Quartile rating: 4.5/10 · 1 rating
After being left at home by himself for the holidays, 10-year-old Max Mercer must work to defend his home from a married couple who tries to steal back a valuable heirloom.
Home Sweet Home Alone is a formulaic, largely joyless rehash of the original Home Alone concept that fails to justify its own existence. The plot inverts the sympathies in a misguided way — the 'burglars' are actually sympathetic parents trying to reclaim their own property, undercutting the classic premise entirely. The comedy set pieces lack inventiveness and the traps feel lazy compared to the originals. Acting is passable but no one elevates the weak material. Cinematography is flat and TV-movie-ish. Novelty is extremely low as it is almost entirely derivative, recycling the Home Alone formula without any distinctive voice or craft. The ending resolves things tidily but without earned emotional satisfaction.