‘Despicable Me 4’ Review: It Wasn’t Despicable
There’s nothing like another entry in the Despicable Me franchise to get families and Zoomers to the theater. When my friends and I were planning a cinematic excursion this past weekend, no matter what other film was suggested, we all knew there was only one real option: Despicable Me 4. Not content to experience the picture at an AMC or Regal, we took it in at the Nitehawk Cinema in Prospect Park, a dine-in theater with table service (I recommend the Mega Minion dessert).
Why do we do this? Is it for the meme? Yes, partially. But I think there’s more to it than that. We were kids when the original film was released in 2010, and we have grown up with this franchise. We had a genuine curiosity to see what Gru, his family and his world-famous minions are up to this time, and a hope that this 5 billion dollar franchise could still entertain us like it used to. So — did it?
The Despicable Plot
To be clear, I don’t say “despicable” as in “living up to the themes of the franchise,” but as in “really bad.” I wasn’t expecting much from the story of Despicable Me 4, and I was still let down. There isn’t really much of a story to speak of. But just for you, I’ll go through it nevertheless.
Gru (Steve Carell) attends a reunion at his alma mater, the Lycee Pas Bon School of Villainy. A former classmate of his, Frenchman Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), holds a grudge against Gru for once stealing his talent show act (I would be pretty mad too). He turns himself into a human-roach hybrid and reveals his plan to take over the world (I probably wouldn’t do that), but Gru helps the Anti-Villain League stop him. Maxime’s girlfriend Valentina (Sofia Vergara) breaks him out of prison, and we learn that he has an army of roaches at his command, and plans to create more hybrids.
The AVL relocates Gru and his family under new identities to keep them safe. They move into a replica of their house in this affluent town, and Gru tries to befriend their wealthy neighbors, the Prescotts. Unfortunately, Mr. Prescott finds him quite bizarre. His daughter Poppy, however, is an aspiring supervillainess, and she threatens to expose his true identity unless he helps her pull a heist: stealing a honey badger named Lenny from the villain school, which is a requirement for admittance. They pull it off successfully, but the elderly principal Übelschlecht recognizes Gru on the security cam and informs Maxime about his whereabouts. Maxime and Valentina then kidnap Gru. Jr. Gru confronts Maxime on a roof, and Maxime reveals he has turned Gru. Jr into a roach hybrid. Maxime commands Gru. Jr to attack Gru, but Gru’s loving words manage to break his son out of Maxime’s control. Gru. Jr distracts Maxime, giving Gru an opening to punch the insectile villain. He falls off the roof and is then punished in cartoon fashion — with thing after thing, including minions, falling on him — before he and Valentina are arrested. Gru. Jr. is returned to normal, and Gru visits Maxime in prison to settle their differences. The film ends with the two performing “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” for the prisoners, including Gru’s past adversaries such as Vector and El Macho.
The Not-So-Despicable Humor (and Heart)
If this film has a saving grace, its definitely the minions (all voiced by Pierre Coffin). While Gru and his family are in the Anti-Villain Protection Program, the AVL takes in the minions and experiments on a few of them, turning them into superheroes (“Mega Minions”). Dave becomes big and super strong, while Gus becomes rocket-shaped, wears a cape and flies. Tim can stretch like Reed Richards (and Plastic Man, the Elongated Man, Elastigirl, etc.), Mel gets laser vision like Cyclops, and Jerry becomes a rock guy like the Thing (Illumination’s mockery of the MCU was quite amusing — they sure do deserve it).
Immediately, the hilarious insanity (insane hilarity?) begins: the Mega Minions walk into a room full of the regular old non-super minions, who greet them as adoring fans. One is even waving pom-poms and wearing an “I ❤️ MEGA DAVE” shirt. Mega Dave high fives him, which sends him flying across the room. He’s caught by Mega Gus, but when he takes a selfie with Gus, Gus puts his hands on his hips to pose heroically, therefore dropping the minion on a microwave. Another minion was about to reheat his coffee in the now broken microwave, so Mega Mel helpfully points his laser at it. Obviously, this quickly turns unhelpful, as it goes straight through the mug and through the planet, smashing through an igloo and destroying a satellite. Mega Jerry uses his rocky body to stop the laser, but now his head is on fire, which another minion resourcefully uses to cook a hot dog. When they’re later unleashed on a do-gooding mission, it fails about as spectacularly as you would expect.
Not all of the minion humor relates to the Mega Minions — a simple recurring gag about a minion stuck in a vending machine is quite funny. And the minions don’t provide all of the successful humor. Gru’s Jr., with his angry, stubborn faces at his father, and his stealthy stealing of his sister’s food (what his generation calls a “fanum tax“), got a lot of laughs as well.
There were two scenes in the film that were emotionally moving. At the beginning of the movie, Gru’s youngest adopted daughter, Agnes, is given a pet goat. She loves the goat and starts teaching it tricks. But when they have to go into hiding, the AVL takes the goat, and the two share a very sad goodbye. At the end of the film, once the family has moved back home, the goat also returns, and it’s a very heartfelt reunion. It’s a generic, low-effort attempt to add some pathos to this film, let’s be honest, but it’s something, and it does kind of work. All in all, the cuteness factor in the film is as successful as ever.
The Future of Yellow Guys
With Minions 3 releasing in 2027, it seems the culture’s current “yellow guy” will enjoy a two-decade reign. I, for one, hope that a new yellow guy rises to dominate the 2030s. But just as Woodstock, Pac-Man, the Simpsons and Spongebob are still around, I have no desire to see the Minions disappear. They are a font of pure and simple fun. Their songs and antics bring so much joy to children and adults all over the world. I love those little guys. May Illumination find interesting new situations to put them in so they can continue to amuse and delight us for many years to come.
