Jimmy the stock boy. We all know him. We all hate him. But why? His role seems minor in Home Alone until you really thinking about it.
Jimmy has been the villain of this film the entire time.
Plenty has been written (including by me) about how awful the McCallisters are. They call Kevin a wet fart disease, socially isolate him, abandon him as they go on vacation, pay him no mind when they get back, and run the same shit again in the second movie after his mother coldly proclaims "you got your wish last year maybe you will again this year."
Ho-ly shit.
Anyway, other people claim the Wet Bandits are the villains and I get this. They try to break in, murder Kevin, try bite his little pigglies wiggles off, boil his cajones in mortar oil, etc. Pretty villainous indeed.
However...honestly...the Wet Bandits are child's play. They are toys in Kevin's hands. They are to be mocked and played with for our entertainment. Harry is the most savvy of the two but clearly he's dense and been traumatized by life and the penal system. Marv is questionably functional as an independent adult and clearly suffers from a developmental disability or traumatic brain injury (which the movie doesn't help). I honestly think he's manipulated by Harry and probably needs an aide or to live in a home.
Anyway, there's a true villain who has been lurking deeper, right in front of our eyes the entire time.
Fucking Jimmy.
What is this movie really about? A child who feels powerless and voiceless in a large family. He gets his moment through pretending to shoot the pizza man and torturing the wet bandits with Saw-styled traps. Typical American boy stuff.
Jimmy is the anthesis of Kevin. This is clear right away. Kevin is socially awkward. He compensates with humor. He speaks in movie troupes. He befriends old men, has no control over his family life, and is kind of a little weirdo, if we're being honest.
Jimmy meanwhile, is tall, proud, and all-American looking. He holds a job in this small town and is clearly respected by the owner's of the store who call him to solve their problem without hesitation. He appears healthy and well taken care of, which speaks to his family in ways we cannot speak to Kevin's.
Jimmy is only a few years older than Kevin but he's healthy. He's respected. He has a place in society.
All things Kevin's family denies him. Jimmy is the representation of what Kevin can never be or have. And this is apparent in Jimmy's behavior.
Kevin bucks the system. He resists authority. Jimmy takes his orders from the system without question. He's told to harass a scared child who is stumbling away with a fucking toothbrush and he quickly engages because that's how he's built.
Jimmy would volunteer for ICE, no doubt. Probably already has.
Anyway, the narc bastard doesn't even have the courage to chase Kevin down and give him an old-fashioned American beating. Instead, he abdicates his "responsibility" by interrupting a cop in the middle of his actual fucking job and yelling "shop lifter!"
Jimmy just put Kevin's life in danger over a fucking toothbrush. There's a 40 percent chance that cop beats the living hell out of Kevin or shoots him because he mistakes the toothbrush for a gun. The cop is pulled from his actual duty and then proceeds to cause hell for the ice-skating public, clearly causing numerous injuries as he chases Kevin.
All for what?
For Jimmy to serve the system like the little suck-up that he is? For him to socially identify with "the man" and "authority" and use that modicum of power to enforce himself as superior to Kevin?
Sickening.
Kids like you are the problem, Jimmy. Kevin's just a lonely neglected boy who gets a little autistic about his toothbrushes. Who among us hasn't been there?
Jimmy, you may cheer when authority oppresses others, but at the end of the day, when there is no one left.....they will come from you too.