![]() The level of invention in these moments is fascinating, from the special incomprehensible language the Pac-Man like workers use to the various dastardly deeds Gru takes credit for. Nefario (Russell Brand, bringing the batty). Gru lives in an Addams Family inspired house in the middle of the suburbs, heads to a local coffee shop to get his morning pick-me-up, and frequents an underground laboratory complete with hundreds of comic yellow minions and a senile old assistant named Dr. On the one hand you have an Incredibles-like post modern update on the notion of evildoers and their lives outside of chaos. He will use them to infiltrate Vector’s lair, giving him access to the weapon, and its lunar diminishing powers.ĭespicable Me definitely feels like a film working against itself and at cross purposes. When said competitor makes off with a much needed shrink ray gun, Gru goes to a local orphanage and takes custody of a trio of tykes – Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). In this case, our amiable anti-hero wants to commit a crime so great it will draw attention away from his younger rival Vector (an unrecognizable Jason Segel). By the third or fourth “aw shucks” moment, we want to get back to the business at hand. Watching an old fussbudget like Gru (voiced with accented perfection by Steve Carrell) work his way around three adorable urchins is a lot like observing kittens playing the piano – it’s button adorable initially, but rather limited in its returns. This doesn’t make Despicable Me a bad movie, just one that doesn’t quite understand where its potential joys truly lie. What should be funny and biting is instead cloying and occasionally smothered in syrupy schmaltz. So what does this otherwise capable movie do? It tries to humanize its main baddie by giving him three little girls to care for, rendering the main portion of the narrative a non-stop collection of cute. Toss in an alternative reality where an evil bank backs their various nefarious activities and a competitive drive toward stealing the moon and you have the makings of a fun frolic that easily crosses genre lines – part anarchy, part adventure. A movie about competing super villains already has a built-in fanbase, a comics raised constituency more than happy to embrace the misadventures of some high-minded, accident prone bad guys. Someone needed to tell that to the makers of the new CG family film Despicable Me. ![]() ![]() Some ideas don’t need “improving.” They could make fine entertainments all their own. ![]()
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