Home Alone 4

• Also known as Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House or Home Alone: Taking Back the House
• Directed by Rod Daniel
• November 3, 2002
• Based on Home Alone by John Hughes
• ABC

Kevin McCallister spends Christmas with his father and his father’s new girlfriend as his old nemesis Marv comes up with a plan to kidnap a visiting prince with help from his wife and an insider.

The TV sequel was at one point the lowest form of sequel to any film. Home Alone 4 (also known as Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House or Home Alone: Taking Back the House) is a direct sequel to the first two Home Alone films with a completely new cast. To keep that festive Christmas spirit in this movie they have Kevin’s parents going through a divorce so they are sharing custody during the holiday. Kind of a sad downturn from the previously lighthearted films.

Considering this is a very scaled down version of the cast of characters from Home Alone 1 and 2 and there are no returning actors from either of those films in this, understanding that it is a sequel is a bit tough even if you go in knowing it’s a sequel. It wouldn’t have taken much to make this a standalone film like #3 was. That minor change would have made this so much more enjoyable. Why? Because myself and other viewers would not be forced to in our minds connect the three films-especially with the presence of things like cell phones and significant computer technology which did not exist in the early 2000s let alone when the first two films came out.

I am assuming this is still set in the vicinity of Chicago, but all the outdoor shots make it look like sunny Southern California. They bundle everybody up but the level of green behind the cast says to me and the viewer that not only is it warm but that this area has most likely not seen any snow since the last Ice Age. Nobody could spring for some fake flakes?

Aside from Kevin, Marv (French Stewart) returns dressing more like his ex-partner Harry. Why make the dumbest character the main villain? This time he has a wife named Vera (Missi Pyle) he met in prison. Huh? When did prison go co-ed?

Marv and a few cohorts are planning on kidnapping a prince that Kevin’s dad and his girlfriend will be hosting in their smart house over Christmas because a petty crook would obviously move up to causing an international incident. It goes without saying Kevin encounters Marv and indications of his plot before anybody else.

Kevin’s dad (Jason Beghe) has trouble believing Kevin’s warnings. All things considered from the events of the first two films, this should not be an issue unless Kevin kept it a closely guarded secret which opens up a whole bunch of things about how damaged his psychology is.

They try a bit of a mystery with who Marv’s helper is but that becomes obvious once it is mentioned. Every one of these so far has had an older person that the central kid learns something from and vice versa. You cannot have the person that Kevin is supposed to be learning something from and who is supposed to be learning something from Kevin be the bad guy.

Dad’s new girlfriend is clearly not a match from the start so you know how this will end. I am not sure what caused Kevin’s parents to separate because they never say but the dad says that he mistook excitement and something else for love. Did Dad cheat on his wife with the lady? If so, Mrs. McAllister is a very forgiving human being and he should treat her like gold for the rest of her life if they make amends. And Mrs. McAllister should keep her husband on a very short leash.

Home Alone 4 (also known as Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House or Home Alone: Taking Back the House) is something you put on the pass the time. It’s not so bad that you hate it but it’s not so good that you’ll take time out of what you’re doing if not completely stop and sit down to watch the whole thing. I say just pretend this doesn’t exist.