Reviewed by Alicia Glass

Review Rating: 8

Villian mastermind Gru, in attempting to pull off a master plan to steal the moon and thwart master villain wanna-be Vector, has his life turned upside down when he involves a trio of orphan girls who open his eyes.

Okay so, we all have periods in our life where we’re just like Gru – angry, depressed, and irritated with the entire world. Sometimes bad stuff happens and it just gets worse. But sometimes, right in the middle of assuaging the urge to just flat out put a beat down on that moron who just cut you off, something unexpected happens that turns all that annoyance into such ridiculousness you just have to laugh out loud! The entire movie, Despicable Me, is like that, and I think it’s just wonderful.

So yes, Gru is a villain. Or says he is, we’ll see what you think of it in the end. He has a lair in his house, you get to it by being shot through a defunct cannon. He has lots of minions, these little yellow guys who talk funny and do the dirty work, but despite being minions he actually treats them very well and even remembers all their individual names. Vector is an annoying rival villain sure, but it turns out he’s just a wanna-be anyway. And yes, Gru did adopt those three adorable cookie-selling orphans with the idea in mind of using them to gain access to Vector, sure. Originally. None of Gru’s plans work out quite the way he wanted them to, but enough to actually make him happy at the end. Margo, Edith and Agnes, in true child fashion, never let a silly thing like adult depression and take over the world goals get in the way of their innocence and fun!

Steve Carell dials in a wonderful performance as Gru, I think the best quote just has to be, “Liiiiiightbulb.” Jason Segel of Forgetting Sarah Marshall fame lends his voice to nerdy track-suit-wearing Vector, and Russell Brand stars as Gru’s helper scientist Dr. Nefario. Be sure to stay in the theater even as the credits are rolling, the outtakes from the minions are adorable!