Home : Movie Review


Home (2014) - Movie PosterAdorable and intensely creepy all at once, animated family comedy "Home" puts a chirpy, upbeat spin on a premise that isn't far off from H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" and, unexpectedly, 2010's "Skyline." The lead character, a peppy alien named Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons), is an underappreciated outsider who tries to retain a positive outlook no matter what comes his way. With the threat of their enemy, the Gorg, edging closer, Oh's Boov species has decided to hide out on Earth. Our hero is overjoyed with the prospect of moving day—"Today is best day ever!" he exclaims—but the Boov's takeover requires that the human race be sucked up into tentacles and transported to a place of allegedly endless happiness called Humanstown. Before the opening title card has even appeared, "Home" manages to unsettle and disconcert, made all the eerier by the up-tempo pop music playing over an alien abduction montage. Heartwarming though the film ultimately becomes, its setup isn't exactly innocuous.

Having just moved into his new Manhattan apartment, Oh immediately goes to work preparing a "warming of houses" party. When he accidentally sends out an invitation to the entire galaxy, Captain Smek (Steve Martin) and the rest of the Boov are horrified to realize he has just inadvertently exposed their location to the Gorg. On the run from his people, Oh crosses paths with lonely teenager Gratuity 'Tip' Tucci (Rihanna), an earthling who escaped the aliens' invasion but saw her mother, Lucy (Jennifer Lopez), get snatched before her eyes. Tip is initially unsure if she can trust this chameleonic extraterrestrial, but, as these two unlikely new pals join forces to find her mom and stop the Gorg, they discover they have more in common than either one could have imagined.


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Author : Dustin Putman, TheFilmFile.com.