Home Alone 4

Home Alone 4
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Based on Characters created
by John Hughes
Written by Debra Frank
Steve L. Hayes
Directed by Rod Daniel
Starring Mike Weinberg
French Stewart
Missi Pyle
Jason Beghe
Erick Avari
Barbara Babcock
Joanna Going
Clare Carey
Music by Teddy Castellucci
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Producer(s) Mitch Engel
Cinematography Peter Benison
Editor(s) Michael A. Stevenson
John Coniglio
Running time 89 minutes[1]
Production company(s) Fox Television Studios
Distributor 20th Television
Release
Original network ABC
Original release November 3, 2002 (2002-11-03)
(Television ABC premiere)
September 2, 2003 (2003-09-02)
(home video, USA)
Chronology
Preceded by Home Alone 3
Followed by Home Alone: The Holiday Heist

Home Alone 4 (also known in the United States and Canada as Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House) is a 2002 American made-for-television Christmas family comedy film directed by Rod Daniel, which first aired on ABC on November 3, 2002, followed by a DVD release on September 2, 2003.

It is the fourth installment in the Home Alone series. The film brings back several of the main characters from the first two films including Kevin McCallister, but with all of the roles played by different actors. The film also features culture and technology from the late 1990s and early 2000s as opposed to the early 1990s setting in the original films with the same characters at the same age. It is also the only film in the series to be filmed outside the United States. Although set in Chicago, it was actually shot in South Africa. The plot revolves around Kevin McCallister (Mike Weinberg) trying to defend his future stepmother's house from his old nemesis Marv (French Stewart) and his wife Vera (Missi Pyle).

Plot

At the McCallisters' house, Peter (Jason Beghe) is about to get divorced from Kate (Clare Carey) and announces that he's living with his new and rich girlfriend Natalie (Joanna Going) at her mansion. He tells his three children Buzz (Gideon Jacobs), Megan (Chelsea Russo), and Kevin (Mike Weinberg) that they are hosting the visit of a royal family and invites everyone to spend Christmas with him and Natalie. After initially refusing, Kevin takes his father up on his offer after being bullied by Buzz.

Kevin enjoys his time at Natalie's mansion with his new bedroom, latest gadgets and his life. The next morning, Natalie and Peter go out for a bit while Kevin stays at the mansion with Natalie's butler Mr. Prescott (Erick Avari) and maid Molly (Barbara Babcock). While Mr. Prescott makes Kevin a milkshake, he goes into the security room and gets caught by Mr. Prescott who gives Kevin another chance. With Natalie and Peter still away, Kevin notices his old nemesis Marv (French Stewart), who is the remaining member of the Wet/Sticky Bandits after ditching his last partner, Harry (who is still in jail), along with his new sidekick and wife Vera (Missi Pyle) outside the house. Kevin tries to get Mr. Prescott to answer the intercom, but unfortunately it doesn't work because Marv altered the security system. He then spies on them and drives them away by flooding the house, but Peter and Natalie arrive while Kevin is cleaning up and don't believe Kevin's explanation, especially since Mr. Prescott claims to have seen nothing. Kevin then attempts to use the security camera footage to prove himself, but discovers that the camera had been turned off and is caught by Mr. Prescott, who Kevin now believes to be Marv and Vera's ally. Molly then appears and gets Kevin out of trouble. Peter and Natalie then realize they gave Kevin a hard time and decide to make him feel better, so the three of them decorate the tree.

The next morning, Peter and Kevin wake up and realize their tree was re-decorated because of Natalie. Kate, Buzz and Megan then arrive to visit Kevin. Kate meets Natalie in person and Kevin shows the entire house to Buzz and Megan. At a party for the royal family while Peter and Natalie have gone to pick them up, Kevin notices Marv and Vera dressed up as caterers. Mr. Prescott warns Kevin about tonight so he then tricks Mr. Prescott into going into the freezer room and he ends up locked in the freezer room and frozen in ice. Kevin then spies on Marv and Vera in his bedroom and hears them planning about kidnapping the prince. Unfortunately for them, Kevin makes sure that their plan was a failure and has them fall out and break the window. The royal family are unable to attend the party because their flight was cancelled, so Peter and Natalie decide to announce their engagement to the party guests instead. Marv and Vera run back into the house and Kevin hits Marv with a frying pan, flips the table and get soup spilled on Marv and Vera. Then they chase Kevin who continually runs into the guests while trying to escape, accidentally causing a riot and ruins the party. Peter is angered at this event and sends Kevin to his room, still refusing to believe him about the break-in and believes that Kevin is trying to end his relationship with Natalie.

Since no one believes him about the heist, Kevin decides to deal with matters himself, and sets booby traps for Marv and Vera. The next morning Peter and Natalie go get the royals and Kevin is left back at the house. Marv and Vera wake up and head to the house. Kevin tricks and locks Mr. Prescott in the basement, but eventually discovers Marv and Vera's real ally is actually Molly, who also turns out to be Marv's mother as well. Kevin gets locked in the basement with Mr. Prescott. After apologizing to Mr. Prescott for misjudging him (and vice versa), Kevin manages to escape through the dumbwaiter. Kevin then traps Marv under the dumbwaiter but Vera gets him out. Then, Kevin unleashes his traps on Marv and Vera. Afterward, Molly appears as Kevin manages to trap her in the elevator, and runs to his bedroom. At the airport, Peter gets worried about Kevin and takes a cab back to Natalie's to check on him. Back in the basement, Mr. Prescott then manages to escape through the dumbwaiter as well to see if Kevin is alright. Just on the road, Kate, Buzz, and Megan are on their way to save Kevin as well. Marv heads to the bedroom and ends up getting caught and stuck under the bookshelf. Kevin then plays a recording of Marv, making it sound like he's insulting Vera, which causes her to yell at him and argue. Marv then gets hit by Kevin's electric aircraft making him fall and rumble down the stairs. Marv and Vera are then tricked by Kevin with a secret wall switch, end up swinging from a chandelier, and they fall and are knocked unconscious. Molly, having escaped, grabs Kevin but Mr. Prescott knocks her out with a serving tray. Then, he and Kevin call the police.

As Peter, Kate, Buzz, and Megan arrive, Kevin, with Buzz and Megan's help, chases Marv and Vera out of the house and trips them up. Peter apologizes to Kevin for not believing him. The royal family and Natalie arrive and Natalie is confused when she sees Marv, Vera, and Molly getting arrested. Peter tells Natalie that Kevin saved the day and an FBI agent reveals that Molly, Marv, and Vera masterminded the plot to abduct the royals. Peter breaks up with Natalie, Mr. Prescott resigns, the royals spend Christmas with the McCallisters, and it is a good Christmas for everyone except for Natalie, Marv, Vera, and Molly.

Cast

  • Mike Weinberg as Kevin McCallister: The main character. A 9-year-old boy. He defends the house from Marv and Vera. He was originally portrayed by Macaulay Culkin in the first two films.
  • French Stewart as Marvin "Marv" Merchants, Vera's husband, Molly's son, and Wet/Sticky Bandits leader Harry Lime's former sidekick. He was originally portrayed by Daniel Stern in the first two films.
  • Missi Pyle as Vera, Marv's wife and Molly's daughter-in-law, whom Marv first met in prison.
  • Erick Avari as Mr. Prescott, the butler.
  • Barbara Babcock as Molly Merchants, the maid who is the inside person and Marv's mother and Vera's mother-in-law.
  • Jason Beghe as Peter McCallister, Kevin, Buzz and Megan's father. He was originally portrayed by John Heard in the first two films.
  • Clare Carey as Kate McCallister, Kevin, Buzz and Megan's mother. She was originally portrayed by Catherine O'Hara in the first two films.
  • Joanna Going as Natalie Kalban, Peter's girlfriend and Buzz, Megan, and Kevin's future stepmother.
  • Gideon Jacobs as Buzz McCallister, Kevin and Megan's brother. He was originally portrayed by Devin Ratray in the first two films.
  • Chelsea Russo as Megan McCallister, Kevin and Buzz's sister. She was originally portrayed by Hillary Wolf in the first two films.

Home video

The film was released to home video in the USA on 2 September 2003.[1]

Sequel

On March 15, 2012, ABC Family announced that Home Alone: The Holiday Heist was in production, which premiered on that network during the 2012 Christmas season. The film stars Christian Martyn as 10-year-old main character Finn Baxter. The story centers on the family's relocation from California to Maine, where Finn becomes convinced that his new house is haunted. When his parents become stranded across town and Finn is left home alone with his sister Alexis, he sets traps to catch his new home's ghosts, which instead prove troublesome for a group of thieves (played by Malcolm McDowell, Debi Mazar and Eddie Steeples). The film also stars Edward Asner, is produced by Fox Television Studios, and is directed by Peter Hewitt.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Home Alone: Taking Back the House". Blu-ray. 2 September 2003. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "New Home Alone Movie Coming to ABC Family". ABC Family. March 15, 2012
  • This article contains quotations from Home Alone 4 at the Disney Wiki, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA) license.
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