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'Minions' Review: Sandra Bullock And Jon Hamm Steal The Show

This article is more than 8 years old.

Thumbnail: Minions has an inspired visual lunacy and some solid gags, but it can't sustain a feature-length story and barely tries to tell one. 

The Box Office:

Minions is the latest release from Illumination, the animation house that struck pay dirt back in 2010 with the offbeat "super villain becomes a patriarch" comedy Despicable Me. This film is of course a spin-off from that franchise, distributed once again by Universal/ Comcast Corp., with the focus being on the little yellow hench-things who proved to be the most popular element of the first two Despicable Me films. I don't have the budget for Minions, but Despicable Me cost $69 million to produce while Despicable Me 2 cost $76m, so I'm guessing this spin-off (which doesn't look any more expensive) cost around that ballpark. As such, it will likely be another hugely profitable entry in the ongoing "A-level animated films for B-level prices" studio.

The only question is whether or not Minions will make anything approaching the $970 million earned by Despicable Me 2 (absolutely not) or the $543m earned by Despicable Me (somewhat possible). The still somewhat green animated spin-off sub-genre basically comes down to the $554m grossing Puss In Boots and the $375m-grossing The Penguins of Madagascar last November. The Minions are basically most kids' favorite part of the Despicable Me franchise, and the film just-plain looks fun. Toss in the "never been hotter" Sandra Bullock in a starring role as the world's biggest supervillain and a media-friendly Jon Hamm also lending his vocals, and I'd put this one the higher end of expectations.

The Review:

Back when The Drew Carey show first began to pick up steam, star and co-creator Drew Carrey made a point to promise that he would not allow scene-stealing supporting character Mimi (Kathy Kinney) to take over the show and/or become so overused that she stopped being amusing. It's a classic trap to fall into in network television, think Family Matters or The Big Bang Theory, when one supporting or co-lead character so overpowers the rest of the cast that they both take over the show and become less funny by virtue of their omnipresence. It is to the credit of the makers behind Despicable Me 2, whatever other issues I have with the film, that they didn't allow the scene-stealing and kid-friendly Minions to take over the sequel back in 2013. But since the minions remain popular (and really easy to use in the marketing materials), it makes sense that we'd end up with a spin-off movie starring the little devils. Unfortunately, like those penguins of Madagascar, the minions work best in specific doses and can't quite justify a full-length feature. The irony is that the former supporting characters become less amusing when given the spotlight, and we end up wanting to see more of this film's supporting characters.

While they are pretty amusing as supporting characters and/or background gags, they don't necessarily have the potency to anchor an entire feature film, especially one that goes out of its way to avoid things like story structure or character arcs. I almost admire how much Minions eschews conventional narrative filmmaking rules in favor of absurdist sight gags. I just wished I laughed more. As you probably know, the lead characters (and their many cohorts) don't talk in a traditional sense, so it is indeed impressive that the film manages to tell something resembling a story starring characters who don't speak any recognizable language. Yet the picture makes two big stumbles along the way. First of all, while it introduces a whole host of minions in the prologue, it mostly focuses on just three of them. Secondly, the film is so fast and madcap that it doesn't really pause to milk some of the more interesting story turns for their comedic value. I don't want to be too hard on the film as it's clearly trying something a little different, but I won't pretend that I was adequately entertained.

The prologue establishes the notion that the minions precede humanity and basically live to serve the most evil master they can find. Sadly the film cheats its way around the more uncomfortable connotations of that plot thread. They basically hibernate through much of the 20th century, so no Goodwin's Law here, folks. The bulk of the action takes place in New York and London in 1968. The period details are charming and lush, and you can tell that Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin are having fun playing around in a rather atypical animated setting. Minions even pauses for a millisecond to acknowledge the political strife of the period, and I suppose I can't fault it for not lingering more on things like the Vietnam War or the Civil Rights Movement. The picture momentarily roars into focus towards the end of the first act, when our three "sent out into the world" minions stumble upon what amounts to a convention for super villains.

Writer Brian Lynch (who also co-wrote Puss In Boots) has lots of fun with this segment. Not only does it gently needle geek conventions but it also contains what is easily the best joke of the movie; a surprisingly violent sight gag that is merely one of several moments of brutal (but bloodless and discreet) violence being played for laughs. The star of the convention is one Scarlet Overkill, and Sandra Bullock is having the time of her life as the current queen of the super villain set. The minions eventually find themselves in her employ and the rest of the film deals with the fallout of her schemes. But her character, and her refreshingly non-antagonistic relationship with Herb Overkill (a delightfully daffy Jon Hamm), is so much more interesting and original than the minions themselves that I found myself wanting more of the two villainous lovers and less of the title characters. But the film gets bogged down in an increasingly generic "evil plots to be foiled and accidental heroes to be made" stuff right when it's becoming interesting.

Just once I'd like these films, obstinately about villains and their villainous agendas, to not go into the "But wait, they are heroes after all!" well. There is one brilliant plot turn in the second act, but it almost immediately gets undone and there is next to no attempt to juice said turn for any real comedy. And yes, a female super villain is unique enough in this day-and-age that I wanted more of Bullock doing her best wanna-be Blofeld, especially as she is quite good at it, and less of the minions going through the motions. And since the film doesn't really try to have character arcs for anyone, there is an obvious lack of thematic engagement as the film goes into "action climax" mode. If you're the sort who laughs at everything the minions do on principle, then you'll probably enjoy yourself more than I did. But for me the characters are funniest when they are placed in proper context, and giving them the spotlight makes them less amusing by default.

This isn't Puss In Boots, which crafted an original fairy tale adventure with a full-throated character arc and rich world building that just happened to star a minor supporting character from another franchise. Minions is basically a feature-length version of that weirdly amusing Rabids show, with the caveat being that it's 80 minutes long and that the supporting characters are more interesting than the leads.  I don't want to be too hard on Minions, if only because it's clearly not a disappointment born of laziness or apathy. The filmmakers were going for a somewhat anarchic spirit that is out-of-the-ordinary for mainstream American animated film, and I appreciate the things it didn't include. It's not remotely sentimental, there is no forced romance nor any real lessons to be learned. The periodic setting is a nice touch, there is at least one unexpected plot turn, and the film is amusingly indifferent towards (if not quite outright endorsing) the inherently villainous nature of its protagonists.

But I guess I wish it were funnier and I wish I laughed more than a half-dozen times. But my daughter laughed enough to give it a recommendation (although even she didn't care for the 3D, telling me to close one eye to make the image more enjoyable) and I imagine my younger son will be entertained if the occasion ever presents itself. Minions is definitely trying something a little bit wicked, and I appreciate that they have used the capital of the already established Despicable Me franchise to go a little nuts. That I didn't care much for it or laugh enough is merely an unfortunate end-result. You may-well laugh more, and Bullock and Ham are a hoot to the end.

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