Written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
Producer Chris Meledandri
Starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, Julie Andrews
Music Heitor Pereira
Steve Carell returns as Gru in Despicable Me 3, the third entry in a once-enjoyable franchise, but not even the great Michael Scott can make much of an impression on this forgettable threequel. The original wasn’t a masterpiece by any means, but it delivered real laughs and a surprising amount of heart. Those ingredients are still here, just in the sort of quantities you’d find in a hotel mini-fridge.
The film finds Anti-Villain League agent Gru and his wife, Lucy (Kristen Wiig), failing to stop former child star Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker) from stealing the world’s largest diamond. They’re promptly fired, leaving Gru jobless and directionless. Then a message arrives from his long-lost twin brother, Dru (also Carell), who invites the family to Freedonia and talks Gru into returning to villainy, while Bratt quietly plots revenge.
Carell’s Gru is about what you’d expect: some laughs, some silence. It’s nice to hear him play two characters who talk to each other, but that trick is hardly new. South Park and Team America fans will be glad to see Trey Parker join the franchise as Bratt, but he’s used so sparingly that he’s easy to forget. The rest of the cast does an adequate job and not much more.
There are a few funny moments, but only a few are laugh-out-loud funny, which is a problem for a comedy. The film runs on slapstick and potty humor, which the kids will love, fortunately. Wit is in short supply, and in its place we get a lot of screaming and a few too many glimpses of Gru’s rear. On the bright side, the Minions (Pierre Coffin) don’t hog the screen this time.
The biggest problem is that the film can’t commit to a single story. Random subplots keep popping up, then either go nowhere or get wrapped up in a hurry: an accidental engagement, the Minions in prison, the hunt for a unicorn. None of it matters much, and together it leaves the movie feeling messy and cluttered.
I started getting tired of this franchise after Minions in 2015, and this one didn’t bring me back. It’s no groundbreaking work, and it’s probably the weakest of the series, but it does offer a few laughs and a way to keep your kids busy for an hour and a half. Who knows, you might even enjoy it a little yourself, but that’s not a guarantee.
