Minions & Monsters

• Director: Pierre Coffin
• Writer: Pierre Coffin, Brian Lynch
• Starring: Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Allison Janney, Jeff Daniels

Grade: B

Singin’ in the Rain. Barton Fink. 8 ½. Boogie Nights. Minions & Monsters. All of these celebrated titles share a love for films, filmmaking, film history, the colorful weirdos responsible for putting it all together, and the never-ending struggle to see your dreams realized on the big screen. Unfortunately, only one of those films includes a minion dressed in clown makeup and a thong wielding a chainsaw. Yes, perhaps it’s the only logical endgame for Hollywood to see the third film in a Despicable Me spin-off as a love letter to cinema but, surprisingly enough, writer-director-voice artist Pierre Coffin mostly makes it work.