Despicable Me 2

Directed by Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud. Written by Ken Daurio (screenplay), Cinco Paul (screenplay).Starring Steve Carell (Gru), Kristen Wiig (Lucy), Benjamin Bratt (Eduardo/ El Macho).

Bottom line: Pretty lame movie. I didn't really want to see it and I wish I hadn’t.

1.5/4

Steve Carell as the criminal mastermind, Gru, returns in Despicable Me 2. He retires from the exciting life of super villainy to raise his three daughters in peace. A secret formula for a chemical that transforms ordinary animals or people into murderous purple monsters has been stolen and Gru, who has been recruited by an international organization that captures super villains, is on a mission to recover the formula and save the world.

I like Carell as Gru as far as it goes. I believe that he is genuinely trying to make children laugh. I didn’t like many of the jokes but I do support the noble intent. Just like the first one, I thought the three girls were adorable. There is a scene in the beginning during Agnes’s (the youngest daughter played by Elsie Fisher) birthday party. Gru tried to order a fairy princess actor to make an appearance but when the actor cancels, what is he to do? He dresses up in the costume and throws fairy dust everywhere. Agnes jumps with joy before turning the other attendee’s attention to cake. Before leaving, she leans over and says, “Pssst, I know it’s you, Gru. I just acted like that for the other kids.” How sweet! The interactions between Gru and the girls are happy, pleasant and sincere. I wasn’t a big fan of Gru’s new super spy partner Lucy (Wiig). I found her goofy and unnecessary. There was a romantic subplot between Lucy and Gru and between the eldest daughter and some ‘dreamy guy’ but it isn’t anything to write home about.

The jokes in Despicable Me 2, overall, were lame standard fare in terms of children’s movies: pelvic thrusts, fart jokes, getting hit in the groin, fat people jokes, etc. Now, why, for all that is good in the world, must we have silly dancing sequences? This movie has three! I’m just going to let this subject go because, I believe, I have addressed it in previous reviews, but it suffices to say that I find such scenes uncomfortable not amusing.

The majority of this movie is goofy and unnecessary so feel free to pass on Despicable Me 2. It doesn’t do the original justice. If I had kids, I wouldn’t take them to see this movie; it just goes to the lowest common denominator for a cheap, immature laugh. I’m giving it a half a point for its efforts at trying to be a pleasant movie and one point for the animation and the few funny jokes.