Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 7+
Formulaic movie draws some laughs from pratfalls.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that in Home Alone 3 the bad guys get really banged up by a smart little kid. Traps and tricks at every turn result in painful pratfalls involving electrocution, car accidents, and explosions. Sensitive kids might be frightened by the fact that these bad guys carry real guns and are hunting down an 8-year-old boy who is sick at home alone. Some name calling, like "dumb broad" and potty talk, like "butt" and "winky."
- Why is watching people get hurt funny? The bumps and bangs are played for humor here, but what would be the real consequences of these incidents?
- Nobody believes Alex when he tells his family that he has seen crooks in the neighborhood. Could he have been more convincing? Or is being unheard part of being a kid?
The good stuff
-
Educational value: Intended to entertain, rather than educate.
-
Positive messages: Alex 's parents both work, which leaves Alex home alone with the chicken pox. Though his mom is very good about staying in touch while she is at the office, he is put in a perilous position -- which he handles masterfully (if unrealistically).
-
Positive role models: Alex's mom and dad truly love their kids and show affection when they are around. Alex's mom admonishes her boss for making her choose between "caring for her sick kid and making a house payment." Alex shows determination and perseverance in the face of danger (not that we'd really want a kid to face bad guys this way).
What to watch for
-
Violence and scariness: Just what you'd expect from the Home Alone franchise: lots of slapstick violence at the expense of the bad guys. There are guns -- real and toy -- that are used to threaten people. Electrocution, slapping, heavy objects crashing on people, a guy gets hit by a car, explosions. But everyone comes out alive, if black and blue. No blood.
-
Sexy stuff: Older brother has posters of women in bikinis. One poster shows most of a breast exposed, and is featured in a prank.
-
Language: Marginal language and name calling: "butt," "buttock," "damn," "hell," "dumb broad," and "winky."
-
Consumerism: American Airlines mentioned.
-
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Lady across the street smokes a lot, and she drinks whiskey during the daytime.