Home Alone 3

''Home Alone 3'' is a 1997 American crime comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell in his directorial debut, and written and produced by John Hughes. A standalone sequel to '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992), it is the third installment in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, and the first not to feature the primary cast, director Chris Columbus, nor composer John Williams from previous installments. Starring Alex D. Linz and Haviland Morris, the story follows Alex Pruitt, an 8-year-old boy who defends his home from a dangerous group of international criminals working for a North Korean terrorist organization.

''Home Alone 3'' was released on December 12, 1997, by 20th Century Fox. The film was a box-office success, but received negative reviews from critics, who compared it unfavorably to the previous entries in the series. It was followed by a made-for-television standalone sequel, '' Home Alone 4'', in 2002, which features no returning cast or crew members; it features characters from the first two films, albeit portrayed by different actors.

Plot

Peter Beaupre, Alice Ribbons, Burton Jernigan, and Earl Unger are four internationally wanted criminals working for a Hong Kong–based terrorist organization linked to North Korea. In Silicon Valley, California, they steal a $10 million missile-cloaking microchip and hide it inside a radio-controlled car to get the chip past security at San Francisco International Airport. However, a passenger named Mrs. Hess inadvertently takes the criminals' bag containing the car, mistaking it for her identical bag. The criminals arrive in Chicago and systematically search every house in Hess's suburban neighborhood to find the chip.

Eight-year-old Alex Pruitt is given the toy car by Hess as payment for shoveling her driveway. He returns home and discovers that he has chicken pox and must stay home from school. The next day, Alex discovers the criminals while spying on his neighbors and calls the police, but they are unable to help. Alex attaches a camera to the car and uses it to spy on them, leading to the criminals chasing it when they see it. Wondering what they want with the toy car, Alex opens it and discovers the stolen chip. He calls the local U.S. Air Force Recruitment Center about the discovery and asks if they can forward the information about the chip to the authorities.

The criminals realize that Alex has been watching them and decide to break into the Pruitt house. Alex rigs the house with handmade booby traps with help from his pet rat Doris and his brother Stan's parrot. The criminals break in, spring the traps, and suffer various injuries. While the group pursue Alex around the house, he flees and rescues Hess, who has been taped to a chair in her garage by Alice. Beaupre ambushes Alex, but the latter uses a bubble gun resembling a Glock to scare him off.

FBI agents and the police later arrive and arrest Alice, Jernigan, and Unger, having received a tip from the recruitment center. However, Beaupre hides in a makeshift snow fort in the backyard. Stan's parrot discovers him and threatens to light fireworks, which are lined around the inside. Beaupre offers a cracker in exchange for silence, but the parrot demands two. Since Beaupre has only one, the parrot lights the fireworks, alerting the authorities to Beaupre's location.

That evening, the Pruitts, Mrs. Hess, and the authorities hold a celebration for Alex as the Pruitt house is being repaired, with Alex's father Jack returning home from a business trip. At the police department, the criminals are shown to have contracted Alex's chicken pox during their mugshots.

Cast

Production

''Home Alone 3'' was pitched at the same time as '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992), and both films were meant to be produced simultaneously; however, those plans fell through. The idea for a third ''Home Alone'' movie was revived in the mid-1990s; early drafts called for Macaulay Culkin to reprise the role of Kevin McCallister as a teenager. However, by 1994, Culkin had taken a hiatus from acting. As a result, the idea was reworked, centering on a new cast of characters.

It was filmed in Chicago and Evanston, Illinois, with the airport scenes at the beginning of the film being shot at two different concourses at O'Hare International Airport.

Principal photography began on December 2, 1996, and filming concluded on March 22, 1997.

Fox Family Films was the division of 20th Century Fox responsible for the production on the film.

Music

Release

''Home Alone 3'' was released theatrically on December 12, 1997, by 20th Century Fox.

Home media

The film later released on VHS and Laserdisc on June 2, 1998, and on DVD on November 3, 1998, which was later reissued in December 2007 (and, as part of ''Home Alone'' multi-packs, in 2006 and 2008). While the DVD presents the film in its original Widescreen format (1.85:1), it is presented in a non-anamorphic 4:3 matte.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $79,082,515 worldwide, against an estimated budget of $32 million.

Critical response

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and said that he found it to be "fresh, very funny, and better than the first two."

Accolades

''Home Alone 3'' was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Remake or Sequel at the 18th Golden Raspberry Awards, losing to '' Speed 2: Cruise Control''.

Other media

Sequel

A sequel titled ''Home Alone 4'', was released in 2002.

Novelization

A novelization based on the screenplay was written by Todd Strasser and published by Scholastic in 1997 to coincide with the film.

References

External links

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{{Portal bar, United States, Film, Comedy, Crime, 1990s

Home Alone (franchise)
1997 films
1997 children's films
1997 crime comedy films
1997 directorial debut films
1990s American films
1990s English-language films
20th Century Fox films
American crime comedy films
American sequel films
Films about children
Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Films about home invasion
Films about terrorism in the United States
Films directed by Raja Gosnell
Films produced by John Hughes (filmmaker)
Films scored by Nick Glennie-Smith
Films set in California
Films set in Chicago
Films shot in Chicago
Films with archival recordings
Films with screenplays by John Hughes (filmmaker)
North Korea in fiction
English-language crime comedy films