Any sequel or reboot carries an element of risk - but when it’s a fresh spin on a beloved family festive classic, there’s more danger than facing up to a grizzly bear in the wild while wielding nothing but a frown.
You’d have thought the people at Disney would’ve been wise enough to stay clear of this one but, no, they have resurrected Home Alone in this sort of sequel.
Replacing Macaulay Culkin as the youngster left to fend for himself as Christmas approaches is Archie Yates ( Max ).
I’ve never dared watch any of the Home Alone sequels beyond Lost in New York, but I can’t imagine they are much worse than this misguided, staggeringly lazy and unfunny re-tread.
Yates was a blast in Jojo Rabbit but he grates like nails scratching on a blackboard here, and he’s sidelined for large spells as director Dan Mazer and writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell bizarrely choose to focus on the robbers, Pam (Ellie Kemper) and Jeff (Rob Delaney), and their family.
They shovel on various motivations for the thieves’ decision to target Max’s home so as not to paint them as out-and-out villains; something the first two flicks correctly didn’t feel the need to bother with.
Inevitably, there are nods and winks to the 1990 original, but it will take more than a brief and inconsequential appearance from Devin Ratray’s Buzz - now a cop - and swells of the familiar musical score to save things, even for die-hard fans.
What just about keeps this from hitting full-on turkey-level territory, though, are the committed turns of Kemper and Delaney.
Although the script often does them no favours, they plough on with several splices of fine physical comedy - the traps set up by Max aren’t bad either - and it’s their plight that you really care about.
At one point a character rubbishes remakes and their merits with an in-joke far too close to the bone for an unwise re-tread that leaves you feeling like you’ve been smashed in the face with a swinging paint tin.
● What are your thoughts on Home Sweet Home Alone? Am I being too harsh on the sequel-reboot?
Pop me an email at ian.bunting@reachplc.com and I will pass on your comments – and any movie or TV show recommendations you have – to your fellow readers.
● Home Sweet Home Alone is screening now on Disney+
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