Neither Despicable Nor Great

Rating: 6/10 (5 August 2010)

The premise of "Despicable Me" seemed simple. The idea was to take a colorful villain and put him at the center of a film. This idea stemmed from the notion that, in many Good v. Evil stories, the villain steals the show from the blander or less compelling protagonist (see "Austin Powers"). I applaud the creators of "Despicable Me" for their attempt, but not so much for their execution.
At the start of "Despicable Me," we see the allegedly dastardly Gru performing small acts of rudeness; he comes off immediately as a bully with a big car. We soon learn that Gru has assembled a horde of so-called "minions" to accomplish such wicked ends as stealing the statue of liberty and the Eiffel tower. Embracing the silliness of the archetypal megalomaniac, the film then creates a rivalry between Gru and fellow villain Vector, both of whom try to steal the moon. This overblown rivalry leads to scenes of eye-popping physical comedy. It also allows the film's creators to show off the hijinks of the minions, who manage to be both adorable and riveting to watch. While they don't always serve the plot, they're always a blast to behold, and they save the film from the masses of cookie-cutter animated films. Unfortunately, other aspects of the story cannot be saved from such a wasteland of incompetence.
The primary problem with "Despicable Me" is that it becomes a generic "curmudgeon softens up" story before too long. In an attempt to force the viewer to sympathize with the supposedly villainous Gru, the creators strip away his villainous qualities. Instead of wreaking havoc, Gru begins to learn what it takes to be a good father. Suddenly strapped with three kids, Gru becomes attached to them. Sadly, when he finally settles into his new lifestyle, a wrench enters the works. We've seen this plot line before, most notably in "Kramer v. Kramer," and it doesn't belong in such an otherwise silly and light-hearted film. As an attempt at emotional resonance, the father-figure story will work just fine for families, but it didn't work for me.
"Despicable Me" is a lean machine; I only wish it were a little meaner.What begins as a clever spin off of the superhero genre becomes a run-of-the-mill tale of parenting and love, but hey- at least it has minions.