Despicable Me 4

August 2 – 8

7 pm nightly
1:30 Sat & Sun Matinées
2024 – Comedy / Family / Animated
G — 1h 35m

Despicable Me 4 won’t win any prizes, but if you like this kind of thing, you’ll like this thing. I laughed. The dumber and more random the jokes, the harder I laughed. The kids I saw it with laughed harder. Often what’s onscreen is humor no more sophisticated than a young father goofing around while putting a sock on his son’s foot, pretending to miss it over and over and yelling “Whoops!” each time. Gru, the reformed bad guy turned bad-guy-battler who was introduced in the 2010 original, is a try-hard dad-as-amateur-entertainer, muttering nervous inanities even when no actual children (or childlike minions) are around to interact with. He’s the ex-supervillain as Silly Daddy, never funnier than when he’s making a fool of himself on purpose or by accident.

The cast delivers engaging voice performances, with Carell and King leading the pack. As Gru, Carell retains the villain’s signature irritability while also touching on the vulnerable enthusiasm of raising his new infant. Trying to bond with Gru Jr., who rejects his paternal affection, becomes top priority for this dad. The other mission is to befriend the country-club family next door, who seemingly want nothing to do with their neighbors. Perry (Stephen Colbert) treats Gru with cutting disdain, and through their interactions the subtle cruelty of this suburb is evident. Patsy (Chloe Fineman) is friendlier, and even invites Gru and Lucy to the country club for drinks and tennis.

The fate of the Minions offers some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments and impressively detailed animation. Silas enlists the gaggle of yellow beings to train as the Anti-Villain League’s top agents. A select group of them undergo an experimental treatment that turns them into super Minions. Their training sequences — both at AVL headquarters and in the city — stick to the tradition of Illumination animators having fun with the Loony Tunes-style bits. They also end up, somewhat ironically, grounding Despicable Me 4, which can get dizzying with its twists and turns. When in doubt of direction, just trust the Minions. The movie isn’t big on plot, but its goofy, loud characters, quick side jokes, and brightly colored environments male it worth seeing on the big screen.