Randy Mason Chris Carrara is a teenage tech whiz living in a California suburb with his mother Marti Derya Ruggles while his father Brent is away on a business trip. Randy designs and pilots an ever-growing fleet of remote-controlled models, from a helicopter named Huey and a double-winged plane to a WWII fighter plane like the Zero, plus red and blue racecars, a green monster truck, a Godzilla knockoff, and even a yodeling figure named Gunther. He shares this hobby with his friend and budding romance, Judy Riley Jessica Bowman, an avid baseball player who explores Randy’s secret hideout at the local model home.
A prank gone wrong kicks off a chain of trouble when the bully across the street, Ben [Jordan Belfi], is targeted using Randy’s remotes to mess with his TV and a helicopter drop on his head. Ben retaliates by stealing Randy’s fighter plane, and Randy reluctantly lets him keep it, warning that the controller is locked at night. At school, Randy brings his own controller in an attempt to reclaim the plane, but the dueling devices cause chaos in the classroom and the plane crashes into Jamaal’s project, earning Randy the blame since no one saw Ben. He’s expelled, and he comes home to a stressed Marti who leaves a message about confiscating all the models. Randy decides to hide the fleet at the model home until things settle, while Judy urges him to tell the truth about Ben, reminding him she has a baseball game that evening.
As Randy heads out, three robbers—Delbert McCoy [John Diehl], Louis Marinelli [Tony Longo], and Louis’ cousin Richie Marinelli [Stuart Fratkin]—stumble upon the model home and decide to hole up there until police roadblocks clear in 3–4 days. Delbert, who insists on being called Del, is armed and dangerous, and the trio traps Randy in the attic by removing the ladder and using cigarette packs to craft a safe path around the alarm sensors. Randy tries to reach out via Gunther, the yodeling figure, and the eclectic assortment of models to thwart the intruders, even attempting to contact real estate agent Mrs. Williams with the helicopter, though the message is missed. He also experiments with Gunther to steal Louis’ steak and, in a moment of improvisation, drops a can of baked beans on Richie's head, a misdirection that heightens the tension.
At Judy’s baseball game, she worries about Randy and leaves a message on Marti’s machine, while Marti concerns herself with the missing teen and enlists the police after Ben lets slip a bit too much. Dee [Robin Westphal], who may be emotionally or physically abrasive, retrieves Ben and confronts the danger in the house as the night unfolds. Randy drifts toward sleep while the crooks lie in wait, and Judy later discovers the danger is very real when she tracks Randy to the model home and is taken hostage.
Randy acts quickly to rescue Judy, using his remote‑controlled army of gadgets to outmaneuver the robbers. He melts Louis’ head with a bucket of roofing tar using the Godzilla model, then commands the helicopter to sic Bluto, Mrs. Williams’ bulldog, on Richie. He also employs the airplane to lash Richie to a flag line, buying time to mount a counterattack. With Delbert pursuing, Randy disarms him with Gunther and forces him to stumble through a minefield of remote cars, sending Delbert crashing into a roadside sign and the defeated crooks into custody as the authorities close in. Randy is joyfully reunited with Marti, Jamaal, and Mrs. Williams as Bluto the bulldog roams free, and the gang resolves to find a new, safer secret hideout. The film closes on Randy coaxing Gunther down from the rooftop, a quiet moment of relief after the high‑stakes chaos.
