“Home Alone” is a must-watch classic when the holidays come around. For many of us who grew up in the ’90s, it’s so familiar from hundreds of viewings that we know pretty much every detail and can recite most lines by heart. However, some people missed out on a really crucial part of the story. Shockingly, not everyone realized Joe Pesci didn’t just play one of the Wet Bandits but was also the cop at the beginning of “Home Alone” too.
- The “cop” comes by the McAllisters’ house before Christmas. He interacts with all the cousins and aunts and uncles, trying to find the owner of the home. He eventually does get to chat with Mr. McAllister, who openly informs him that the entire family is hightailing it to Paris for Christmas and won’t be around. Good to know — he’ll use that to rob you blind in just a few days. He’ll try, at least.
- How do people not realize the police officer is actually Harry, the robber? While pretty much everyone knows Joe Pesci is in Home Alone as one of the Wet Bandits, oddly enough, not everyone realized he was the cop at the beginning. It seems pretty obvious to those who knew it, but there are a lot of people who just never noticed.
- His identity isn’t exactly hidden. It’s not as if Harry wore a disguise at the beginning of the movie. He simply got a hold of a police officer’s uniform and started going door to door. It’s actually a clever plot point since it proves a lot of planning went into the Wet Bandits deciding which houses to rob. Harry cased them all to see what was worth stealing. Duh!
- The number of people who didn’t know this is staggering. A quick search on Twitter brings up dozens of tweets by viewers who were literally flabbergasted to see Joe Pesci turn up in two different roles in “Home Alone.” One person even insinuated it was lazy casting and that the studio was trying to get one over on the audience. Say what?!
I just realized something about Home Alone. Joe Pesci plays TWO characters in the film. He plays the police officer that was in the McCallisters’ home at the beginning of the film and later on his plays the bandit Marv. pic.twitter.com/Zs2AaWUpQI
— chuck (@0xagf0x) December 11, 2018
Fun holiday trivia: at the beginning of home alone, you’ll notice Joe Pesci shows up playing a police officer. Keen viewers will recognize him later as one of the Wet Bandits
— ghost of christmas tyler (@bearnurse) December 2, 2020
I’m rewatching Home Alone and noticed this key scene: the police officer is actually Joe Pesci’a character in disguise. This explains how later in the movie, the Wet Bandits know that the house is unoccupied pic.twitter.com/WTFhpNsDKk
— bart (@bart_smith) December 20, 2020
Home Alone was my favourite movie when I was a kid. I never realized Joe Pesci was the police officer at the beginning of the film. pic.twitter.com/lRMksWcunV
— Adam Ward (@AdamWardsays) December 4, 2019
Amazing Movie Fact: the police officer at the start of Home Alone is played by the actor Joe Pesci, who also portrays Harry – one of the burglars appearing later in the film!
— Matty (@mattyzmatty) December 2, 2018
That confused me too? Also for a big budget movie I want to know how one actor played 2 different parts in a movie. Did they think we wouldn’t notice Joe Pesci as both a police officer AND a burglar in Home Alone! C’mon…..get with it casting staff!
— David White (@thinner1973) March 25, 2022
Wtf. Yes. The Joe Pesci character was impersonating a police officer to case the frickin joint. That's how he knows the place will be empty etc. and it sets up the main story for subsequent shenanigans. It is not a goof or a cameo. It is a *key plot point*. https://t.co/iIFqAvHIN6
— Takin' Putin to the Ram Ranch (@micktbarnard) December 7, 2020
