REVIEW: ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’

By Luke Fatovic

Gru Saved My Life

It never seems to end, does it? Every day we wake up to see a new headline spelling humanity’s demise. Whether it be incoming asteroids, spy balloons, or the newest, deadliest pandemic, there is no escaping the horrible pit deep within one’s stomach when confronted with such horrible realities. I become further discouraged when I look within our own nation; how partisan squabble hijacked the realm of political discourses; the return to pre-Roe standards and the rise of tolerant attitudes towards hate-speech. To me, there seems no solution… we are simply doomed. 

It was just the other night as I was lying in bed, my skin covered by a glistening layer of sweat, tossing and turning in a futile attempt to escape the day’s news. The sheets felt like saran wrap and my pillow a lump of coal. Argghhh! I woke up from a terrible stress dream. What to do, what to do… Yes! A movie. A movie will distract me from this cold, cold world. With my friends long asleep as it was one of those campus-wide weeks where all students wear a face of despair, it was my only solution. I myself had two exams the next day and a five-pager due after that, but nothing would allow me to sleep if I continued to wade in my pool of stress.

I scrolled, and scrolled and scrolled some more. Hopped to the next platform, then hopped back. Any sports on tonight? No. YouTube? No. HBO’s newest drama-filled murderfest? Not tonight. But just as I was giving up, the beads of sweat finally drying against my forehead, my finger involuntarily twitched and a title started playing:

MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU

HOLY FUCK! As an ardent Despicable Me fan, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Tears began to form as I pondered how I could have been so painfully unaware of the existence of another Gru movie, let alone had it slip my radar for nine months. None of that mattered now. I sat back in bed and began to feel the poison within my brain drip down to and eventually out of my body. This was it. Gru was my saving grace. 

It feels only fair then, since this movie saved my life, that I convince you why it may save yours. Minions: The Rise of Gru is a sweeping story of life and love, of doing the hard thing when it is hardest done and of believing in the little characters in life that may be so easy to write off as ‘useless’. Writers Mathew Fogel and Brian Lynch collaborated to give the world its long deserved reprise from its regularly scheduled gloom. Their film introduces us to a slew of characters new to the Despicable Me universe: Belle Bottom, Wild Knuckles, Svengeance, Nun-Chuck, and more. Their names? Ridiculous. Their hijinks? Even more so. Every character in this film is vying for villain glory. They cut corners, double-cross ‘friends’ and at all times pursue their most masterful criminalistic ploys, keeping the audience – us –on our toes. 

All of this tomfoolery takes place in the smashing 70s. We follow the Minions we know and love – Kevin, Stuart, and Bob – plus a new Minion, Otto, on their mission to save ‘mini-boss’, better known as 11-year-old Gru. Don’t let this make you think he’s any less despicable – if anything, our pint-sized protagonist concerns himself with far more disruptive antics. That’s right: the writers ensure we get our fair share of Gru-ligans (like hooligans, but Gru style). But despite the necessary comedic punches these Gru-ligans provide, they serve to supplement the film’s high-stakes plot: Gru discovers that his villain role models – The Vicious Six – are a malicious organization that has ousted their founder, Shaky Knees, from the group. Disappointed in his heroes, young Gru steals one of their prized possessions and a whacky pursuit ensues.

It’s a truly beautiful story that peels back the curtain on the calloused man we meet in the original Despicable Me. For Gru, villainy isn’t just about freezing customers in the coffee line to get his way. Instead, the pursuit of mayhem is a life-long journey to simply fit in. Gru’s story in The Rise of Gru appeals to everyone; we build up these characters in life, and more times than not, they fail to live up to expectations. In fact, they turn out to be conniving, self-interested actors who prop themselves up as gods. These people are everywhere – fame-obsessed celebrities, self-absorbed politicians, and shallow ‘friends’ who only seem to come around when they need something – and The Rise of Gru shows us how to navigate such a tricky world. 

Without giving too much away, I believe I have aptly teased the curious reader into watching this film. It’s light, fun, funny, and most importantly, a much needed distraction from this whirl-wind of a world. It currently lives on Netflix, so if you have a spare 90 minutes, and too much to worry about, I implore you to give Minions: The Rise of Gru a watch. 

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