So you want to enjoy a kid’s movie but you’re old enough to see an R-rated one (or worse, old enough to bring a minor into an R-rated movie)? Well, never fear. Most “kids movies” today contain a plethora of more mature humor aimed at enticing and entertaining parents that escort their little ones, as well as stoners looking for a good flick to amuse their eyes and highs. If you fit into these, or any other categories, here are some tips for getting by:

First, you might want some lubrication. I know “lubrication” is (hopefully) not a term you want to see in an article that repeatedly has the word “kids” in it, but bear with me for a second. Hitting up a happy hour, throwing back a few cocktails, or taking a hit of herb, crack, meth, acid (if you can handle watching 30-foot cartoon characters), or whatever before hitting the cinema can only enhance the entertainment value. It might ruin your life too, but who am I to judge? Don’t get too messed up though; as much as I don’t consider myself a role model by any stretch the imagination, I also don’t encourage anyone to get so blitzed that cause children to need therapy later in their lives after they see some degenerate streaking through the lobby while trying to grab some popcorn.

To remedy this potential situation, try attending the later showtimes instead. For this movie, we picked 10:40, because if there were still any impressionable youngsters at a move that ended after midnight, their parents probably already gave up on raising their offspring in any acceptable way.

Also, if the movie is a sequel, prequel, or remake (like Despicable Me 2, and 95% of the films coming out today) you might want to watch the other flicks in the series. Even if you’ve already seen them, it’d be good to refresh your memory for any running gags that may come up. This provides you a great opportunity for pre-viewing pre-gaming as well. You could even make a drinking (or mind-alterer of choice) game out of it. Just don’t get totally ripped if you’re driving. I walked there, and that’s about all I could handle at that point.

If you saw the first Despicable Me film, you’ll recall it features the voice of Steve Carell as Gru, the supposedly-super-evil super-villain who adopts three little orphan girls in an elaborate ploy to best a rival and steal the moon. Predictably (hey, it’s a kid’s movie) Gru grows attached to the three girls and eventually settles into the role of father.

The sequel picks up a few years later, with the protagonist now leading a simple life selling a line of jellies, having retired from super-villainy. However, as a former expert in this profession, he is called upon by the Anti-Villain League (AVL) to assist in the retrieval of a dangerous chemical compound and the villain-thief that stole it.

Like the original, the sequel delivered almost nonstop laughs, with some amusing adult humor sprinkled amongst the silly, immature slapstick that got laughs from kids to grownups. I assume most kids would laugh, because there were thankfully only one or two of them at the late-night show. It was mostly attended by twenty-somethings, who were in stitches the whole time. The AVL director’s last name was Ramsbottom, for crying out loud. Kids and adults will laugh at that for entirely different reasons. Though many jokes were set up with this duality, most managed to appeal to all ages.

Like the first movie, this one was ultimately about love, with Gru falling for Lucy Wilde, an AVL Agent voiced by Kristen Wiig. Although the second installment had a few more plot lines and subplots, they balanced out well in the end, although it might be harder to comprehend for the more fuzzy-minded viewers.

For the slower folk, the sight gags were aplenty, as were the minions, who may have stole the show once again.

The cast was hilarious, with Carell, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, and Kristen Wiig (in a different role than the first movie) all returning and not failing to please. Steve Coogan, Ken Jeong, and Benjamin Bratt made their Despicable debuts and managed to keep up with the rest. Did you know Bratt’s Eduardo/El Macho role was originally cast to Al Pacino, who left due to creative differences? I can’t even imagine what creative differences there could be in a children’s movie, especially ones that are worth quitting over. I guess you gotta stick to your principles.

 

So with the exception of someone that just plain hates animated movies (in which case: they probably aren’t on this site) there should be something for everyone in this film. It has every type of humor, an entertaining story, great actors, and its fair share of sentimental moments. You can bring your mom. You can bring your friends. You can even bring your kids; just please, not to the 10:40 showing, some of us are trying to keep our buzzes up.

 

(8/10)