It must be the low expectations syndrome. Both the Wife and I knew that the new animated feature film Home had not great reviews – only 47% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. The Daughter wanted to see it, however, and we all did, at our neighborhood Madison Theatre in Albany.
Sure, the logic of the Boov sucking up all the humans on earth, except one, and relocating them, is far-fetched. The single girl, Gratuity ‘Tip’ Tucci (voiced by Rihanna) was a preternaturally resourceful 12-year-old. I found the music, by Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez (who voiced Tip’s mom, Lucy) was pretty generic.
But the film has something to say about being the screwup, as the Boov dubbed Oh (Jim Parsons) most certainly was; I can relate. It addresses the danger of group thought, and how leaders, such as Captain Smek (Steve Martin) are capable of deceiving the masses, and the people believing them. And it addresses how one can change one’s mindset and have a positive outcome.
Moreover, the boys behind me squealed with glee during some action scenes. The film developed one bathroom joke that even my spouse and I laughed at.
I think the problem is that Home lacks those adult references that movies such as Toy Story or the Lego Movie have. It’s a kids’ movie, and while it’s not desperately original, I enjoyed it enough that I wasn’t shrieking when I left the cinema, and there is plenty of children’s film fare that I’ve found painful to watch.
If you’re stuck at home watching the video, you might find it not a terrible waste of 90 minutes.