A Despicable Letdown

"Despicable Me 2" (Rated PG/2013)

I'm not going to make a lot of friends saying this, especially considering the two lovely ladies I live with disagree with me, but I'm going to say it anyway: Despicable Me 2, despite its smashing box office success, is not a fraction as funny, clever, or enjoyable as the first one. Not even close. There I said it.

Don't get me wrong. I laughed at times. But at others, I was stone-faced. Or eyebrow-raised. Or worse, BORED. And that's just not like me. Maybe I went into it with high expectations. Either way, I was let down. Here are my gripes:

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A Monsters University High

Monsters University (Rated G/2013) Rarely is the sequel - or in the case, the prequel - better than the original. But Monsters University beats the pants off of Monsters Inc. No comparison. The original was mostly of a vehicle for Billy Crystal's schtick. (Funny, but shallow after that.) It lacked much dialogue outside of Crystal's Mike Wazowski character. And I prefer my animated movies to pound me over the head with a positive message. Monsters U does all of the things that Monsters Inc. doesn't.

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