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| Directed by | Raja Gosnell | ||||
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| Written by | John Hughes | ||||
| Starring | see below | ||||
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| Cinematography | Julio Macat | ||||
Home Alone 3 is the third film in the Home Alone movies written and produced by John Hughes. The film is directed by Raja Gosnell, who served as the editor of both original films, and stars Alex D. Linz as Alex Pruitt, a resourceful boy who is left home alone and has to defend his home from four international robbers. Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House released in 2002 and Home Alone 5: The Holiday Heist released in 2012. Home Alone 6 will be released in 2015.
Plot
One year after the events of the first two films, four internationally wanted criminals named Peter Beaupre (Aleksander Krupa), Earl Unger (David Thornton), Burton Jernigan (Lenny Von Dohlen), and Alice Ribbons (Rya Kihlstedt), have stolen a valuable missile cloaking computer chip for a North Korean terrorist group. They put it inside a toy remote control car to sneak it past security. At San Francisco International Airport, however, Mrs. Hess (Marian Seldes) accidentally takes the bag with the remote control car in it.
The four thieves arrive in Chicago and systematically search every house in Mrs. Hess' neighborhood to find the chip. Eight-year-old Alex Pruitt (Alex D. Linz) is given the remote control car by Mrs. Hess for shovelling snow, and soon becomes ill with the chicken pox and must stay home. While at home, Alex sees the thieves through his telescope and calls the police. However, the thieves leave Mrs. Hess' house by the time the police come.
After Alex reports the thieves again, they still manage to get away, and the police do not believe him (which is similar to the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"). Alex decides to take matters into his own hands, and mounts a camera on his remote control car, attempting to film some footage of the thieves (who are searching in every house to find the chip). He is successful in filming Beaupre, but the remote control car is discovered before it can get away and Beaupre takes the tape. Wondering what the thieves want with a remote control car, Alex opens it and discovers the stolen chip. He immediately calls Chicago's Air Force Recruitment Center and informs them about the chip.
The thieves find out that Alex has the chip and decide to go after him. They block off the road to the house, and Alice duct tapes Mrs. Hess to a porch chair in her garage and leaves the door open. By this point, Alex has armed the house with more violent booby traps. After several break-in attempts, they pursue Alex. Alex runs to the attic and goes into the dumbwaiter down to the basement, and runs outside and calls to Alice, Jernigan and Unger.
They see Alex and notice a trampoline below them. Jernigan and Unger jump, but the trampoline gives way and they fall into a frozen pool. Alice then wriggles her way into the dumbwaiter chute, but falls down to the basement. Alex finally rescues Mrs. Hess, and is cornered by Beaupre, but scares him off with a fake gun. Meanwhile, the FBI, who has also been tracking the chip, goes to Alex's school after being tipped off by the Air Force. Alex's family brings the agents to their house, where the police arrest Alice, Jernigan, and Unger. The family and the police aplolagized to alex since they didn't Believe him earlier And thanked him for his help. However, Beaupre managed to escape and hides in the snow fort in the backyard. Alex's brother Stan's pet parrot drives the remote control car into the snow fort and threatens to light fireworks which are lined around the inside. Beaupre offers a cracker, but the parrot demands two. Since he only has one, the parrot then lights the fireworks, and escapes. Beaupre's cover is literally blown, and the police arrest him.
That night, Alex and his family celebrate with his father returning. Mrs. Hess, who befriends Alex after he successfully rescued her, is there along with the FBI and the police while Alex's house is being repaired. Alex gets another surprise from his father: a remote control car. In the final scene of the film, while the four thieves are having their mugshot photos taken, they are shown to have Alex's chicken pox.
Cast
- Alex D. Linz as Alex Pruitt
- Olek Krupa as Peter Beaupre
- Rya Kihlstedt as Alice Ribbons
- Lenny von Dohlen as Burton Jernigan
- David Thornton as Earl Unger
- Haviland Morris as Karen Pruitt
- Kevin Kilner as Jack Pruitt
- Marian Seldes as Mrs. Hess
- Seth Smith as Stan Pruitt
- Scarlett Johansson as Molly Pruitt
- Christopher Curry as Agent Stuckey FBI
- Baxter Harries ... Police Captain
- James Saito ... North Korean Mob Boss
- Kevin Gudahl ... Techie
- Richard Hamilton ... Cab Driver
- Freeman Coffey ... Recruiting Officer
- Krista Lally ... Dispatcher
- Neil Flynn ... Police Officer #1
- Tony Mockus Jr. ... Police Officer #2 (as Tony Mockus Jr.)
- Pat Healy ... Agent Rogers FBI
- James Chisem ... Police Officer #3 (as James L. Chisem)
- Darwin Harris ... Mugshot Photographer (as Darwin L. Harris)
- Adrianne Duncan ... Flight Attendant
- Sharon Sachs ... Annoying Woman
- Joseph Luis Caballero ... Security Guard (as Joseph L. Caballero)
- Larry C. Tankson ... Cart Driver
- Jennifer A. Daley ... Police Photographer #2 (as Jennifer Daley)
- Darren T. Knaus ... Parrot (voice)
Production
The film was pitched at the same time as Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and it was planned to produce both movies simultaneously; however, those plans fell through.
The idea for a third Home Alone movie was revived in the mid-1990s; early drafts called for Culkin to return as a teenage version of his character. However, Culkin had dropped out of acting. As a result, the idea was changed to make an entirely new film centering on a new cast of characters. It was filmed in New York City with the airport scenes in the beginning of the film being shot in two different concourses at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
Reception
The film grossed $79,000,000 worldwide. Critical reception for the film was generally negative upon release. It holds a 27% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews and was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst Remake or Sequel." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, however, gave the film a positive review (3 out of 4 stars) and says he found it to be "fresh, very funny, and better than the first two".