Home Alone (1990)

John Candy: Gus Polinski

Photos 

Quotes 

• Gus Polinski : Allow me to introduce myself. Gus Polinksi. How are you?

  [seeing Kate's blank look] 

  Gus Polinski : Polka king of the Midwest?

  [another blank look] 

  Gus Polinski : The Kenosha Kickers?

  [his bandmates all wave] 

  Gus Polinski : No? That's okay. I thought you might've recognized... Anyways, uh, I had a few hits a few years ago. Uh, that's why, you know... "Polka, Polka, Polka"?

  [singing] 

  Gus Polinski : Polka, polka, polka. No? Uh, "Twin Lakes Polka". "Yamahoozie Polka", AKA "Kiss Me Polka". "Polka Twist".

  Kate McCallister : These are songs?

  Gus Polinski : Yeah. Yeah. We... some fairly big hits for us. You know, in the early '70s, you know?

  Kate McCallister : Oh.

  Gus Polinski : Yeah, we sold about 623 copies of that.

  Kate McCallister : In Chicago?

  Gus Polinski : No. Sheboygan. Very big in Sheboygan. They loved it, you know?

  Kate McCallister : I'm sorry. Did you say you could help me?

• Kate McCallister : Have you ever gone on vacation and left your child home?

  Gus Polinski : No, no. But I did leave one at a funeral parlor once.

  [Off Kate's look] 

  Gus Polinski : Yeah, it was awful. The wife was distraught and we left the little tyke there in the funeral parlor all day. All day. You know, we went back at night and apparently he had been alone all day with the corpse. He was okay though, after two, three weeks he came around and started talking again...

  Kate McCallister : Maybe we shouldn't talk about this.

  Gus Polinski : Well, you brought it up.

  Kate McCallister : I'm sorry I did.

• Kate McCallister : I'm a bad parent. I'm a bad parent.

  Gus Polinski : No, you're not. You're beating yourself up over there, you know. This happens. These things happen, you know. Gee... You wanna talk about bad parents, look at us. We're on the road 48, 49 weeks out of the year, we hardly see our families. Joe over there... gosh, you know, he forgets his kids' names half the time. Ziggy over there, he's never even met his kid. And Eddie... let's just hope none of them write a book about him.

• Gus Polinski : Our flight was canceled, so we gotta drive. So, uh, you see the guy in the yellow jacket over there by the Budget sign? He's gonna rent us a nice big, uh, van, and we're gonna drive to Milwaukee. Now, I heard you had some problems here, uh, gettin' to Chicago to see your kid or something?

  Kate McCallister : Uh, my son. He... we left him... he's there.

  Gus Polinski : Aw, jeez. If you have to get to Chicago, we'll gladly drive you. It's on the way to Milwaukee.

  Kate McCallister : You'd give me a ride?

  Gus Polinski : Sure, we will. Why not, you know? You gotta get home and see your kid.

  Kate McCallister : A ride to Chicago?

  Gus Polinski : Sure. You know, it's Christmastime.

  Kate McCallister : Thank you. Oh, thank you.

  Gus Polinski : If-if you don't mind goin' with some polka bums.

  Kate McCallister : No, I'd love to.