screw you, try transcribing all of these by yourself and see if you don't need to just let it out!). NC politely does as he is told, and then the two resume the fight, NC screaming and chasing AVGN deeper into the room he corners AVGN behind the futon, and lands a couple blows, until AVGN grabs his tie and pulls him down various small items fly up from behind the futon from the fury of battle (think there were enough fucks said in there? Well it's nothing compared to what these two will spit out! Zing!. Jeff and Pam have to make a series of bad choices for the film to deliver the barbaric endgame and both Delaney and Kemper are good enough to get us there and sell it all.A doorbell rings, and the door opens it's NC, surrounded by a cartoon environment (for reasons unknown to us mortals) he winds up, ready to punch, but the camera flips and reveals AVGN, who punches NC first NC tackles AVGN through the door.ĪVGN: What were you, raised in a barn? Shut the fuckin' door! It's Delaney and Kemper who shine the most here, though, not as human pincushions, per se, but as performers who can nail that sweet spot between kind-hearted and dim. Plus, the usual Home Alone questions of why she can't call him, neighbors, or the police are all answered handily tactfully. Generally speaking, the nods and references to the original movie are unneeded here, though Devin Ratray as a grown Buzz McCallister actually serves a story purpose.Ĭomedian Aisling Bea plays Max's mom, Carol, and together she and her Max have a fun smartass back-and-forth dynamic. This part of the rebootquel is unaltered and untweaked (unlike the rest of the franchise hallmarks) and that makes it feel like a nostalgia experiment. Jeff and Pam's mission is ostensibly honorable, though, like most cinematic victims of misunderstandings, they're punished for resorting to sneakiness instead of being straightforward.Īs far as the assault on Max's estate is concerned, it's almost like the dangerous traps and pranks in Home Sweet Home Alone were conceived as a winking bit - you know, ironically. The film relies on a series of Three's Company-style mix-ups to propel the story forward, leading three generally okay people into a maelstrom of mayhem and pain. Max is just not set up to be the protagonist the way Kevin was decades ago. They're obnoxious, he's pissy, and all of it, as expected, just plays a bit differently in 2021. Like Kevin before him, he's surrounded by a marauding horde of a family. Yates is fairly good as the precocious Max. And when the lead characters are a struggling couple just trying to make ends meet, and who think Max's giant opulent manor (complete with Max falling asleep inside some blatant BMW product placement) holds the key to their family's salvation, it's for think pieces (also presumably). When billiard balls are being weaponized and shot at people's faces, it's for the kids (presumably). When dialogue's being spoken, it's for the benefit of the grownups in the audience. Director Dan Mazer (writer, Borat & Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) and writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell (both SNL) craft a family film littered with good gags, decent jokes, and quirky performances adults will enjoy. Like, as much as young kids enjoy movies filled with slapstick, mess, and calamity, how do they feel about people who are being foreclosed on getting set on fire? Or having teeth knocked out? Not to read too deep into Home Sweet Home Alone, since the original also featured a rich kid defending his McMansion, but the background class war noise here makes it so you don't want to see Jeff and Pam, you know, get their ribs broken, or lose, um, skin.Īll of that taken into consideration, Home Sweet Home Alone isn't the fully grotesque idea you might think it is. Naturally, you can't have a Home Alone film without a third act filled with buffoonish beatings, but here it plays out like a cringe exhibit. It's the franchise's trademark violence that makes the film especially odd. Meanwhile, Max is mauling them with expensive LEGO sets and a never-ending supply of food and drink. Delaney and Kemper's Jeff and Pam are just parents in danger of losing their home, unable to afford what they need. It's more their story than it is Archie Yates' Max, whose wealthy family of 20 or so all fly off to Tokyo for Christmas. Here, Rob Delaney and Ellie Kemper's robbers are the heart, and also centerpiece, of the movie.
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