Minions (2015)

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If one were to take the time to try to pinpoint when exactly the Minions got to be a bit too much for some people, I would probably point to this film in particular. It follows the formula of so many cinematic failures by putting the "funny character(s)" front and center. It always seems to take away from the charm of these character(s) we got from the beginning by offering up too much of them. Sometimes they hit, but most of the time they miss, and this is one such example. This was when "Minions" started to get plastered on everything!

I had the same thing happen in my childhood with 'Ninja Turtles', so in some ways, no big deal. The only thing about the Minions is that they are solely reliable on their cuteness. They speak Gibberish (or "Minionese," as it has now been established), and their original purpose was to be a good dose of background/side comedy relief. So to do a whole plot about their origin might feel like a bit of a stretch for some. Having said all of that, while I am totally guilty of falling for their cuteness, I still think they work better as they were originally intended. There's just too much sugar in this, and you might end up leaving with a cavity.

The film kicks off with narration by Geoffrey Rush, explaining that Minions evolved from single-celled organisms and became little yellow tic tac-looking beings with eye-magnifying goggles. These little guys who have since become known as "Minions" serve only one purpose - to work for the biggest baddie in town. Admittedly, this makes the opening to the movie kind of hilarious, as if there's one thing the Minions do really well, it's to accidentally kill their master in the silliest and most mundane ways. For example, Dracula gets nailed with sunlight just because the Minions try to wake him up with a surprise birthday party.

After going through boss after boss after boss, the Minions find themselves without purpose, and the begin life anew inside a cave. They reside there for years, until 1968, when eventually, a Minion named Kevin (Pierre Coffin, who also lends his voice to the rest of the Minions) decides to set out with a couple of other volunteers, Stuart and Bob (Stuart being a little more "voluntold"), to find a new master and regain purpose in their lives. This takes them to New York City, where they learn of "Villain-Con", which will be taking place in Orlando. With any luck, they'll find their new boss there.

For a little bit, it turns into a road trip movie, but eventually they reach the Con, where they come across the likes of supervillain extraordinaire, Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), whose primary focus is the Queen Elizabeth II's crown. Could she end up being the Minion's primary boss? Anyway, now that I've told you half of the entire movie, it kind of goes to show how little there is to it all. Plus, we all know who they end up working for in the end, anyway. Really, this is nothing more than a "bridge" movie that probably should have just come straight to video.

For me, this is about as cutesy as I can take from these little yellow dudes. It's fun in its own way, but I can't help but see how blatantly they ripped off their own characters, as Kevin, Stuart and Bob who are essentially Minion versions of Margo, Edith and Agnes, respectively, with their personalities. It's practically cut-and-paste. Further criticisms of mine include the overuse of Beatles gags when there's plenty more British pop culture to pick from, and Scarlet's God-awfully annoying husband, Herb (Jon Hamm) who was just far too over-the-top for my taste.

When considering this series as a whole, one can quite honestly watch the first bit of "educational" material to this movie, then just make a jump to 'Rise of Gru'. Although the movie is funny, cute, and has quite a bit of genuine laughs for the right audience, it's ultimately a bit of a throw-away for the series, and altogether relatively pointless. It's a bit of harmless fun, and there's nothing particularly wrong with it. But It's something to watch, if at all, on a Sunday afternoon on your small screen at home.

3/5

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