The Surprising Truth About Buzz's Girlfriend In Home Alone

The holidays are upon us, and for many, that means stressful gift shopping, filling the home with decorations evoking seasonal cheer, and watching some classic Christmas movies. For children of the '90s, one of the top picks is likely "Home Alone." The beloved 1990 comedy stars 8-year-old protagonist Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), who is literally left alone in his home, and spends much of his time thwarting criminals Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci) with complex traps that honestly should have killed the home invaders multiple times.

"Home Alone" is full of notable scenes that stick to our memories, from Kevin scaring a pizza delivery boy away with a gangster movie clip to Kevin befriending a once-fearsome neighbor. Most are lighthearted and wholesome, but there is one scene with a mean kick. "Home Alone" features a scene where Kevin spots a picture of his brother, Buzz's (Devin Ratray) girlfriend. Kevin, of course, spits out a "Woof" at the image marking how he thinks Buzz's girlfriend is unpleasant on the eyes. What's surprising about the scene is the person in the picture is related to a member of the film's production.

The idea of making fun of a young girl's appearance for a cheap laugh might seem too cruel. And apparently, the producers of "Home Alone" thought so while filming the scene where Kevin discovers a picture of his brother Buzz's girlfriend. That's why, according to actor Devin Ratray, the image isn't of a girl, but a boy dressed up as one.

As Ratray revealed in a 2013 Yahoo! Interview, "The producers decided it would be unkind to put a girl in that role of just being funny-looking. The art director had a son who was more than willing to volunteer for the part. I think if he had known it would become the highest-grossing family comedy of all time, he might have had second thoughts about it."

While there might be a compliment or two to give the producers for at least thinking that scene would have been too mean to cast a girl for it, the choice to have the art director's son instead dress up as a girl only to be mocked isn't really any better. It still forces the scene to take several steps back into cringe-worthy, insensitive territory. Frankly, that scene wouldn't fly too well among audiences today and, in retrospect, it has probably aged poorly. But, despite the scene, "Home Alone" could still be considered by many as a flawed comedy gem.