Rihanna is a pop icon, but she’s also made a name for herself as an actress, appearing in several major films in the last few years. This includes everything from cameos as herself to starring roles in films like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and Ocean’s 8. And right now, one of her more forgotten roles is doing really well on Netflix.
According to FlixPatrol, 2015’s Home is currently the 9th most popular film on Netflix, a fantastic achievement for an older, often overlooked movie. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, Home is a computer-animated science-fiction comedy film following Gratuity “Tip” Tucci (played by Rihanna).
One day, the Earth is invaded by an alien race called the Boov. The Boov see humanity as quaint and backward and relocate all the humans to distant corners of the planet so that the Boov can move in. However, Tip avoids capture and sets out on an adventure to reunite with her captured mother.
Along the way, she meets Oh, a Boov played by Jim Parsons. Oh is disliked by the other Boov due to him being a freethinker. But in an attempt to make friends, Boov tries to invite all of the other Boov to a party. But they accidentally end up sending the invite to the Boov’s long-time enemy, the Gorg, who is trying to hunt the Boov down. This makes the other Boov turn on Oh, and they all start trying to capture him, forcing Oh and Tip to work together to get what they both want.
The film had a lot of hype before its release because of its cast. As aside from Rihanna and Parsons, the film also features Steve Martin and Jennifer Lopez. The film did very well at the box office, earning $386 million worldwide and having one of the best opening weekends for any non-sequel DreamWorks movie, quickly eclipsing the studio’s expectations.
However, the film got notably mixed reviews, and it only has a 52% critics score and a 64% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics praised the colorful visuals and the animations, with some praising the story for its tale of friendship and family while others said that the film was predictable and felt hollow.
Many viewer reviews agreed with this, arguing that while the movie was okay for kids, it didn’t offer anything unique or memorable. However, a subset of reviewers criticized Parson’s acting, noting that his character was very similar to the one he played in Big Bang Theory. But in this format, the character soon became annoying, detracting from the film.
Rihanna received near-universal praise, however. Both her acting and her work on the film’s soundtrack were praised. She won the Best Voice Performance award at the Black Reel Awards for her work on Home.
Home is a fun movie that shows how much range Rihanna has. Hopefully, we see her take the lead in more films in the future, be they animated or live-action. Her natural charisma allows her to elevate simple plots and characters, turning them into memorable ones.Â
