film review: despicable me

Review by Kimberley Carey.

Despicable Me, the latest offering of 3D animated kids flicks, is the typical story of hard-hearted lonely man, Gru (Steve Carell), finding redemption by means of three orphaned girls.

Unlike recent offerings such as Up or Toy Story 3, Despicable Me aims itself primarily at kids, with no real adult-friendly themes. That is not to say that there is nothing in this movie for the 12 plus crowd: it is cleverly written and the jokes and slapstick comedy are genuinely funny. Gru’s character arc, while not exactly deep, is sincere and explores themes that are enough for a 12-year-old to relate to.  For example, Gru’s relentlessly apathetic mother and his interactions with arch-nemesis Vector (Jason Segel), which resembles something that’s more like a childish competition than two evil geniuses battling it out.

The choice of vocal leads is brilliant.  Steve Carell as the would-be super villain Gru, Jason Segel as the techno geek ADD nemesis Vector, and Russel Brand as the senile inventor Dr. Nefario, all bring individuality and character to their portrayals, as opposed to just sounding like their easily-identifiable selves.

Though the real appeal of this film for me is its absolute cuteness. From the little yellow overall-clad minions to Gru’s adopted daughters and their big eyes, and yes, even the cheesy scene at the end when Gru finally embraces his fatherly role, the cinema was filled with the sounds of my “AWWWW’s” at every intentionally adorable and sentimental moment.