Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Home Alone 3

Reviewed by: Stephanie Hanson
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Better than Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: All Ages
Genre: Comedy
Length: 102 min.
Year of Release: 1997
USA Release: December 12, 1997 (wide)
Featuring Alex D. Linz, Scarlett Johansson, Rya Kihlstedt, Kevin Kilner, Haviland Morris
Director Raja Gosnell
Producer
Distributor Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Trademark logo.20th Century Studios, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company

This fun, entertaining movie is almost as good as the orginal “Home Alone”. The family members are much nicer to one another than the mean—spiritedness that characterized the first movie.

When young Alex Pruitt clears snow from his dour, cheap neighbor’s driveway, she gives him a remote control car someone placed in one of her bags at the airport. Neither of them knows a special computer chip is hidden in the car, one that has been stolen from the Air Force and makes any air defense useless. The four international spies who were hired to steal the chip trace it to Alex’s block in Chicago.

Poor Alex comes down with the chicken pox and is confined to the house. He notices the four spies breaking into two different houses but by the time the police arrive the spies are gone. Now no one will believe little Alex and it’s up to him to save the chip and protect himself (which he does in a similar manner to the first two movies in this series.)

It’s refreshing to see a family treat each other with love and consideration and Alex is a wonderful example of a respectful child. This movie contains no profanity or rude phrases. The only nudity is a brief peek at a poster of a blonde woman used in one of Alex’s tricks and is very mild.

The one area parents will be concerned with is violence. This movie is not as violent as “Home Alone 2” but it does contain a lot of head-banging and slapstick comedy. Though this may be equivalent to a “Roadrunner” cartoon or a “Three Stooges” episode, parents will want to caution children about trying to copy these stunts. Violence in fiction can be very funny, but not in real life!


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
I think that “Home Alone 3” is the worst “Home Alone” ever made. I do admit that it had some funny pieces in the movie. And I think it would have been better if there was NO sexual scenes in the movie. I also have to admit that it had a better plot than the others. But still it was poorly made and Alex D. Linz did not fit the part. I am not saying that he is not a good actor I am just saying he did not fit the part. I personally think the movie should have NO STARS at all. I thought that kids movies did not have nudity in them. I tell you that is ridiculous. I will never see it again.
Jason, age 12
I took my twelve year old son to see this one. We both were very offended at the nudity in the movie. Although women may not see much disturbing about the nude poster, to young adolescent males these images can be very haunting and disturbing. Christ says not even to look upon a woman to lust after her. But how can Christian males thus control their thoughts when exposed to sensual images of women. Nudity and sexuality of any kind has no place in “family” movies and should not be recommended by anyone claiming to follow Christ.
Sherry Drysdale
I saw the movie a few days ago and It was a great movie but I did not like the shower seen it was very offenseve, and I think chidren under 10 should not be allowed to watch the movie.
Chris, age 12
…What Alex does in this movie is enough to kill the villains. When a crook receives a severe blow to the groin (over-exaggerated by sound effects) or an extremely heavy object to the head, the crowd erupts in laughs, then kind of stands still. They realized how easily that criminal’s name could end up on a tombstone. Laughless comedy, perverse images (nude photo), bad examples. Need I say more? Whatever happened to “don’t repay evil with evil”? “Don’t laugh at another’s misfortune? Simple ideals to live by(the former taken from Scripture).
Zack, age 16