DESPICABLE ME 3 – Review

So the CARS crew has barely finished a third lap and now another animated franchise is about to join them (or are they in their forth lap?). In 2010 Universal Studios teamed up with a plucky young computer animation company named Illumination to ride the box office tidal wave begun by the folks at Pixar. Their first smash was DESPICABLE ME, a raucous action comedy about an infamous super-villain mellowed when he becomes the foster-father to a trio of orphaned girls. Audiences embraced the title character of Dru and went bananas (that’s what they resemble, after all) over his horde of henchman, the yellow, yammering (nobody knows what their language is) minions. A sequel, DESPICABLE ME 3, followed of course, in 2013 in which Dru got a wife (and the girls got a mom), a super secret agent for good named Lucy. Then in 2015, came a “spin-off prequel” MINIONS, all about the origins of those adorable tablet-shaped terrors. Now, after two big hits last year (THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS and SING), Illumination and Universal deliver what some of the talent are calling the final chapter of the trilogy, DESPICABLE ME 3 (only theatre ticket sales will tell…).

 
As the film begins, we’re introduced to a new “super mastermind”, Balthazar Bratt (voice of Trey Parker). He’s a former child actor, star of the massive 80’s  TV ratings smash “Evil Bratt”. BB was living on top of the world until puberty hit him like a freight train full of tie-in merchandise (his face exploded with acne and upper-lip hair as his voice broke), and his show was canceled. Hungry for revenge, BB sets his sights on stealing a massive jewel from an ocean liner. Luckily two of the top AVL (Anti-Villain League) agents Dru (Steve Carell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) are on the case. During the wild fracas, the jewel is retrieved, but Bratt escapes. Later, at a big AVL meeting, new director Valerie da Vinci (Jenny Slate) fires the couple. Returning home, they try to put on a brave face for the girls, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Nev Scharrel). The minions, however, are finally fed up with Dru’s “good guy” ways and leave their lair (one duo remains loyal) on a journey that eventually lands them in the slammer. The next morning an odd ole’ duffer delivers a message: Gru’s twin brother Dru is footing the bill for a reunion trip to Freedonia (?). After a quick visit to his mum (Julie Andrews), who admits that he has a twin, Gru, Lucy, and the girls board a private jet that takes them right to the opulent estate of pig magnate Dru (Carell again). But he’s got a scheme. Seems that BB did succeed in grabbing the big jewel. Dru wants that rock and needs Gru to share his super villain skills. Now, that he’s no longer an AVL agent, will Gru return to his old ways and jump back to the other side of the law?

The two comedy kingpins at the center of this franchise are in fine, funny voice once more. Carell has perfected this odd “where is he from, Eastern Europe?” accent, giving Dru the same, slightly less confident lilt, and knows when to go in for the “kill”, delivering a scathing put-down or a painful “burn”. But he’s also capable of great warmth and tenderness, particularly when dealing with his “gurrls” and connecting with his wife. Wiig is all perky efficiency as the focused lady agent, but fumbles and stumbles as she tries to switch gears into nurturing parent mode. The best new addition is toon voice vet Parker as the sneering Bratt, as obsessed with his perfect 80’s high-top hair style as he is with his plans for world destruction (“Tinseltown” goes down first, of course). Andrews is very funny in her quick cameos and the kids are still endearing, with Cosgrove adept as the “mature beyond her years” voice of reason. Unfortunately the incredibly talented Ms. Slate is given little to do as the one-note, high-heeled shrew that sets the plot’s wheels in motion.

 
Yes, the plot, well the entire script, is truly the downfall of this installment. Perhaps it was thought that separating Gru from nearly all of the minions (whose “baby-talk” gibberish is starting to wear thin) would simplify the story, but their escapades seems too close to their last solo flick, though a TV talent show rendition of a Gilbert and Sullivan standard injects some much-needed energy to the flick (shame it’s just a couple of minutes). Bratt is a fun bad guy (a vast improvement over El Macho in number 2) with lots of wacky nods to campy fads of the 1980’s, but he leaves the film for almost 30 minutes (like a host at the Oscars). While the double dose of Gru and Dru elicits a few laughs (mostly concerning Dru’s lush, “TV shampoo ad” hair), the other subplots go nowhere (Lucy desperately trying to bond with the kids, Margo’s determined young local suitor, and the unicorn quest led by Agnes). And really, how can you set part of it in Freedonia and not have a couple of winks to that 30’s classic (a statue of Rufus T Firefly in the town square, or at least a “soup of the day” diner gag)? The colors pop, the character design is still engaging (would love an actual “Evil Bratt” figure) and the animation is slick and smooth (the high-tech jump-suits are a blast). It’s a real shame that the pacing is so off, making the film feel much longer than 90 minutes. Perhaps more slapstick and fewer attempts at pathos would have helped. Either way, for DESPICABLE ME 3, the third time’s not the charm. Now shoo, Gru!

2 Out of 5