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"No parents. No problem."

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Home Sweet Home Alone is a 2021 soft-reboot film of the original 1990 film and the sixth film in the Home Alone franchise. It was written by Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell and directed by Dan Mazer.

The film stars Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney as Pam and Jeff McKenzie, Archie Yates as Max Mercer, along with Aisling Bea, Kenan Thompson, Ally Maki, Pete Holmes, Chris Parnell, Timothy Simons, Andy Daly, and Mikey Day.

Devin Ratray reprises his role as Buzz McCallister from Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Along with this, the protagonist of those films, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), is mentioned.

Plot[]

Short[]

Max Mercer is a mischievous and resourceful young boy who has been left behind while his family is in Japan for the holidays. When a married couple attempting to retrieve a priceless heirloom set their sights on the Mercer family's home, it is up to Max to protect it from the trespassers...and he will do whatever it takes to keep them out. Hilarious hijinks of epic proportions ensue, but despite the absolute chaos, Max comes to realize that there really is no place like home sweet home.

Expanded[]

People mingle at an open house. In the kitchen Gavin Washington, the realtor selling it, tells Clem and Daisy Brecklin that they could convert it to an open concept. The owners, Jeff and Pam McKenzie, come in. Pam makes encouraging remarks about it, while Jeff brings the interest down with his comments. She sends him to get more bottled water to get him out of the way.

Max complains to his mother, Carol, that he has to pee. She told him to go before they left, but he didn't want to after Uncle Stu had been in there. He can't wait until they get home. Carol sees the sign for the open house and tells him they'll have to pretend they're buying it.

Max leaves the bathroom and sees Jeff getting drinks from a closet. He asks for one, but Jeff says he has to ask his parents as they have a lot of sugar. Jeff then pulls down a box of old dolls, which he says belonged to his mother. The head on one of them is upside down. Carol then comes and apologizes for Max. She then spots one of the dolls and says that she saw it being sold for $5,000 on an antique show. Max teases her about it and she threatens to leave him behind with his grandmother while his family goes to Japan for the holidays. After watching them bicker, Jeff grabs one of the drinks, takes a sip, and says it's good. Carol tells Max to come with her to the car.

Max apologizes to Carol for lashing out at her, but he doesn't understand why their whole family is staying at their house. Carol says Christmas is about spending time with family, even if they make you anxious, furious, or insane.

Gavin tells Jeff and Pam that they have gotten a few nibbles. He knows they want to sell the house as soon as possible, but he doesn't expect anything to happen until after the holidays. He'll stay on top of Clem and Daisy, the most likely buyers. They hear a car honk outside and panic because their kids, Abby and Chris, are home. They haven't told them they're selling the house and frantically rush to remove all traces of the open house. Abby and Chris come in. Pam thought they were going to call when their movie was over, but they decided just to take an Uber. They ask who Gavin is and he pretends to be Jeff's personal trainer and that the balloons are a gesture to congratulate him on taking the first step.

Max asks two of his cousins if he can have a turn playing the game. They ignore him. Behind them, his father, Mike, steps on a toy and tells Max to clean up his things.

Carol is on the phone with the airline because their flight had to be cancelled and rebooked, which left their family on two separate flights.

Max's sister, Katie, comes down the stairs with a VR headset on. Max walks pasts her and weaves through several relatives. Uncle Blake is sitting on the couch when he gets pelted by ammo from above, where two cousins are shooting him. Max is upset and nearly curses until he spots his Elf on the Shelf, Goobie. He asks him not to tell Santa Claus.

Carol tells the person on the phone that she's been put on a different flight from Katie and Max. The latter tries to talk to her, but she ignores him. When he persists in trying to get her attention, she tells him he's not the only person in the house. He then sneaks out into the garage and climbs into one of the cars, where he turns on a cartoon.

Pam is upset with Jeff because his comments during the open house may have turned off potential buyers. She reminds him that they're trying to sell the house. It's their only option, so she needs him on her team. He just didn't like how real it felt and doesn't like it. She doesn't like it either, but they can't afford to keep the house on her salary alone. He had a good interview, but that was three months ago. It might take a while to find another job. For now, she wants him to try to enjoy their last Christmas in the house.

Jeff and Pam are sleeping when Jeff's brother, Hunter, calls him and then Pam when he doesn't answer. Pam is shocked when Hunter says they're outside. Pam wakes Jeff up to tell him the news.

Hunter throws a snowball at Jeff's face as he exits the house. He explains that they flew in early to get ahead of the snow. He calls to his wife, Mei, telling her to hurry up. Abby joins them and is excited they're there. Hunter goes back to the car to get his son, Ollie. He sends him inside and asks Jeff to help unload their stuff, including a large pile of presents because they had a great year.

At 5:15am, Jeff sits up on the pull-out couch while Pam sleeps next to him. He checks his job profile, where his resume has gotten zero views. He searches for the doll with the upside-down head on eBay and finds one listed for sale at $200,000. He pulls the box back down, but the doll isn't it. He's convinced that Max stole it and wants to find him. He remembers hearing him and Carol saying each other's full names.

Jeff arrives at the Mercers' house, where everyone is loading into their cars while Max is asleep in the garage, unbeknownst to them.

Jeff approaches Blake and asks if Carol is home. He says that she took the early flight and is already gone. Behind him, Bethany is taking selfies. He asks if it's really the time, but then poses with her and tells her to text the photo to him. He pulls a kid out of the snow and puts her in the car. Stu hands Jeff a bag, assuming he's their driver, and asks him to take good care of it. He asks if Max is home since Carol isn't. Stu says that if Jeff doesn't see him, he's halfway to Japan now.

Blake yells into the house that the cars are leaving now.

Jeff gets a text from Pam asking where he is because they have Singing for Seniors. He lies and says he's getting milk, though they have plenty it in their fridge.

Blake asks for the security code for the house. Ricky yells a joke back at him, which he doesn't appreciate. Katie then tells him it is 1112. Blake arms the burglar alarm, locks the door, and hides the spare key, which Jeff sees. After they've all left, Jeff peeks in a window and sees a bulge in Max's pocket which he believes is the doll. He grabs the key from where Blake put it and goes to unlock the door, but he gets scared by a siren. He hides but sees there was no real threat to him. He puts the key back and returns to his car.

At the Rosemont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the seniors are anxiously waiting. The bell choir director asks Pam where Jeff is, but she's not sure.

Jeff arrives at Rosemont and takes his place. As they play, he and Pam talk about Max and the doll, disrupting the performance. Pam wants to wait until the Mercers get back, but Jeff doesn't want to.

Max wakes up and goes back inside the house, where he discovers that no one is there to his delight. He spends the day playing games, eating junk food, and reading Katie's diary.

At a fair, Jeff and Pam talk about the doll. He doesn't think it's stealing to take it back when it was stolen in the first place. She disagrees and says it's still a crime.

Ollie cries on Santa's lap. As they watch the pictures come up, Mrs. Claus tells Hunter how to get the files. Jeff is dismayed at how they're handling the photo storage, as it's his line of work.

Mei and Abby look through clothes at the fair. Abby finds a dress she likes and asks to get it. Pam says it costs too much, so Mei says she'll buy it for Abby. As they walk away to do so, Gavin texts Pam and says to call him as he might have some good news coming.

The McKenzies watch a movie. Hunter comments that it's garbage and doesn't understand why they keep trying to remake classics. Jeff is decorating the tree and finds an ornament he doesn't recognize.

As Hunter walks by the table where Pam and Ollie are decorating a gingerbread house, he stops it from falling to the floor. As Pam looks to where Jeff is decorating the tree, she remembers all the memories her family has had in the house. She then imagines them begging her to get the doll to save it. She tells Jeff they need to leave to get some milk. Everyone is confused at that.

As Jeff and Pam drive to the Mercers' house, they slide on the road as the snow has worsened. Jeff tries to back out, but Pam is insistent. As the walk to the house, the lights come on and they freeze for a few moments before proceeding. Jeff retrieves the key and unlocks the door. The burglar alarm makes noise and Jeff puts in the wrong code to disarm it. Despite that, it turns off. They look around for Max's coat, but don't find it. Max watches them from another room. Jeff wants to give up, but Pam says not to bail on her. Max recognizes Jeff. He overhears them talking about finding an "ugly little boy" and imagines himself being sold to some old ladies. He runs away, drawing their attention up to the railing, where his jacket is hanging.

Max uses the Homebot to call the police. It replies in German, scaring Jeff and Pam. Jeff runs out of the house, where a cop pulls up out front.

Buzz McCallister gets out of his squad car. Jeff and Pam pretend the house is theirs. Pam sends Jeff to warm up the car while she jokes about him getting the security code wrong because it's their anniversary. She flirts congenially with him, quelling his suspicion.

Inside the house, Max is aggravated they aren't being detained.

Buzz tells them to have a nice holiday and leaves.

Max imagines himself telling Buzz everything that happened and Carol getting put in jail for leaving him home alone.

Max is excited to spend time in the house alone, but still misses Carol. He asks the Homebot what to do. It doesn't help and he goes to bed.

Carol is outraged that her family assumed Max was on the other flight instead of checking with her. Blake asks Stu if he assumed that, and he insists that Max wasn't in the house when they left. Katie comes in and says Mike was only able to get one ticket home. Aunt Beth is on the phone trying to get someone to check on Max. Carol says they haven't tried calling the house because they don't have a landline. Blake suggests calling a neighbor, but Carol says they only moved in two months ago, so they don't know any. Everyone they know is in London. She gets her coat and goes to the airport to wait.

Buzz hears about Max on the radio. He radios back saying that it's a prank call and they can ignore it. He shares what happened with his brother, Kevin, who calls in a similar story every year just to mess with him. He knows there's no child there as he was just there for a bonus burglar alarm call. It had a McCallister Home Alarm system, which he doesn't think it's a coincidence. They still want him to drive by to check it out. He says he will, but then doesn't.

Pam and Jeff arrive at church, where Hunter, Mei, and Ollie are waiting. Jeff looks at Abby in her dress, which he thinks is too revealing. Gavin comes in behind them and sits down.

Max rides his bike to the church and looks at the outdoor Nativity scene.

Gavin asks Jeff and Pam if they have been ghosting him and that they have an offer. When he sees that Chris is listening, Gavin pretends it's related to the personal training. Jeff sends Chris to put the toy he brought in the toy drive area.

Max is looking over the toys in the donation pile longingly when Chris comes in with his. Chris has noticed that Jeff and Pam are stressed but are pretending not to be.

Gavin asks what they think about Clem and Daisy's offer. They want to sign the contract before the end of the year, but Jeff and Pam say they can't do that. They won't get a better offer, so he suggests they take the holiday and then get back to him.

Max tells Chris about his family leaving him home alone while they went to Japan. He thought it would be cool, but now it's just lonely. Chris takes his toy off the donation pile and gives it to Max, saying he deserves it. Max tells him to enjoy the holiday with his family and that's what makes it special. Once he's gone, the woman taking the pile sees Max with the toy and takes it, assuming it's his donation. She tells him she thinks he'll get what he wants for Christmas. He says all he wants is to have his family back. She assumes they're dead and asks when it happened.

Jeff turns around and sees Max in the back of the church. He remembers Carol's threat to leave him behind with his grandmother and thinks that's who the woman is. Pam thinks the German voice they heard was hers.

Jeff and Pam leave the church, aiming to get the doll while the Mercers aren't home.

Max leaves the church with his toy.

Pam sees a UPS truck outside near the Mercers' house and says it's too hot. They'll have to wait until dark and go around the back.

At the airport, Carol sees a family with two children playing with their baby. Concerned with something she hears in an announcement, she pushes her way to the counter and uses gestures to ask when the standby seats will be announced. The ticket agent tells her in perfect English that she'll be happy to help after she stands in the line she just pushed through. She says she's trying to get home to Max, who is alone and scared. The ticket agent says the standby seats will be announced approximately one hour before departure. Carol apologizes and leaves the counter.

Jeff and Pam walk toward the Mercers' house.

At the church, Mei gets a message from Pam saying they forgot to preheat the oven and they'll be back soon. The choir performance starts.

Jeff and Pam struggle to climb over a tall wall. When Jeff finally gets over, Pam notices an open gate nearby, which she uses to get in.

Max gets back home just as they get to the door. Jeff gets a video just as they arrive, and they take a moment to watch Abby sing. They go inside to find they're in the wrong house. They quietly slip back out. They walk across the yard, but unwittingly step over the pool, end up slipping on the pool cover, and getting soaked by the water.

At home, Max hears the commotion of them struggling to get out of the pool.

Inside the house Jeff and Pam just left, a boy spots them and asks why they are drowning. The adult doesn't notice and corrects him that they're not drowning.

Jeff and Pam get out of the pool and question if this is the universe trying to tell them something. Just then, they slip down some steps. Jeff is determined not to give up, saying they need a win. If they give up now, they can't save their house. They suggest coming back after bedtime. Jeff suggests he could dress as Santa to trick Max if he's awake.

Max overhears Jeff and Pam's conversation and asks the Homebot to search for booby traps. The parental control blocks it because of the word booby.

Hunter, Mei, Abby, Chris, and Ollie leave the church. Ollie is carrying something and Hunter asks him if he took it from the donation pile. Just then, they see Jeff and Pam in their frozen clothes on the sidewalk. They claim a car drove through a puddle and splashed them.

Carol watches the flight progress. The passenger next to her repeatedly looks at her screen. He says he can't help it.

As Hunter chops something for dinner, he says Mei wanted to go to Hawaii, but he told her she had to suck it up and come to their place instead. Nearby, Pam practices her German words.

Max sets booby traps around his house while the McKenzies eat dinner and exchange gifts. Hunter and Mei go upstairs to bed, leaving Jeff and Pam on the pull-out couch. Once they're alone, they jump up fully dressed. Jeff has a Santa suit on.

Max is ready and waits for Jeff and Pam's arrival.

On their way to the Mercers' house, Jeff and Pam slide on the icy roads and eventually crash into a streetlight, much to Max's delight. They walk toward the house, but slip on the driveway, which Max had sprayed with water. Max then turns the front lights on and off to scare them. As Pam goes around to the backyard, Jeff finds the milk and cookies Max left for Santa, along with a note. He takes a bite of a cookie and then a sip of the milk, but finds they're both hot, forcing him to dive into the snow for relief.

Max adds Mentos to a diet soda and then drops it off the balcony in front of Pam, who gets sprayed by it. Max then throws several more down at her. she tries to get him to stop and talk to her, but he refuses.

Jeff enters through the front door and puts in the security code, but gets poked by another trap Max set. Max calls out for Santa and Jeff pretends he is him. Max then fires billiard balls at him, knocking him out.

Pam gets up and calls out to Jeff.

Jeff wakes up with the VR headset on. He's on a cliff and inches across it, unaware that it's not real. He passes out again and wakes to Pam hitting him repeatedly with the door. They can't figure out why he's hurting them. Pam says he mentioned their $200,000 getting away, so he definitely has the doll and knows what it's worth. Pam goes to another room, where she gets hit by a spoon and then steps on a bunch of Legos in her bare feet. She sees Goobie and tells him not to judge her because she's doing it for her family.

Carol's seat mate has fallen asleep on her shoulder. She still has over eight hours left until arrival.

Jeff and Pam hear Max moving around and try to talk to him in German. Max reveals himself to them and Jeff says they just want to talk. Max drops a bag of flour and a gallon of milk onto Jeff's face. Max uses butter and sugar on the stairs to keep them from going up. Jeff wants to give up, but Pam says they can't back out now. Max taunts her as she moves through the house. She pulls the attic cord and gets pelted with Nerf bullets Max has made sharp. Pam finds him in a room and he uses the treadmill to launch weights at her. He then uses a yoga ball and weight to launch her back down the stairs. He shoots another billiard ball at Jeff, but he catches it before it hits him. He tells Max there's nowhere to run. He goes out to the balcony and jumps down onto the trampoline.

As she climbs the stairs, Pam spots the jacket.

Jeff tries to jump down after Max, but Max has rigged the trampoline to collapse and it launches Jeff into a tree.

Pam reaches into Max's jacket pocket and finds a stolen soda, not the doll.

Jeff follows Max, but gets pelted with icicles Max is knocking off the eave. He then trips on a wire, allowing Max to escape.

Max goes back inside, where Pam has a Nerf gun of her own. Max points his at Jeff and says he'll do it. Pam tries to ride Max's pulley down, but she falls. She begs him not to do any more game to them. They just want to talk. He knows their plan is to kidnap and sell him. They are shocked. They just want their doll back. Max doesn't know what they're talking about. He says he didn't steal it and wouldn't want one. Pam finally realizes they did a very bad thing. They need to wake up his grandmother. Max reveals that she is in England, he's home alone, and his parents are in Japan. Pam is immediately sympathetic and says they would have handled things differently if they had known. It's just a misunderstanding. She tells Max they'll take care of him and they hug. Just then, the chandelier falls on them. Max says that was an accident. Pam says they'll call his parents, let them know he's okay, and then he can stay with them until his family get back. He says he's going to be in trouble, but Pam knows Carol will be happy that he's safe at first. "Then he'll be in trouble," says Jeff.

Jeff and Pam have finished explaining some of what happened and why Max is staying with them. They've called Carol and she was relieved to hear he was safe. Abby asks if they're moving. Jeff and Pam apologize and say they've had an offer on the house they can't afford not to take. But Pam says what's important about the house is the people in it. Max seconds that without his parents, his house didn't feel like home. Mei suggests that maybe someone at the open house took the doll. Jeff says it doesn't matter because it's gone now. Just then, he spots Ollie on the stairs holding it. Mei tells him not to move and Jeff races to get it. Ollie throws it before he gets there and it sails over Jeff's head. Pam steps on Mei trying to get it herself, but she misses. Finally, Max catches it before it hits the ground. Then the doorbell rings and Max is reunited with Carol. They offer to have her stay, but she just wants to get home. Max hands them the doll and leaves with Carol. Once they're gone, Abby asks if the doll means they get to stay in their house. Jeff says it does. They start opening presents.

Carol says she missed Max and it'll just be the two of them for Christmas. She opens the door and sees the mess. Max says there's a reasonable explanation.

One Year Later

At the McKenzie's house, Max, Carol, Katie, and Mike are at the table with Abby and Chris. Pam brings in the food. Carol says it looks wonderful and so does the house. Pam says it's thanks to the doll. It paid for their mortgage, plus a trip to Europe and repairs to the Mercers' house. Jeff comes in after ending a call to his workplace. He's recently gotten a promotion. He starts to explain his job, but Pam and Abby cut him off. They want to toast. Max asks if he can have a soda, much like the one he stole the year before. Jeff says they're quite sugary. Pam says they should let him have one because of what happened last year and he gets one. They toast to new friends, family, Jeff not having permanent neurological damage, and Max for bringing them together.

Cast[]

Production[]

In October 2019, the film was reported to be written by Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell. Hutch Parker, and Dan Wilson would be producing it, with Dan Mazer in talks to direct. According to reports, the movie will focus on a married couple named Pam and Jeff, and a 10-year-old boy named Max.[1]

In December 2019, it was reported that Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney would both be the stars of the movie, while Archie Yates played as the third character of the cast, Max Mercer.[2]

Production of the film was put on hold in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] By November, the film either resumed production or had been completed.[4]

The title was revealed on August 12, 2021.[5] On October 12, 2021, one month later, a trailer was released. The film was released during the next month, on November 12, 2021.

Trivia[]

  • This is the first Home Alone movie...:
    • since Home Alone 4 in which a character from the first two movies appears. That character is Buzz McCallister who also mentions his younger brother, Kevin.
      • The Kenosha Kickers from the first movie were possibly going to appear.[6] If their role was not cut, this movie would have marked their first appearance in the series since their debut.
    • to lack a traditional antagonist; unlike all of the previous villains in the franchise, Pam and Jeff McKenzie are not real villains (due to being kind and unselfish throughout) and have only been mistaken as burglars by Max Mercer (as opposed to having blamed the latter for stealing Jeff's collectable doll) until near the end.
  • For reasons unknown, some publicity and reviews from around the film's release give Jeff and Pam McKenzie the surname Fritzovski instead.

Goofs[]

  • When Max enters the house after sleeping in the car, the house alarm is on. His movements in the house should have triggered the motion sensors, thus alarming the parents.
  • Carol and Blake claim that nobody has a landline anymore. In reality, the United Kingdom, from which Carol emigrated just two months earlier, still had a much higher prevalence of landline phone ownership than the United States in 2021 (the year of the film's release), despite the decline, with around 80% of British households having a landline[7] compared with less than a third of American households[8] with older generations more likely to still have one in both countries along with households in remote rural areas.

Gallery[]

References[]


Home Alone franchise
Films Home AloneHome Alone 2: Lost in New YorkHome Alone 3Home Alone 4Home Alone: The Holiday HeistHome Sweet Home Alone
Novelizations Home AloneHome Alone 2: Lost in New York (Todd Strasser)Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (A.L. Singer)Home Alone 3
YouTube :DRYVRS: Just Me In The House By MyselfHome Alone Wet Bandit Resurfaces and Responds to Kevin McCalister's Threatening VideoHome Alone Again with the Google Assistant
Soundtracks Home AloneHome Alone 2: Lost in New YorkHome Alone 3
Video games Home AloneHome Alone 2Home Alone (2006)
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