‘Home Alone,’ ‘Friends,’ and the Shocking Real Estate Secret They Share

What does the holiday movie “Home Alone” have in common with the TV sitcom “Friends”? Sure, they were both huge hits. But beyond that there may be a far more shocking connection between the iconic ’90s productions that’s never been revealed until now.

Here’s the scoop: Remember in the “Friends” finale, when Chandler and Monica leave New York to buy a home in the burbs? Well, it appears that they end up buying the “Home Alone” house—the gorgeous brick mansion that 8-year-old Kevin McCallister booby-traps to ward off burglars trying to break in.

Huh?

If you’re confused, we don’t blame you. But it’s true, at least according to 22 Vision, a production company that organizes film reunions and anniversary photo shoots for such cult properties as “Hook” and “The Little Rascals.”

To prove this bizarre conspiracy theory, 22 Vision put together a short video pointing out some crazy coincidences—frame by frame—between the house in “Home Alone” and “Friends.”

Where’s the proof?

First, in case your fond memories of “Friends” have faded, here’s a quick recap: Chandler and Monica move to a house in Westchester, NY. In the final episode, you see the inside of their new (and much larger) living room, as well as the view outside their windows.

Well, it turns out that the living room view offers a glimpse of a neighbor’s house across the street, which has a garage with blue-and-white paneling (see below).

Well, guess what? If you check out the view outside Kevin’s house in “Home Alone,” the house across the street also has a garage with blue-and-white paneling.

And the weird coincidences don’t end there. In “Friends,” the house next door also has a wreath on its front door.

So does the house across the street in “Home Alone.” And check out how the roof right above the entrance is a spitting image of what you see in the “Friends” frame.

Even more puzzling, the house in “Home Alone” is located in Winnetka, IL—not Westchester, NY, where Chandler and Monica supposedly lived. But that can be explained by the fact that production studios often shoot in one location but call it another.

Who found the link?

For us, the bigger question is: How did anyone actually notice these subtle similarities?

To unravel the mystery, we spoke with the CEO of 22 Vision, Brian Pocrass.

But why tie them together in the first place? 

OK, so we found out how the clandestine connection was discovered. But we still needed to know why. Were the production companies for “Home Alone” and “Friends” in cahoots, burying this Easter egg so deep, it could be unearthed only by someone who lived in the home? 

Pocrass hasn’t been able to get in touch with anyone from either production, but he chalks it up to an oversight that probably occurred during the editing process.

“I would bet that neither party would even be truly aware of this,” Pocrass says. “During the [5.5-month] shoot of ‘Home Alone’ at the house, the crew had filmed a ton of b-roll footage of the street, and so it must have been put into some sort of library for utilization on other projects.”

Meanwhile, “Friends” was likely shot in a studio, and needed b-roll footage of a neighborhood to splice in outside the windows. And, Pocrass theorizes, “it’s very likely the ‘Friends’ editor who inserted the images on the green screen didn’t even realize it was ‘Home Alone’ themselves.” 

Or perhaps, it was a masterfully devised plan to weave the two classics together and see if anyone noticed.

Sure, it’s a stretch—so if you aren’t convinced, check out the video below and decide for yourself if this odd conspiracy theory holds water.

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