The Lookback
Home Alone is one of those things that really really didn't need sequels. To me, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was alright, but not that good or necessary. That is probably an opinion that will drive some to just leave or be mad, then again what opinion doesn't? Home Alone 2 falls into a problem that a sequel made because a first film probably not intending to have a follow-up ends up having to make one , because money.
Even that movie knows that it has the problem by the fact of how much it "winks" at the audience most the start. There are things that at least making it charming like Tim Curry. Even if 90% of the movie works on repeating the first film -but in New York- and even kind of like putting the audience into knowing that "yeah we know". It also did very well to the point where yes, the third film.
Home Alone 2 came out in 1992 , Home Alone 3 came out in 1997. They had seemingly planned to make a third with the 2nd but didn't. Probably for the best since if there's a third with the same people, we should start to ask the question of why do they keep trying to go on Christmas vacations? Why does Kevin keep getting left behind? Do they actually hate Kevin?
But here's Home Alone 3 anyway. Home Alone 3 takes some different approaches to its story compared the first and second. The main thing is that it's not a Christmas movie. It takes place after Christmas, which changes the reason why the main character is left home alone.
Fun fact: Fun is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. There are six (as of this writing) Home Alone films. Yeah six. Home Alone 4 , also called Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House, came out in 2002 and was a TV film. That one is notable in the fact that the names of the characters are the same as 1 and 2 and it feels like you missed something in processing when watching. In 2012, the launched another TV movie called "Home Alone: The Holiday Heist" which takes the concept of the films but wonders how can parents accidently leave their kid Home Alone in the year 2012? Uh well, they decide to just let the parents leave the kid(s) at home because they are mad at them. Also there's a teenage girl to watch the main boy so... it's alright. Then Disney gets weird, buys FOX and decides that since they own Home Alone now to make a sixth one in 2021 called "Home Sweet Home Alone".
Saying all that, this was the last (so far?) one that was released in a theater. Home Alone 3 introduces a different family. Probably for the best for a few reasons, but also having Kevin be home alone at this point he'd be a teenage boy so it would just be teen boy left at home and somehow would be weirder if they used the same criminals a third time. This is the last "Home Alone" film to be written by John Hughes.
The strangest thing about this movie is that it starts in Hong Kong. That also means this movie was done right around the change over happened. But why is the movie in Hong Kong? It sets up our villains as not just random dudes who want to just break into moderately wealthy people's homes and take some stuff and leave the water on, nah, they want to -checks notes- to steal a chip to sell to a terrorist group linked to North Korea. Our four, yes four, criminals are named Peter Beaupre, Alice Ribbons, Burton Jernigan, and Earl Unger. Stealing it wasn't that hard, some guy working at the company that makes the special chip that can make missiles undetectable sells it to them. He stole it. Movie over?
Watch out! Heist movie ending walking here / Copyright FOX
They place the chip inside a toy RC car as a way to sneak it past airport security. A bold strategy that I am sure will not cause any hijinks at all. Again, the strangest thing about this movie is that it takes over 8 minutes to actually feel like a "Home Alone" movie. Because we get scene of the bad guys looking cool and getting through the airport security. Also, uh oh, a lady took their bag because she has the same bag they had. This seems like a very dumb plan, they should have used a more descript bag. This movie travels more than the first two in the first 5 minutes as well. This will lead us to Chicago because Home Alone.
They lose track of the woman and find the taxi driver. Also movie mentions the date incase, you didn't know, it takes place after Christmas and the date mentioned is January 8th. (Even Orthodox Christmas is over) The taxi driver gives private details away too easily.
Finally, the movie shows our main character. Alex Pruitt is an eight-year-old boy played by Alex D. Linz, whom you may know from The Young and the Restless, Tarzan, Bruno, or the 2003 Disney Channel Original Movie "Full-Court Miracle". He connects to the lady with the car chip as he's her neighbor. Mrs. Hess, played by Marian Seldes, wanted Alex to shovel her walk and she's not happy he's late. She still plays him because she doesn't want to be seen as a bad person so she gives him the car. If we're going to recycle anything from the first two movies guess what role she is there for?
I am here to deliver the plot device/ Copyright FOX
The movie is also setting up how our main character will be left home alone. He's scratching and which we'll find out that he has chicken pox. (Because 90's) The bad guys can't figure out which house has what they are looking for since this neighborhood seems to have everyone with an older house and hasn't removed their Christmas decorations. (Something is being implied here)
We also see that Alex is kind of smart as he's able to tinker, even made an a pretty neat, if not excessive, way of feeding his fish. Alex's mom fills in the red haired mom quota for the films. The best fun fact is that Karen Pruitt is played by Haviland Morris who played Caroline Mulford in Hughes' film Sixteen Candles. The dad, Jack Pruitt, will not have much of a role in this film is played by Kevin Kilner whom fans of "Earth: Final Conflict" or the Disney Channel Original movie "Smart House" will know.
This movie also has Scarlett Johansson playing Alex's older sister named Molly. His older brother is named Stan. They don't have much of a role in this movie either except to do quips, one liners and make fun of Alex until the end. Movie also gives us Home Alone boy screaming in the bathroom scene. Checkmarks.
Sorry son, we're gonna have to leave you home...alone/ Copyright FOX
Alex as a character is not remaking Kevin which is good to make him stand out. It also is fitting to him be someone who knows how to invent and tinker to set up the stuff he'll do later. He shows he's also somewhat a genius type but still has childishness to him. We see the criminals who are also set up to be a little bit different than our goofy duo from the other two movies. They are fast, efficient and effective. They're whole concept is that they are making sure they can sneak into a house, steal the toy car with the chip, and leave. It works well for later.
How does this movie "Home Alone" you might be wondering? We'll Alex's mom was working from home, but her boss needs her at work and she gives him one hour because again Alex is home sick. Alex asks a question about "What if crooks show up?" it's daytime and that's good time to crook. Hmm. I wonder what could happen?
Alex decides to do some telescope looking around the neighborhood and I wonder what he'll— oh no He sees crooks. He calls 9-1-1 and tells him at see crooks in the house across the street. The only problem, since this movie needs to have a plot and a runtime, is that they are able to get out before the cops show up and they didn't take anything so it looks like Alex called in a hoax. We also get a supposed to be funny moment of the cops going "Freeze!" and a dog freezing. One of the cops is the dad from "The Middle".
This isn't Fargo?/ Copyright FOX
The movie cuts to federal investigators looking for the chip and the criminals. Meanwhile, the 4 of them are trying to figure out how the police showed up. The second time the movie has Alex left home alone is his dad having to leave and his mom isn't back home yet. Yeah, this movie is more casual leaving him at home, versus oops! As a decision, is different than the first two movies where Kevin is accidently left at home [first movie] or accidently gets on wrong plane [second movie] and isn't even left home alone. It does cause the role of the parents, especially the mom, to be reduced since she's really just popping out and hoping the next door neighbor will check on him.
Sorry, son I'm leaving , I got a job as an actor on some sci-fi show/ Copyright FOX
Uh oh, Alex sees them again and decides to call the police again. Guess what? Time isn't on his side since there's way more movie. I am only slightly curious as to why the family doesn't believe him, he doesn't feel like a character that randomly call the police twice because he's bored or makes up things for reasons. There's at least no reason seen or explained why they wouldn't believe him or at least be more curious as to why beyond their simple reason. That's one of the weaknesses of the movie.
There's nothing more 90's than this image/ Copyright FOX
The animals in this movie are fun, the parrot and Doris the rat are charming. Alex figures out that the criminals are looking for something specific but doesn't know what. He also decides he'll do it himself. (He's going to arrest the criminals?) One could say that in our modern times it would be easier for Alex to show what's going on by recording it. You would be correct, he also decides to record it. In his own way he decides to tape a video camera to an RC car- The RC car- and sends it to the house he thinks will be "investigated" next. Alex decides to scare his rat and a cat, interesting.
Alex captures footage and decides to mess with Beaupre for a bit. He calls the others in to help him and this is also the first slapstick in this movie. I will say there's only a small amount that makes these guys interesting. Marv and Harry were more interesting and they had fun personalities. Here it kind of seems they blend together. We do get to see their slight role differences and they seem competent when the plot needed them to be, then well more on that later.
I'm surprised Alex's video link up didn't mean he didn't think to use a VCR to record in his house as he was watching the broadcast and so it wouldn't matter if the bad guy took the camera and destroyed the VHS tape. Why yes, I over thought this.
Alex, also gets the family free AMC / copyright FOX
Alex is able to lose the criminals with the car and camera, but no tape. That was a different type of car chase. He wonders why they were still chasing the car after they got the tape and finds the chip. He figures out it's an air force chip and decides to call the Air Force recruitment place. He gives the numbers on chip and hopes for the best. Meanwhile, Alice has figured out a kid is on to them.
Well, Doris, you're right they are working with the cats/ copyright FOX
Alice has done some sleuthing her of her own and figures out which house might have the car. Alex figures it out quickly that the caller isn't some kid's mom. The criminals have a way to re-rout phone calls. Alex decides he's gonna figure this out himself and set some of the traps, it's that part of a Home Alone movie. He let's his mother go to work and he's a home waiting. The music makes it sounds like he's going to die, or she's going to die, they need to calm down. But first, a little more traps, and we should fear Alex.
In speaking of music, this is probably the only or the only mainstream movie where Cartoon Boyfriend gets a song in it. Mrs. Hess gets a call to check in on Alex and that proves to be bad for her. Peter and Alice make up a story about a package and end up tying her up and leaving her in the garage and door open so she can freeze to death. This movie has dark moments even when it will get silly. Burton sees Alex's electrical death trap and thinks it's a cute fake and ends up well getting shocked. So does Unger. Fear Alex, he's messed with electricity. Not going to run through all the traps, but these people should be dead, like they should be more dead than Kevin's traps in the 2nd movie.
Even if Mrs. Hess is a little annoyed by the Pruitts she is scared when Alice mentions Alex. This movie proves that yes, you can play "Let it Snow" after Christmas. I think it does work, actually, that these sophisticated criminals would fall in Alex's plans. Mostly because they aren't expecting them and they are pure chaos and make no sense that one one would think of them. Also again, they should really be dead. Alex's cold disregard of their lives is somewhat funny. He's like they sealed their fate, they really could have quick after being shocked and hit with heavy stuff, but they chose to go further. Plus, compared to Marv and Harry these guys are slowly killing an elderly woman. Also, oddly we find out later they had a gun, and no attempt was made. I'm just saying, they chose this pain.
There's that part where something gets screwed up because of a variable Alex didn't account for. His mom calls and he has to answer the phone. Peter overhears the call and is happy to hear this info. Also, the good news is that the FBI agents are on their way to help Alex. It was nice to see the brother and sister concerned about their brother and giving something to the plot for a minute. The agent describing what's going on then Stan's face is realization this is a "Home Alone" film.
Doris and the parrot -who doesn't seem to have a name- both get a little role to mess with the criminals and a1990's hit to the groin joke. Alex finds a real gun and throws it away, he also touched it noooo! He uses the whole let's get the criminals outside thing and taunts them, which was an idea. Finds Mrs. Hess to help her and Peter is there to trap him. Alex's first concern is about Mrs. Hess, a good way to show he's only mean to bad people. Peter was willing to use a gun - even if Alex did switch them- (not sure how that man couldn't tell the weight difference) so yes, Alex's traps were really justified.
He scares Peter away and helps Mrs. Hess inside. Yes, the movie did the thing where they fix two characters who misunderstand each other and bring them together. The FBI and police show up to arrest 3 of the 4 criminals. They repeat the mom looking for her son and he calls her name and they run to each other thing. The FBI agent asks if the guy who ran of was Peter, and yes. But don't worry, they figure it thanks to the parrot. That's a sentence. It's funny that if Peter had one more cracker he would have been able to make it.
Home Alone but with a body count/ Copyright FOX
First, I do think that this movie takes story beats from the first movie, which the second movie did too, and uses them because that's the Home Alone formula. Especially this one being by the same guy. It also does its own things like the main character boy isn't mad at his family really at all. Even when the points come when he calls the cops and everyone thinks it's fake, there's not a lot tension there. It kind of seems to be something that mildly annoys the mom, and the brother and sister are like there just to make jokes at his expense, but nothing more than that.
Alex as a character is an alright lead. These movies rely on the idea of the eight-year-old kid having to be somewhat smarter than an average person and that's kind of hard to do. Here he's setup as a kid with some smarts and able to make his own things. The way he talks does mesh between average 8-year-old and something a writer would think would be fun an 8-year-old says. I can believe this character knows what he's saying it feels like it's real for the reality its in. Linz really had to hold the movie down the most. Stan and Molly are here really serviceable they kind of just exist. The mom is alright, but she really doesn't have a story goal until she's there at the end to worry about Alex. The dad has about the same amount of role as the siblings. Mrs. Hess is alright too, but again she's kind of there for Alex to mess with then they become real friends or something.
The criminals are alright, I say that a lot. (it's alright) They don't have much personality. They couldn't be too competent because they have to be taken down by an eight-year-old boy but they also can't be idiots because you'd be wondering how they work for big terrorist groups and stuff. I liked how they did clean up quickly and were efficient and it seems that Alex was able to mess with them because he was a wild card in how things are done for them.
I like this movie, myself, I personally think there's an overreaction to it. I enjoy it more than Home Alone 2, though I like the first one the most. This one is way better than 4,5,6 but that's not a even a contest. I think that if it wasn't called "Home Alone" in the title it would have probably just been a serviceable movie that probably wouldn't have been rerun as much, but it probably wouldn't have a lightning rod on it. I find the movie funny too.
I like the moments where Alex is politely mean too. This movie easily could have had Alex have quips and be one of those movie kid archetypes, but he politely bluntly gets his point across. It's not overly the best movie, but it is the best sequel of Home Alone. It's a fun movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. It some of it's own charm and uses some things you expect in a Home Alone movie, but does its own things.
That's it for now, tune in next time when we leave a kid at home and see what happens. (oh no)
