Home Sweet Home Alone is the 6th installment of the storied Home Alone franchise. A franchise that first started in 1990 with Macaulay Culkin who would go on to star in the second film is about children who get left Home Alone for the holidays. The franchise has survived for 31 years now with this installment premiering in Disney+.
Home Sweet Home Alone stars Archie Yates as Max our main character and Ellie Kemper as Pam and Rob Delaney as Jeff. The film has an amazing supporting cast with the likes of Keenan Thompson and Pete Holmes , Ally Maki and Timothy Simons. The cast really makes the film just like the first two without a decent cast of characters the movies would have been horrible.
Home Sweet Home Alone takes place over the course of the holidays following suit with the other films. However this time it involves two families instead of one. Archie and his family and then Pam, Jeff and their family. Archie and his mom end up at Jeff and Pam’s because Archie has to use the restroom and they’re having an open house. They’re selling their home because of job loss and misfortune but their kids or other family members are not aware of this. Not sure how you could miss that your home is being sold buy good job by the parents go keep their kids feelings in mind.
After Archie visits the story is picking up while there he is searching through knick knacks and other items and finds a small box of dolls with one ugly doll. Then his eye catches some sugary soda Archie asks Jeff for one and Jeff denies him. Archie and his mother leaves the home. Soon after their visit Jeff had come across an ad about the ugly doll they had found. It had sold and was worth a lot. When Jeff went back to find it and post the doll it was missing. I mean at this point anyone would assume that the kid Archie took it so Jeff went after him.
Archie meanwhile had been left “Home Alone” when he hid from all of the noise at his house. Well his family was leaving and they didn’t even count heads. Such a rookie move right Kevin? Anyways, Archie wakes up in his garage and starts searching for his mom and she isn’t home. He hears the door open and the alarm go off and runs to hide. Jeff notices something in Archies coat pocket but leaves because of the alarm sounding. Jeff later on informs his wife of all this and they go back. I mean at this point they’re losing their home they need to get the doll back any way they can. So they go back. Pam and Jeff go to the door unlock the door and go in. Jeff forgets the alarm code and the cops are called again. This time a cop comes out that makes this whole movie worth watching.
Buzz McAllister is now a police officer in Chicago. He shows up to the home and has the alarm disabled and everything checked out so he left. Another call comes through and this time Buzz is like no im not taking that call my brother Kevin is pranking me. We left him at home alone twice 30 years ago and he does this every year. So, as I said these films have been hard to watch because of my love of the original 2 yet here we are with this cameo appearance by Buzz and mentioning Kevin makes this a direct sequel to the first 2!
The film of course has the action sequence and it is brutal. Lots of groin shots and fire. It was just as brutal as part 1 and 2. I didn’t think Disney would go that far but it was so reminiscent of Harry and Marv and Kevin that I found it charming. I couldn’t believe that they reenacted most of the stuff on Disney+ for a children’s movie essentially but they did. I feel like the original director Chris Columbus would be proud of how this movie turned out.
The film had that happy ending like most Disney movies do and I feel like that’s what it deserved like every other home alone film.
Final Thoughts
This film would have not been as good to me if it didn’t hold the first film in such high regard. Even with the call backs to the first films traps and action this film had doesn’t come close to being as good without Buzz McAllister and the McAllister security name. That really made this film a good watch. Is it campy? Yes but no where near as bad as the other 3. Is it on par with 1 and 2 no. Those films will always be the height of this franchise unless Culkin returns to make a final film. If that was the case it would be a theater release and a large production. Culkin still has a big name and I believe a sequel to Kevin’s journey would be a big film. However this film gives us hope that it could happen with the mention of the McAllisters. I just hope Buzz gets to appear and is still a cop.
Final score 8/10!
Great job Disney+ in bringing back a storied franchise and making it watchable. Keep it up and bring home alone back to the way it used to be!
