Alone at Home (Rifftrax Shorts)

Rifftrax Year:  2010
Riffers:  Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett

Alone at Home is a fifteen minute instructional film for kids about how to handle various situations when home alone.  Surprisingly very little has to do with booby trapping your house for any comical criminals that might stop by but rather points like handling strangers, talking on the phone, and at home responsibilities.

Featuring typically stiff acting but a well executed moral this short really isn't too bad.  Children will get the idea at the very least, and honestly I have to give it points for not going they "Hey, we're hip too!  Wanna jive about responsibility?" route a lot of these types of films do.  It's pretty straightforward about itself, which is refreshing.

The riffing doesn't really have much of a tempo.  For the most part it's all over the place, taking aim at what they can whenever the opportunity presents itself.  Easy targets include over-emphasizing loneliness while at home, goofy at home habits, and some hilarious embellishments of various strangers that show up.  The latter point can get quite hilarious, with one man claiming "I'm late for an appointment!" which they add "At Sexual Predators Anonymous!"

I'd hesitate to call this a great short, but it's a pleasant one that will keep you smiling.  It definitely ends on a wonderful note, as the riffers imply a mother screaming at her child "What do you mean you didn't let her in?!  I needed those papers tonight!  Oh god, I'm going to get fired!"  Riffs like that aren't often here, but when they kick in it makes this short worthwhile.

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