Minions: The Rise of Gru

Let’s be honest. It was never about the human characters in the Despicable Me films series. It’s the little yellow twinkie-shaped creatures that are the real stars.

The Minions movies take place before the proper franchise. The second prequel is subtitled The Rise of Gru and is set in 1976. Criminal mastermind Gru is an 11-year-old who desperately wants to join the Vicious 6, a criminal organization of six supervillains. They recently expelled one of their members, and now they’re auditioning for a new replacement. Gru applies, but when the group sees he’s just a kid, they reject him. To prove himself, he successfully steals a powerful amulet called the Zodiac Stone that the crew has newly acquired. He intends to give it back in hopes he will earn their respect. However, one of the Minions — I believe his name is Otto — trades the precious talisman for a pet rock. Now everyone is on the chase to reacquire the charm. Helping the Minions on their quest is Master Chow (Michelle Yeoh), an acupuncturist and Kung Fu fighter. There’s also a biker (RZA) that Otto befriends on his way to San Francisco.

Of course, the story is beside the point. The whole purpose of these movies is to highlight the silly, crazy antics of those lovable rapscallions. There is something so quixotically engaging about their behavior. At one point, three of them — Kevin, Stuart, and Bob — pose as two pilots and a flight attendant to sneak on board a plane so they can fly to San Francisco. It’s a hilarious display. The Minions have this certain indefinable “je ne sais quoi.” The Minions are the humor found in slipping on the peel of a banana — an English word often heard in their cryptic polyglot language. This is comedy at its most elemental. It is impossible to explain the joy of slapstick to the unconverted. Like trying to analyze why the goofy hijinks of The Three Stooges or Benny Hill are funny. You either get it, or you don’t. However, if you have young kids, they will definitely want to see this.

Quite honestly, there are enough gags for both children and adults to appreciate. Check out the starry ensemble that’s doing the voices of the Vicious 6. Taraji P. Henson, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, and Alan Arkin all do an amusing riff on their personas for knowledgeable viewers that are in on the joke. Another gag highlights the time it takes to dial a number on a rotary phone. A child won’t even recognize what that object is. The soundtrack includes a hip cadre of indie stars doing covers of popular songs of the era. Delight to new versions of “Funkytown,” “Dance to the Music,” and “Fly Like an Eagle” that pop up at perfectly timed moments. At a funeral, the Minions sing the choir opening from “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones. Oh, I laughed…a lot. An affirmation of fun is precisely why Minions: The Rise of Gru entertains and ultimately satisfies as a piece of entertainment. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot famously mused, “Do I dare to eat a peach?” In the Minions case, it’s a banana, and the answer is most assuredly YES.

06-30-22