Love is a dangerous mission ...even for a villain

Rating: 8/10 (9 July 2013)

Contains no spoilers
Life has certainly changed for Gru (Steve Carell) since the first Despicable Me (2010). He's now a respectable family man as well as eligible single father on his block which has a nosy neighbor and his daughters pushing him into the dating pool. Instead of devising plots to take over the world, he and thousands of minions along with Dr. Nefario try to corner the market in jelly making. Yes, life has definitely changed for Gru ...or has it in the sequel, Despicable Me 2? In this movie, Gru faces a larger challenge than being recruited by AVL (Anti-Villain League) for a mission. It's juggling the challenge of falling in love and handling your eldest daughter's sudden interest in boys at the same time. This reviewer can certainly relate.
She enjoyed how the writers delicately handled the adult theme and complexities of Gru's falling head over heels for his fellow AVL agent Lucy (Kristen Wiig) without it being done overly dramatic or over the top that the kids would find too gross for them to enjoy the movie. It was handled in way even some of younger viewers could understand and laugh at the goofy things we adults go through when trying to ask a woman out on a date. There is one scene within Despicable Me 2 that fully explains why Gru has a difficult time meeting women that got plenty of laughs from all ages. Nice to see that the cooties joke is still popular with kids today. On the flip side, what's a kid's movie today without the occasional fart joke (as if this movie needed 23 to prove how funny they are)? *sighs* They may be funny but didn't generate much laughs from this reviewer's daughter ...perhaps she wasn't the target age group for that.
Also this reviewer liked the movies unique notion that villains are hiding amongst us including hatching evil plans inside our local malls like Eduardo/El Macho (Benjamin Bratt) who's son has caught the eye of Gru's eldest daughter. This sets up a the funny situation where Gru becomes the over protective father and then comforter when she experiences her first heartache. However, it's the minions that really keep this movie afloat and mostly funny especially when they insert iconic 70s nostalgia (i.e. YMCA and yes, there was a parent who actually embarrassed their kids with the infamous hand movements in the theater) to include the adult/parent viewer within the plot of Despicable Me 2. A word of caution - the intense scenes featuring the mutated purple minions might be a little too scary for viewers under 4. They did make a few kids cry .
Overall, Despicable Me 2 is a fairly decent family movie that kids of all ages can enjoy . Don't leave when the credits roll at the end of the movie or you might miss the funny extras!