Victoria Justice and Jane Levy in Fun Size. Copyright 2012 Paramount Pictures
by Megan Bianco
Many teen comedies that tell the story of high school kids getting into trouble and having too much fun are often rated R—think Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) or American Pie (1999). Teen films that manage to successfully survive re-writes and editing sufficient to earn a PG-13 rating are few. Mean Girls (2004) managed to reduce crude content yet stay strong, but other teen movies aren’t so lucky. Nickelodeon’s first PG-13 rated film, Fun Size, is the latest victim of this process.
High school senior Wren (Victoria Justice) and best friend April (Jane Levy) are invited to the coolest Halloween party, hosted by the cutest guy in school. But things go wrong when Wren is left in charge of her little brother, Albert (Jackson Nicoll). When Albert suddenly runs off, Halloween turns into a wild goose chase to find him before the night is over. School geeks Roosevelt (Thomas Mann) and Peng (Osric Chau) supply a car and help.
Directed by Josh Schwartz of “Gossip Girl” and “The OC” with a script penned by “The Colbert Report” writer Max Werner, Fun Size can’t seem to decide whether to be a kids’ movie or teen comedy. The movie relies more on gags than plot, while subplots featuring Albert and a drugstore cashier come off slightly creepy. Chelsea Handler as the kids’ mom also seems out of place, as if part of a different film.
