Review

Despicable Me 3

Twin brothers Dru and Gru (both voiced by Steve Carell) are reunited after decades apart in Despicable Me 3 from the French animation studio Illumination.
Twin brothers Dru and Gru (both voiced by Steve Carell) are reunited after decades apart in Despicable Me 3 from the French animation studio Illumination.

Apparently, the French animation studio Illumination has some laughing gas still left in the tank. Just when it looked as if those goofy, bumbling Minions had lost their appeal, writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio have come up with just enough inspired silliness to merit another installment.

Apparently, the little yellow guys are at their most amusing if they show up during interludes instead of taking up the whole tale on their own. With Despicable Me 3, the real star of the series, former supervillain Gru (Steve Carell), is going through a serious crisis of faith because switching from evil to good has its downside.

Despicable Me 3

82 Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, Pierre Coffin, Steve Coogan, Julie Andrews, Jenny Slate, Michael Beattie

Directors: Eric Guillon, Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin

Rating: PG, for action and rude humor

Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

In this case, he and his secret agent girlfriend Lucy, (Kristen Wiig), have both lost their jobs at the Anti-Villain League. Things have gotten so bad that Gru's stepdaughter Agnes (Nev Scharrel) has sold her beloved plush unicorn to help him pay the bills.

Before self-pity can conquer Gru in a way that his previous antagonists couldn't, he receives a surprising invitation. In the faraway land of Fredonia, Gru's long-lost twin brother Dru (Carell again) asks to meet again.

Gru's less-than-loving mother (delightfully, if all too briefly, played by Julie Andrews) informs him that she and his father divorced during the lads' infancies and that she believes she got the short end of the deal. Finally meeting his twin doesn't help Gru's self-esteem. Dru has a full bank account (and not from the Bank of Evil) and a full head of flowing blond hair.

Dru also has a home full of pigs (apparently pork is a major Fredonian export) the way that his brother has the Minions, but he longs to be able to live up to his sibling's once feared reputation.

With a family of his own -- we're not talking about the Minions -- Gru wants to live down his criminal past, but hanging with his brother awakens the old adrenaline rush that comes from larceny. Even if their haul is only a pair of lollipops, the pursuit is certainly more fun than moping.

While the brothers get to know each other's wild side, a more menacing cad named Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker) is out to do more than simply swipe some candy.

A frustrated former child star (is there a greater type of villain out there?), Bratt wants to get back at Hollywood. So the mulleted menace has built a giant likeness of himself to crush La La Land. If that doesn't work, he has legions of robot toys that bear his likeness.

It's safe to say Bratt doesn't have a lack of self-esteem.

Having spent most of career working as the co-creator of South Park, it's easy to forget what a talented voice actor Parker is. He has a remarkable range and can carry tunes easily. His bitter smugness is a nice counterpoint to Carell's earnest take on both of his roles.

Paul and Daurio approach their current story with a kitchen sink attitude. They could probably get even more laughs out of Gru and Lucy adapting to parenthood. Agnes' obsession with unicorns leads to some amusing consequences.

Some of these story lines could make a solid movie on their own. Then again, it is rewarding to see Paul and Daurio trying to earn their keep instead of using the Minions as ATMs.

MovieStyle on 06/30/2017

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