Home Sweet Home Alone
RATING
Introduction
It is Sunday and also Children’s Day so we at Popcorn Reviewss would like to wish you a Happy Children’s Day. Do not let the kid inside you die! And because it is Children’s Day, I decided to watch the Brand New Offering From Disney – Home Sweet Home Alone on Disney Plus Hotstar. I still remember watching Home Alone as a kid in a theatre packed with children with their parents who literally brought the roof down. That cinematic experience had shaped way for someone whom I am today. And with its reboot having released, I went in with the sane kind of expectations. Does it manage to impress, lets find out(and you will see a twist in the tale in my next paragraph).
Story & Screenplay
Home Sweet Home Alone is the story of ….you don’t even want to know. The story is downright silly and simply outrageous. I just cannot believe my luck with weekend. First it was Squad that was a downright pathetic film and now here is another one! I can’t remember a weekend which had two back to back duds to boast of. The screenplay is just so childish. If you remember the original Home Alone, the situations created were so interesting that I enjoy watching it even today. But here, the screenplay is unnecessarily convoluted to begin with. What should have been a simple premise is needlessly convoluted. I would not have mind a reboot here too – it is very little you could go wrong with the original. Unfortunately here, everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong. The situations are just childish and loud, the gags just do not land and at the end of it, once the “conflict” is resolved, you can’t help but think that the entire film was pointless. And not to mention that the drama was so boring that even the screenplay of barely 90 minutes, seems like a 4 hour marathon. The film has angered me to no extent and also wiped out some of the most cherished memories that I had with the original. This screenplay just paints a sorry face.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The lesser said about the dialogues the better. Usually music and BGM are strong points of a Disney film but both of them are plain average here. Director Dan Mazer has done a brilliantly pathetic job here. Right from the execution, the film falters and even a decent feel good ending is not translated onscreen.
Performances
The performances are a train wreck. Ellie Kemper as Pam overcompensates in almost every scene that she features in. Rob Delaney as Jeff is just a poorly written character and although he tries hard, he doesn’t quite save the day. The little kid Archie Yates as Max also tries his level best and considering his age I would like to go easy on him and hope he gets better in his upcoming ventures. All other actors are just not upto the mark.
Conclusion
Home Sweet Home Alone paints a sorry picture of the original Home Alone. I would wish to know who at Disney was smart enough to greenlit this ridiculous film veiled as a feel good one. Again save yourself some time and look elsewhere. Available on Disney Plus Hotstar.