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Kyle Balda
July 1, 2022
One can always enjoy slapstick comedy in moderation. As for “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” it sneaks in a lifetime’s worth of farts and giggles into one 90-minute session. But careful parents, this cartoon might be worth the watch. The film does its very best to prevent itself from being a babysitter to a theater full of kids. For the first time since “Up,” adults too can appreciate a PG movie.
The fifth installment of Despicable Me gives an 11 and 3/4-year-old Gru who desperately wants to become a super villain. Now the chance to kickstart his despicable career finally comes when The Vicious Six gang, a team made up of the worst criminals in the world, is looking for a new member. Gru thinks he has what it takes and attends the interview in high hopes. Yet after a not-so-quick examination, the Viscous Six pass him off as too young for the group and ask him to leave.
Although the plot doesn’t reach the same bar as “Despicable Me” did in 2010, it is once again saved by the underrated foolishness of the Minion/Gru power team. It finds the perfect exposure between Gru and the Minions. As we learned from the 2015 “Minions” flick, the yellow pill-shaped animals (or something like that) can’t carry a movie, and need Gru to balance out their silliness. The film flies by and 90 minutes feels like a trailer, and intentional or not the pace of jokes flies at just the right speed. It gives the viewer enough time to appreciate them but not enough time to understand the ridiculousness of them.
For the past few years, bad news has reached all corners of the globe almost daily, and for those who haven’t become completely numb to reality this film is the best antidote. The nonsense that the franchise has kept up with for the past 12 years makes a timely appearance, and for once the Minions banging on each other’s head with inadament objects finally makes sense.
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