It looks like Disney has gotten so wrapped up in the idea of live-action remakes that they're now doing a live-action remake of a film that was already live-action. Ignoring the fact that "live-action" has now been repeated enough to lose any and all meaning, the company's latest endeavor into the lucrative market of nostalgia, Home Sweet Home Alone, has just received its first trailer, and it's certainly a trailer.
Backing up, here's the prerequisite news: Disney is rebooting Home Alone just in time for the holidays. Starring Archie Yates of Jojo Rabbit fame, the new Disney Plus film looks to recapture the cozy fun of the original with a whole new cast of characters. The reboot now has the official title of Home Sweet Home Alone, which is certainly a charming bit of wordplay. But how will it stack up to its predecessors?
Well, based on the trailer, it looks like it will stack up pretty solidly in the familiarity department. Amid sly references and callbacks galore, the premise sees Yates as young Max Mercer, who gets accidentally left behind in his family's oddly luxurious house as his parents and relatives head off on vacation to Tokyo. Any given viewer doesn't even have to be particularly sharp-eared or eagle-eyed to pick up on the various Home Alone Easter eggs, including a police officer with the last name McCallister (clearly a nod to the McCallister family who was central to the first 2 films) and even little Max himself uttering Macaulay Culkin's famous line "This is my house. I have to defend it."
Where Home Sweet Home Alone sets itself apart from its namesakes is in some of the characterizations. Rather than being besieged by a duo of hardened (if rather doofy) criminals, the trailer seems to imply that the robbers in this film will be slightly more sympathetic. Played by Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney, the two are actually a married couple, and this appears to be their first foray into the burglarious arts. As for other characters, the parents also seem to be more on the comedic side than before, with Aisling Bea as Max's mother Carol, who appears to be the more straight foil to Pete Holmes' Blake, who gets a few chuckle-worthy lines in the trailer. The movie will also star Kenan Thompson, Tim Simons, Devin Ratray, Ally Maki, and Chris Parnell.
At first glance, this trailer doesn't really look like it's doing all that much different. The formula seems the same, as does much of the dialogue. So what exactly is the draw? Well, for starters, Kemper as a villain. The actress is well-versed in comedy, but watching her scrunch up her face in a sneer is oddly charming. It's frankly unexpected to see the relentlessly optimistic star of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt suddenly play somebody on the less than straight and narrow. But that alone may be enough to be intriguing to fresh-faced viewers.
Of course, there's no telling how the film will turn out until it premieres. Luckily, anybody with a genuine or morbid interest won't have very long to wait, as Home Sweet Home Alone will release on Disney Plus before 2021 is up. It might not be as clever of a callback as letting Hitman players kill Harry and Marv, but there's bound to be some comforting nostalgia to find.
Home Sweet Home Alone will premiere on November 12th on Disney Plus.
Source: 20th Century Studios/YouTube