Movie night

Simply to enjoy an evening out and not for review purposes, I actually got tickets from a radio station last weekend for a sneak preview of Despicable Me.

So the kids and I braved the rain and crowds for Twilight, and saw this funny movie. It was considerably better than Saturday's trip to Toy Story 3 where 2/3 of the family had to be carried out to the car in fits of sobs. (I was one.)

Here is our review set to go on Whoa Momma next week:


“Mom, that was sooo funny!”
~A. age 6

“That was so beast.”
~M. age 10

At least these two critics were unanimous: Despicable Me is a very funny movie.

Although not in theaters until July 9, we got a sneak peek of the new animated film starring Steve Carrel recently, and it certainly was a big crowd pleaser to the packed theater.

The story is about a fading super villain trying to commit the world’s greatest crime and out-do his younger up-and-coming nemesis. Seeing his opportunity with three young girls (Miranda Cosgrove) selling cookies, Dr. Gru adopts the orphans and finds that he may be outmatched when it comes to parenthood.

The movie earns its PG rating with a few derrière and toilet jokes, but overall it’s pretty harmless. It starts off a little slow, but the laughs come soon enough, especially when we meet Dr. Gru’s “minions,” who look like little yellow Tic-Tacs, but are much funnier.

It’s a bit Addams Family-esque, (Dr. Gru looks like Uncle Fester with a Boris and Natasha accent) but the dark parts are fleeting and replaced with jokes and slapstick stunts. The plot was a touch predictable, but it is a fun story and the 3-D effects and animation are impressive.

That, and Steve Carrel is beast.

Bedtime Stories for the whole family

This is a scene from the newly-released movie, Bedtime Stories, starring Adam Sandler. And I just have to say that if you like family movies, or even just like families in general, then this is the perfect film for you.

Seriously.

The summary on the box is pretty accurate. “Skeeter entertains his niece and nephew with elaborate, original bedtime stories that transport them to exotic locales, including ancient Greece, the Wild West and outer space. When he tries to help his family by telling one outlandish tale after another, it’s the kids’ unexpected contributions that turn all of their lives upside down. Full of imaginative special effects and good-natured hilarity, Bedtime Stories is a winning combination of comedy and adventure.”

I loved this. We watched it together last Saturday morning, and each of us laughed aloud in different places. And not out of stifled embarrassment at something inappropriate, but honest laughter because it is just very clever.

The movie even received an even more dubious stamp of honor the very next day when eight third-graders camping out overnight watched together the entire time captivated and completely entertained.

So if you are looking for a great story, at bedtime or otherwise, I highly recommend starting with this one.