Movie Review: "Despicable Me"

5. This film is something of a conundrum: It's seldom surprising, not nearly as good as this summer's other animated blockbuster, "Toy Story 3," and packed with enough manipulative, doe-eyed cuteness to give me diabetes.

4. Yet, despite every ounce of grouch burned deep within my soul, I like this movie -- not a lot, but enough to be satisfied leaving the theater, a horribly rare feeling this summer.

3. Steve Carrell voices Gru, an aging criminal mastermind who looks like he was ripped out of a Chas Addams cartoon, (Is that you Uncle Fester?), who adopts three orphans in a nefarious scheme to steal a shrink ray from his nemesis, Vector (voiced by Jason Segel, who manages not to show his junk as in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall") and a collection of yellow minions that look like the bastard children of 1970s Weeble Wobbles and those green guys who worship "The Claw" in "Toy Story."

2. Gru, of course, only wants to use the kids but falls in love with cuteness of the children and ends up doing the right thing in the end -- all stuff that's expected from the first poster outside the movie marquee to the final credit.

1. Despite being an obvious collection of derivatives and a ruthlessly predictable plot, "Despicable" is funny enough to have gotten me to laugh out loud a couple times and respect a product that delivers what it promises: a movie that's all heart.


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"Despicable Me"
Run time: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Rated PG
Genre: Animated-Family
Director: Chris Renaud
Cast: Jason Segel, Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Julie Andrews
Finney's Flicks Grade: B-