances of all time
I'd also add Rookie of the Year
I play it a few times during Christmas season for my kids and I laugh every single time we watch that scene.
The tarantula scream and when he hits every slipping step down to the basement! Both get me everytime!
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.
“Wow! What a hole!”
I prefer the scream during the pigeon attack in HA2.
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.
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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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
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.
The birds and the bees scene still makes me laugh, due to Daniel Stern's facial expressions.
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!