“The most fundamental basic human instinct is protecting our families”: An interview with Dan Mazer on Home Sweet Home Alone

Home Sweet Home Alone is the 2021 reboot of the iconic Christmas movie Home Alone. At the helm is Borat co-writer Dan Mazer, who has flipped around the concept of the original film to make a pair of adults – a married couple in dire financial straits who need to steal back a valuable heirloom from the house of an irksome kid – the protagonists. The cast features a who’s who of British, Irish and American comics, including Catastrophe’s Rob Delaney and Bridesmaids‘ Ellie Kemper as the would-be house burglars, and the brilliant Aisling Bea (in a slightly misjudged posh English accent) as the frazzled mother at her wits end after realising she’s left her son (wait for it) home alone after rushing off on holiday with extended family. Ostensibly in the Macauley Culkin shoes is Jojo Rabbit breakout star Archie Yates as the slightly obnoxious, but ultimately sweet abandoned boy who must protect his home with anything and everything at his disposal from unwanted intruders.

Inevitably, it cannot quite compete with the charm of the original. But it certainly has a good crack at revisiting the premise through a fresh lens, with plenty of hilarious slapstick physical comedy and cleverly orchestrated old-school booby traps, and a dry, often darkly comic wit running through it, thanks to Mazer’s direction and Saturday Night Live writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell’s script. Plus there’s a lovely smattering of Easter eggs and nods paying homage to the 1990 movie dropped in for fans to enjoy – and of course snowy festive vibes galore.

We had the pleasure of chatting to Mazer about why he was at first reluctant but thought now was the right time to reboot the classic Christmas movie, how he assembled his multi-national cast of comics and some of the highs and lows of shooting the film’s comedy scenes.

Sarah Bradbury

Home Sweet Home Alone is released on Disney+ on 12^th November 2021.

Watch the trailer for Home Sweet Home Alone here: