Despicable Me satirizes the modern conundrum of family vs career within a capitalistic society in a humorous parody of professional rivalry, set within the nefarious world of the super criminal underworld. The sinister maturing Gru and younger wiley Vector, two forces who would be reckoned with vie for backing from the evil bank necessary to cary out their evil plans. Hell bent on not only carrying out their sinister plots, but driven to be champions before the eyes of their industry, and consequently gaining the approval of their mothers, this portrait of industrial espionage and soul searching ruthless exploitation feels more like Baby Boom than 007. And although hopelessly out of whack within a PC sense of propriety, yet completely in sync with pop culture, we are given a clear picture of the path by which we discover we may serve a purpose beyond the grandiose, inflated egotistic fantasies of youth, or even the society-driven, adult, career aspirations.
The result, the traditional struggle between the egoist self and the altruistic higher human-nature (as visited upon one when encountering a creature weaker and in need, who stands on strength - unpossessed naturally, granted via inspiration into unknown faith) which should have been possessed by all, easily by any stronger souls involved, but eventually alone provided by the challenged and failing hero, a morose yet lovable villian.
I found the storyline, as previously stated, familiar, but the execution was distinctly foreign. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise as it is a native French film. The children were far more self-sufficient than if they had been normal American whiners, and their thicker-skinned response to the abject humiliation launched upon them by the adults in their charge, allowed the story to progress in far more interesting and fully developed fashion than if we'd gotten all hitched up in the question of emotional scarring and appropriateness of response to an orphaned and/or young child. Much like the early Disney films which portray base abuse issues, potentially dangerous propaganda if left unchecked =true, but wherein allows for the exploration of the darker side of parenting and the adoptive guardian role, exposing a more insightful and interesting side of the human condition than in most films - and not only family films I might add - today.
I'm not suggesting the script is a masterpiece, but it does follow the backwards hero engineering of the likes of the Absurdists. That difference coupled with the distinctly skewed perspective of the little girl orphans featured in the story, makes for a truly enjoyable experience. I must admit a terrible affection for the quirks installed in the childrens' characters by their wonderful dialogue. "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!" is about the best crazed declaration by a 6 yr old w a unicorn fetish I can imagine. Their perseverance towards the simpler pursuits bent on enjoying life kept perspective firmly in place within the whimsical framework of the story.
Characteristic of this charming affectation, the "minions" themselves manage to truly steal the show with their blind devotion to a seemingly Impossible master, the scathingly conniving, viciously ruthless, coldly indifferent, Gru - Criminal Mastermind Extrordinairé (an almost undetectable Steve Carell). The Play-doh looking, goggle wearing, lab workers' dauntless enthusiasm for any task set before them, and their buoyant attitudes facing the sadistic caprices of their mad scientist master drives not only the physical progress throughout much but the story but ultimately aides the audience in believing in the little girls' (albeit Helsinki syndromesque) fierce affection for Gru, and thus sells the final conviction of the ultimate attachment between the unlikely family members.
Befittingly, the S3D was used very well to accentuate these extreme perspectives. Many times the inter ocular is set to exaggerate the hugeness of any powerful technologically esoteric device, gifting magic POV to the 3D audience - an effect I though a rather gratifying reward for wearing glasses (then again 3D is a rather gratifying reward for having to sit in a darkened theater on a lovely afternoon just to get a good story too). Roller coasters, outer space, goofy super villian hide-out/killer-weapons/killer pets, fantastic super human feats of physical dexterity or super cute all-to-human expressions of jubilation by dexterous feet, all sensationally exploited to push the fantasy perspective innate to the native audience (and subsequent heroines) of the story - the Child's world of wonder.
When deciding to exaggerate stereo depth, the filmmakers of Despicable Me chose to place the nearest floating point of convergence well within the comfort zone of the negative z. This doesn't mean to suggest however that this restricted their use of stereo depth, as I felt they simply shifted their point of convergence further along the positive egress of the z into the shot, to compensate when a composition demanded more depth than might have been comfortable but still wanted for absurd proportions. I was most impressed by a display of exactly this sort of illusion in dynamic portrayal at the end credits, wherein a bumbling trio of "minions" (a lá 3 Stooges) attempt to touch the screen plane. But by pushing the convergence point forward slowly and almost undetectably throughout, the "minions" are continually able to strive towards the audience without success. All in all, I felt the use of the 3D was playful yet painless - a difficult combination to come by in today's stereo hyped hyper converged cinema society.
- Posted via pan-dimensional force of will, sans benefit of technology
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