And yet...
You know, at least from what I've heard about #3, they made it about some family other than the McCallisters. Macaulay Culkin would have been 17 when that movie came out. He could have been a burglar himself! So they made that film about a different little boy. He still defended his home and pulverized some robbers, but it wasn't like it was rehashing the exact same plot.
Home Alone 4, however, does no such thing. This movie is about the McCallisters. It is about Kevin. Kevin, who should be in college... not wearing that same baggy bathrobe and smug expression. He's nine years old in this one. But... but... he was ten in Home Alone 2, or so he said! Except HA2 was supposed to take place a year after HA1... and in HA1 he was eight. Okay, age continuity was never the series' strong point. I'll ignore that. So instead of being in college, Kevin is still a little boy. And this is just another wacky Christmas with the McCallisters.
BUT WAIT! Within the first few minutes, there's a serious mother-and-son conversation about... what's this? DIVORCE? Mr. and Mrs. McCallister are separated? WHEN THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN!?
Dad isn't the only one who has disappeared from the McCallister home. In the first two films, Kevin had four siblings -- Buzz, Megan, Linny, and Jeff. I don't see that many kids this time around. Time for a headcount... one, two, three... um... oh dear. It seems Linny and Jeff have been eliminated. THE MCCALLISTERS HAVE BEEN STRUCK BY THE TORKELSONS CURSE, NOOOO!! *sheds a tear*
In Home Alone 4, Kevin is tormented by his older siblings -- okay, that happens in the first two movies also. In Home Alone he wished his family would disappear. In Home Alone 2 he wished he could take a vacation by himself. In this piece of crap, he wishes he could be an only child.
If he still had four siblings instead of two, the point might have been made a little more clearly. Just a thought.
So the McCallisters parents are separated, and this Christmas, Kevin decides to spend Christmas with Dad and Dad's new girlfriend, Natalie. Natalie is very wealthy and spoils Kevin. But that's only because she's trying to win his affections. She suffers from a bad case of VickyFromTheParentTrap-itis. Somewhere in that brain of hers is a diabolical plot to send Kevin off to boarding school.
And of course, this Home Alone has robbers. Even Marv and Harry have been separated, and this time we just have Marv (played by French Stewart) ... and his girlfriend, who wins for Scariest Eyebrows In A TV-Movie. Marv has shrunk quite a bit, and has started wearing Harry's hat. How does Kevin recognize him as "Marv," I wonder? Well, I guess the same way Marv recognizes this Culkin imposter as "Kevin."
Now would be a good time to pause and do some actor comparisons. It probably goes without saying, but nobody from the first or second movie even dared to come near the fourth. Which is not to say all the actors in #4 are D-List dufuses -- I mean, I've got to give points to Jason Beghe and Erick Avari. But let's see how everyone has changed, eh?
Kevin McCallister
Though his eyes creeped me out at first, I got used to this Kevin quickly. He's no Macaulay Culkin, but then again, neither was Austin O'Brien, and My Girl 2 still turned out okay. This kid does have two things down pat, I must say: the voice and the attitude. The looks? Hardly. Would it have been so difficult to just dye his hair blond?
Peter McCallister
Cripes, these two share a wacky resemblance. I've liked Jason since his stint on the short-lived Good Company (1996), and it's amazing how similar these two actors look and sound in this role. Sure, they're not twins, but this was an excellent casting job.
Buzz McCallister
Shrinkage, thy name is Buzz. I think the only thing these two actors have in common is the fact that they're both boys. Could they not have found a bigger kid to play Buzz in #4? If Nicolas Cage mated with Joey Gladstone, you might get this kid. But in no way, shape, or form is he Buzz.
Kate McCallister
Wrong eye color, wrong hair color, wrong hairstyle... but other than that...
Marv
You know... I think there may actually be a tiny resemblance between the Marv of #1 and the Marv of #4. Oh... wait, no there's not.
And in grand Home Alone tradition, there is a character -- an older person -- who at first seems scary but eventually reveals his or her heart of gold and learns a valuable life lesson thanks to wise young Kevin.
Kevin's deal in this movie is that he's trying to stop Marv and his girlfriend from kidnapping a prince who is going to be visiting Natalie for Christmas. I won't bother to explain this plot any further, since that's about all you need to know. And because the hijinks are completely stupid. Kevin sets booby traps, Marv is taken out, Merry Christmas. You filthy animal.
