Pam and Jeff have put their home sweet home on the market but not told their children because they don’t want to spoil their Christmas. Jeff’s obnoxious show-off brother Hunter ( Timothy Simons, underused) and his wife and son arrive to make Jeff feel even worse about not providing for his family. The way he and Pam refer to “the cloud” as the reason he is out of work is probably the movie’s best joke.

They are under a lot of financial stress because Jeff has lost his job as a data migration expert. Instead of the cartoonishly bumbling robbers of the original film, who made it easy to enjoy their downfall, the “home sweet home” is just as important to this film’s intruders, a married couple played by the endlessly likeable Ellie Kemper (Pam) and Rob Delaney (Jeff). He falls asleep there, so he is left behind when his family leaves for Japan and everyone thinks he is in the other Uber. Yates’ nicely understated delivery is not used as effectively here as it was in “JoJo Rabbit.” To get away from his extended family, Max goes to the garage and climbs into the back seat of the car to watch Road Runner cartoons (a clear inspiration for all of the “Home Alone” movies).

In 2021, we have Archie Yates as 10-year-old Max, something of a smart-aleck and a bit spoiled. The 1990 film featured eight-year-old Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin), who got our sympathy by being neglected or bullied by his large, rambunctious family before they left him behind.

Watch home sweet home alone