HOME ALONE 3
A movie review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1997 by Michael J. Legeros
(Fox)
Directed by Raja Gosnell
Written by John Hughes
Cast Alex D. Linz, Olek Krupa, David Thornton, Lenny von
Dohlen, Rya Kihlstedt, Haviland Morris, Marian Seldes,
Scarlett Johansson, Seth Smith, Kevin Kilner
MPAA Rating "PG-13"
Running Time 90 minutes
Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC
(06DEC97)
==
Though I was prepared and, perhaps, even hoping for something far, far, *far* worse, the year's most dreaded sequel, HOME ALONE 3, is sur- prisingly inoffensive. Series writer/producer John Hughes has reworked the wish-fulfillment franchise into an agreeable (albeit juvenile) var- iation on the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Alex D. Linz (ONE FINE DAY) is the new kid on the block, with a new family and a new predicament: he's home alone with the Pox, has unwitting possession of a military micro- chip, and is increasingly disbelieved by both his parents and the police, each time he reports a burglar in a different neighboring home. So what's a kid to do, when a quartet of Euro-criminals comes a-callin'? Why, booby-trap the house, of course. As expected, the final reel is yet another trademark Hughes medley of falling objects, colliding bod- ies, crotch blows, head bumps, and, of course, the obligatory electro- cutions. Plural. Some of the bits are funny, but not tear-inducing, the way they were in the first (and second) go-around. (Every *kid* in the theater laughed heartily, however. And, oh, did they love that radio-controlled car...) The bad guys (and one girl) take their lumps with aplomb, but it's hard not to miss the simpler charms of Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci. Or the brighter colors and softer music that sugar-coated the first films. The kid's a natural, though. Directed by Raja R. Gosnell, who edited both HOME ALONE and HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK.
Grade: C
-- Mike Legeros - Movie Hell http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell/
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