Despicable Me

Movie review: Despicable Me is despicably funny

Gru, voiced by Steve Carrel, is no ordinary super villain. He is that quintessential creature who wants to be bad but discovers his latent goodness deep inside. In these types of situations his goodness can usually be found in his heart, which in a true Grinch fashion of the time, is melted under the effect of innocent children on his life. The children in question—Margo, Edith and Agnes—are adopted by Gru in order to complete a master plan to steal the moon as he races against time to beat Vector, a rival super villain. It may sound fairly ludicrous but this film provides great fun for the entire family.

Turning Tried and True into New and Unique

The children are not all that notable, but what is notable is how even the usually cliché ridden scenarios have been spiced up. The Orphanage the three girls come from is much more horrifying than Gru’s own home—which, with its Secret Laboratory, hound straight from Baskerville, and conglomeration of acidic material and weaponry is quite the villain’s lair. And this is what the creators of Despicable Me are so good at: taking a cliché and turning it on its head—not only providing a fresh take but poking fun at previous incarnations of these scenes. One example that especially comes to mind is the shark in Vector’s lair, which honestly was the most cheek splitting moment of the entire film and had the entire audience in stitches. If we had not been sitting I am sure many would have ended up rolling around on the floor, unable to stand any longer from laughing.

Hilarious Super Villains Fight for the Top Spot

Gru’s position as top dog in the super villain club is thwarted when a new villain—who goes by the name of Vector successfully steals a pyramid from Egypt. Trouble is, now Gru cannot get the financing from the Bank of Evil to fuel his project to steal the moon. Cue the girls and some pant-wetting hilarity. It might seem like a far-fetched plot, but the charm and pure fun with which it is carried out provides one of the best comedies of the year so far. Not even Toy Story 3 reached these heights of fun—although you can argue this is impossible when the characters boast nostalgia for our own childhoods rather than a fresh experience.