Fun Size

Fun Size (Rated PG-13)

• Starring Victoria Justice, Chelsea Handler, Jackson Nicoll
• Directed by Josh Schwartz
• Plot: A little boy slips away from his sister on Halloween and prompts an adventure for both of them.

To be honest, before I looked to see what was playing for the week, I had never even heard of this movie or even seen a preview.  Though I have a ten-year-old at home, he doesn’t watch Nickelodeon (his choice; he’s more in to Mythbusters), and this is the latest theatrical offering from their studios.

A year after the death of their dad, Wren (Victoria Justice) and her little brother Albert (Jackson Nicoll) are doing their best to move on.  Wren is trying to be a typical teenage girl, but Albert hasn’t spoken since his dad died.  Their mom (Chelsea Handler) is working through her grief by dating a much young man (Josh Pence).

Despite being invited to a party by the most popular guy in school (Thomas McDowell), Wren finds herself taking her brother trick-or-treating after her mom dumps Albert on her so she can go to a party.  Albert, dressed as a one-armed Spider-Man, slips away from his sister and ends up spending the evening helping a lonely convenience store clerk (Thomas Middleditch) plot a revenge prank on his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend (played by Johnny Knoxville).

Wren freaks out and she chases her brother all over town trying to get him back, aided by her best friend April (Jane Levy) and Roosevelt (Thomas Mann), who secretly has a major crush on Wren.

If the movie sounds familiar, it’s probably because this is basically a new take on “Adventures in Babysitting”, which itself was essentially remade as an R-rated film called “The Sitter”.  My best guess would be to say that “Fun Size” is an odd amalgam of the two movies.

It’s definitely suffering from an identity crisis, seeming unsure if its targeting a younger audience or older teens.  It’s caught between slapstick and teen gross-out comedy.  Yet, it also has some fairly dramatic moments.

The movie is saved from being a total mess by a strong performance from the very likable Victoria Justice.  I was also surprised by Chelsea Handler, who I can normally take or leave.  This probably ends up being my favorite performance by her as her character grows and changes over the course of the movie, realizing she is doing a great disservice to her children with the way she’s been handling her grief.

“Fun Size” is ultimately a bland and unremarkable film that you will most likely find as forgettable as leftover Halloween candy.