FILM REVIEW: ‘Home Sweet Home Alone’ should be left alone

Home sweet Home Alone: Two things are seen in Hollywood films, either there is a lot of display of special effects, computer graphics, or technology, or they keep making the second, third, fourth part of a successful film, until there is more of that sugarcane. It is not possible to extract juice. “Home sweet Home Alone” released on Disney Hotstar is one such film. In 1990, a film production and distribution company named Twenty First Century Fox made a film called “Home Alone” on Christmas with a child actor named Macaulay Culkin.

All the members of a joint family are going to Paris to celebrate Christmas. Kevin, the darling of the house, falls asleep and is left behind. Seeing the empty house, 3 robbers who came out of jail plan a robbery in the house. How Kevin alone tastes the joy of these three and understands the importance of the whole family being together in Christmas, was the story of such a film. The film was successful. Being a family film, it was also appreciated a lot. After this its sequels were made in 1992, 1997, 2002 and 2012. Now after a gap of about 9 years, another sequel has come. Is it necessary to see it?

Story by John Hughes
The story is written by John Hughes, who has written the original story for all the parts so far. This time he is joined by Mikey Day and Streeter Siddal. This time there is a slight change in the story. This time there is theft, but this time due to confusion, husband and wife are forced to steal. Every year some family films are released in America on Christmas. Their purpose is to share the basic spirit of Christmas i.e. festival, celebration with family and the joy of receiving gifts from Santa Claus. All this is also in this story. The film was announced in 2019. It was then promoted that Macaulay Culkin, the original star of the Home Alone series, would also be seen in a guest role in this film, but Macaulay soon put an end to these rumours.

Archie Yates did a great job
Archie Yates has done a great job in the role of Max Mercer, the abandoned child of the house, but he looks so innocent in appearance that his mischiefs, the pranks used to taste the fun of the thieves, cannot be trusted. In this role, Macaulay gave such a presentation of entertainment with his mischiefs that the spectators used to jump from the seat. Home Sweet Home Alone does not have the fun of the original. In the story, Jeff Mackenzie (Robert Delaney) and his wife Pam (Ellie Kemper) want to sell their house, as Robert has been without a job for several months.

Many people come to see his house with the help of a property agent. Max and his mother Carol (Ailing Bee) also pretend to buy their house out of compulsion. Jeff has a doll that can be sold online to earn thousands of dollars. When Max and Carol leave to look at the house, the doll also disappears. Jeff thinks Max has stolen the doll. The story follows Jeff and Pam in their attempts to break into Max’s house and steal the doll. Max’s family arrives in Tokyo and Max is left alone at home. How he foils Jeff and Pam’s heist plans is hilarious.

The acting of any actor cannot be kept in the “brilliant” category. Good work but not commendable. Perhaps the selection of artists is also behind this. Archie Yates has previously played a starring role in the landmark film Jojo Rabbit and was nominated for Best Young Actor at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. His face is innocent, not full of cleverness and due to this he did not look like a naughty child as expected by the audience. On the other hand, Robert and Eli have tried their best to bring comedy through expressions and dialogue delivery and have proved to be unsuccessful. Devin Ratray, who played Buzz McAllister in the first and second parts of Home Alone, has a small role, but his appearance is laughable.

Where did the film go wrong?
Where did the film go wrong? in writing? In repeating the same idea over and over again. While writing and producing satirical films, writer-director Dan Mazer had to take care of newness in the story and freshness in presentation in this film. The story was old, the style of the screenplay was also old and there was nothing special like catchphrase in the cast. There is a big problem in the sequel that every time it is compared to the previous part and it is expected that the new part will be better in every sense. Home Sweet Home Home Alone is not better in any case. It is a light hearted film. Can sit and watch with family but can’t guarantee it will be fun. Even if you don’t see it, home will remain sweet home.

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Tags: movie review, Home Sweet Home Alone