![]() the “Wet Bandits,” where there is no ambiguity about whose side we are on, this attempt to make us root equally for the boy left behind and the couple who just want to get back what is rightfully theirs just creates confusion and concern. Unlike the enjoyably lopsided conflicts Road Runner vs. So, he sets up a bunch of booby-traps, most very elaborate and with throwbacks to the original, including what is still one of life’s easiest and most painful experience, stepping on Legos. Thanks to the kind of movie (il)logic that would fall apart if anyone did the obvious thing and try to talk about what was going on, Jeff and Pam decide they need to break into Max’s house to get the doll back and Max believes they are trying to kidnap him. Jeff later learns that it is a rare doll worth $200,000, and he believes Max has taken it. At their open house, Max sees a collection of old dolls that belonged to Jeff’s mother, including one with the head on upside down. 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. ![]()
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