Home Alone 4 (2002) (TV)

User Rating:

2.0/10   

Director:

Rod Daniel

Writers (WGA):

John Hughes (characters)
Debra Frank (written by) ...

Release Date:

3 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

Kevin McCallister's parents have split up. Now living with his mom, he decides to spend Christmas with...

Plot Keywords:

Lifting Person In Air | Booby Trap | Brother | Butler | Cellar

Cast

French Stewart	...	Marv Merchants
Erick Avari	...	Prescott
Barbara Babcock	...	Molly
Jason Beghe	...	Peter McCallister
Clare Carey	...	Kate McCallister
Joanna Going	...	Natalie
Missi Pyle	...	Vera
Gideon Jacobs	...	Buzz
Chelsea Russo	...	Megan
Mike Weinberg	...	Kevin McCallister (as Michael Weinberg)
Lisa King	...	Queen
Sean Cameron Michael	...	Cop (as Sean Michael)
Craig Geldenhuys	...	Prince
Andre Roothman	...	King
Anton Smuts	...	Cab Driver

Also Known As:

Home Alone: Taking Back the House (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

Brazil:84 min | USA:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (presented in Dolby Surround)

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Unrated (original rating) | Finland:K-7 | Brazil:Livre | South Korea:All | Netherlands:6 | Australia:PG | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, South Africa

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

'Daniel Stern', who played Marv in the first two films, was approached to reprise his role in this one. Stern quickly declined, calling it "an insult, total garbage."

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Kevin traps the butler in the freezer, says, "One down, two to go," and runs off, the cameraman is reflected in the freezer door.

Quotes:

[floor covered in water]
Kevin McCallister: House, clean yourself up.
[nothing happens]
Kevin McCallister: Well, it was worth a try.

Movie Connections:

Follows Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

Slightly, remotely funny

It's no secret that many despise Home Alone 3. At least it had some kind of technical proffesionalism behind it. The first 2 (and a bit of the 3rd) movies also benefited from a very strong musical score that elevated them far beyond a typical family comedy. Home Alone 4 however has an extremely cheap score and feels rushed and empty.

The very lean running time means there is no house full of traps, not a lot of plot to be wrapped up and no emotional pay-off. Plus, if I am correct in assuming Kevin's age in this film, this happens the same Xmas he was Lost in New York. So what's it to be? Dad's girlfriend's house or New York? Plus Marv is played by French Stewart (who didn't even bother to grow a beard for the part) and the rest of the cast is a bunch of unknowns. And it's obvious this was not filmed anywhere near winter, the lack of snow robs the film further of any Xmas-y feel it might have had. And what's with the constant, terrible ADR? It's very distracting.

There were some funny parts to this film and the new kid playing Kevin did it well. But the hand-held camera thingy, the bare sets and lack of anything to do with Xmas make this film look like a poverty-stricken TV movie.

The DVD is in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and has a mediocre Dolby 5.1 track.