Review #495: Home Alone 3.
Cast
Alex D. Linz (Alex Pruitt), Olek Krupa (Peter Beaupre), Rya Kihlstedt (Alice Ribbons), Lenny Von Dohlen (Burton Jernigan), David Thornton (Earl Unger), Haviland Morris (Karen Pruitt), Kevin Kilner (Jack Pruitt), and Marian Seldes (Mrs. Hess) Directed by Raja Gosnell.
Review
I reviewed the first two films (#304 - Home Alone and #310 - Home Alone 2: Lost in New York) last December, and while the first film was an enjoyable warming film, the second felt more like a cartoon, undermining the spirit of the film. The third film? It has no defining quality that the previous two films already had. Alex D. Linz is our new hero, and he's an okay actor, though I seriously question how a little kid can make all these contraptions ranging from a trampoline over a frozen pool to a box of books falling on a person hitting them exactly on the head triggered by a thin rope. Half of these gags look they would be life threatening then just a simple injury, like the dumbbells hitting a person's head (which makes the brick to the head in Home Alone 2 sound normal), and so on and so on. The film doesn't really have any funny lines, just slapstick, which doesn't work too well. It feels stiff and awkward, it's a tired franchise trying to make one last gasp work, with or without Macaulay Culkin. John Hughes once again returns to write, but it isn't up to par, maybe he was burned out, given that he would only write four more films after this, in a span of 10 years where his career before that had 19 in 15 years. It isn't even really a Christmas film, there is snow and a few lights, but never any actual Christmas trees. The villains in this film aren't even intimidating or memorable, unlike the Wet Bandits, they seem to be missing a few gears in their head, but I suppose they are meant to be like cartoon characters, no bandit could be this dumb. In the end, the first two are superior, and this one is more of a retread then any good. Countdown to 500 Reviews: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5...
Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.
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