Home Alone 3

Home Alone 3 is a 1997 American family comedy film written and produced by John Hughes. It is the third film in the Home Alone series and the first not to feature actor Macaulay Culkin and the cast from the previous films, director Chris Columbus, and composer John Williams. The film is directed by Raja Gosnell (in his directorial debut), who served as the editor of both original films and stars Alex D. Linz as Alex Pruitt, an 8-year-old child prodigy who defends his home from a band of criminals working for a North Korean terrorist organization.

The film was followed by a made-for-television sequel, Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House, in 2002.

Plot
Peter Beaupre, Alice Ribbons, Burton Jernigan, and Earl Unger are four internationally wanted hitmen working for a North Korean terrorist organization. Having stolen a US$10 million missile-cloaking computer chip, the thieves put it inside a remote control car to sneak it past security at San Francisco International Airport. However, a luggage mix-up occurs, causing a woman named Mrs. Hess to inadvertently take the thieves' bag containing the car, while returning home to Chicago. The four thieves arrive in Chicago and systematically search every house in Hess's suburban neighborhood to find the chip.

Meanwhile, Alex Pruitt is given the remote control car by Hess for shoveling her driveway, but she lectures him for scratching in public. He returns home and removes his shirt to discover that he has chickenpox, and therefore must stay out of school. The next day, Alex discovers the thieves while spying on his neighbors. He attaches a camera to the remote control car and uses it to spy on them, leading to the thieves chasing it when they spot it. Wondering what the thieves want with the toy car, Alex opens it and discovers the stolen chip. He informs the local Air Force Recruitment Center about the chip while asking if they can forward the information about the chip to the right authorities.

The thieves conclude that Alex has been watching them and decide to pursue him. As a snowstorm hits Chicago, the thieves block off the road to the house. Alice and Beaupre trick Mrs. Hess into leading them to her garage. Alice duct tapes her to a chair and leaves the back door open. By this point, Alex has rigged his house with booby traps and prepares to set them off with his pet rat, Doris, and his brother's loud-mouthed parrot. After their numerous break-in attempts are foiled by Alex's traps, the thieves infiltrate the house and search for Alex. Alex flees to the attic and takes the dumbwaiter down to the basement, then runs outside and calls to Alice, Jernigan, and Unger. The thieves see Alex and notice a trampoline below them. Jernigan and Unger jump to pursue Alex, but the trampoline gives way and they fall into a frozen pool. Alice wriggles her way into the dumbwaiter chute but falls down to the basement because Alex removed the bottom.

Alex is cornered by Beaupre while trying to rescue Mrs. Hess, but scares him off with a bubble gun resembling a Glock. Meanwhile, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrive at Alex's siblings' school, after being tipped off by the recruitment center. Alex's family brings the agents to their house, where the police arrive and arrest Alice, Jernigan, and Unger. However, Beaupre flees to the snow fort in the backyard. The 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 flees. Beaupre is discovered and arrested.

Later, Alex and his family celebrate with his father returning home from a business trip. Hess, who befriends Alex after he successfully rescues her, is there, along with the FBI and the police, while Alex's house is being repaired. Then the thieves are shown having their mugshot photos taken and they appear to have caught Alex's chickenpox.

Cast

 * Alex D. Linz as Alex Pruitt, an eight-year-old boy with a high IQ living in suburban Chicago.
 * Olek Krupa as Peter Beaupre, leader of the crooks.
 * Rya Kihlstedt as Alice Ribbons, sole female of the four crooks.
 * Lenny Von Dohlen as Burton Jernigan, one of the four crooks.
 * David Thornton as Earl Unger, one of the four crooks.
 * Haviland Morris as Karen Pruitt, Alex's mother.
 * Kevin Kilner as Jack Pruitt, Alex's father.
 * Marian Seldes as Mrs. Hess, Alex's elderly neighbor.
 * Scarlett Johansson as Molly Pruitt, Alex's older sister.
 * Seth Smith as Stan Pruitt, Alex's older brother.
 * Christopher Curry as FBI Agent Stuckey
 * Baxter Harris as a Police Chief
 * Neil Flynn as a Police Officer
 * Nick Jantz as a Police Officer
 * Darren T. Knauss as the Parrot (voice)

Production
Home Alone 3 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 Macaulay Culkin to return as a teenage Kevin McCallister, along with Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci reprising their roles as the two burglars Harry Lyme and Marv Merchants. By 1994, however, Culkin had dropped out of acting. As a result, the idea was reworked as an entirely new film centering on a new cast of characters. It was filmed in Chicago and Evanston, Illinois, with the airport scenes in the beginning of the film being shot in two different concourses at O'Hare International Airport.

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

Reception
The film grossed $79,082,515 worldwide.

Home Alone 3 holds an approval rating of 30% at Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10 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 a positive review of 3 out of 4 stars and said that he found it to be "fresh, very funny, and better than the first two".

The film was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Remake or Sequel, where it lost to Speed 2: Cruise Control.

Novelization
A novelization based on the screenplay was written by Todd Strasser and published by Scholastic in 1997 to coincide with the film. ISBN 0-590-95712-0

The novelization starts with the four crooks, Peter Beaupre, Earl Unger, Burton Jernigan and Alice Ribbons waiting outside the taxi depot.

Home media
Home Alone 3 was released on VHS and Laserdisc on June 2, 1998, and on DVD in October 5, 1999, which was later reissued in December 2007 (and again in 2006 and 2008 as part of Home Alone multi-packs). While the DVD presents the film in its original Widescreen format (1.85:1), it is presented in a non-anamorphic 4:3 matte.