Despicable Me

The seventh-highest domestic-grossing movie of 2010 was Despicable Me, bringing in over $251 million in domestic revenue and $541 million worldwide. Wait a minute, what's that you say? I never reviewed the sixth-best movie of 2010? Yeah, that's right. I'm breaking the rules I've set for this blog by temporarily skipping Harry Potter. I've reviewed the first four HP movies so far, and the truth is, I'm ready for something besides HP. Don't worry, I'll be returning to Harry Potter to review the rest of the movies soon. In the meantime, I feel like watching a different movie. I know, I'm sorry, it's despicable of me, isn't it?

The first man with any lines is the American tourist dad, and the first woman with any lines is the American tourist mom (talking to each other).

When the kid gets away from his parents and crosses the safety barrier, two male Egyptian guards start yelling at him, "No! Stop!"

When the supervillain Gru gets back to his suburban home after the visit to Starbucks, he starts chatting with his neighbor. They talk about the neighbor's dog leaving "bombs" on Gru's lawn, easily passing the Reverse Bechdel test.

The second and third female with lines are two girl scouts girls from the orphanage, trying to sell cookies to Gru. As they leave, the older one says, "Come on Agnes," but Agnes doesn't reply on screen.

While the girls are walking home, Edith jumps in a puddle and splashes the others. The oldest girl says, "Edith, stop it," and Edith replies, "What? I'm just walking." Then they enter the orphanage and talk with Miss Hattie about getting adopted and about selling cookies. Despicable Me passes the Original Bechdel test in just over twelve minutes.

Overall, the movie is neither male- nor female-dominated. The "villains" are all male, including Gru, Dr. Nefario, Mr. Perkins and, of course, Vector. On the other hand, all three children are female, as are the two major non-villain adults-- Gru's mother and Miss Hattie at the orphanage (although in a movie where the villains are the heroes, the two non-villains are also sort of villain-y).