"Fun Size": A Halloween Trick or a Treat for Moviegoers?

Teen comedy Fun Size centers on a sarcastic high school senior named Wren (Victoria Justice). She wants to go to college to get away from her dysfunctional family. Wren's mother, Joy (Chelsea Handler), insists that she watch her little brother Albert (Jackson Nicoll) on Halloween night, so Joy can go out with her much younger boyfriend. Wren gets distracted when she's invited to the party of the year, and Albert disappears into a sea of trick-or-treaters. Anxious to find him before their mom learns he is missing, Wren gets help from her BFF April (Jane Levy), as well as Peng, an aspiring ladies man and co-captain of the debate team, and Peng's best friend, Roosevelt (Thomas Mann), a sweet nerd with a crush on Wren. This four search all night for Albert, meeting amazing characters at every turn.

Here's what the critics are saying.

You'd hope that Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz, directing for the first time, would have a better feel for such matter, but Fun Size blatantly and lazily traces mediocre versions of the genre. (Who wants to be a poor poor-man's version of Can't Hardly Wait?) There is no attempt to reinvent, and what might have been a half-decent homage is undermined by numbing comic failure. At least Levy delivers her lines with some snap, and even though she could play the snarky best friend in her sleep, she still has fun with it, which is greatly appreciated. Handler, on the other hand, looks literally pained, and fans of the talented comedian will wonder why she's already taking thankless mom roles after films like Bridesmaids proved a market for brassy female-driven comedies. This movie has no courage and little brains, and is salvaged, if at all, only by its heart. There remains a huge market for a great Halloween teen comedy, but Fun Size is the disappointing apple that your crazy-haired neighbor gives you instead of candy. Feel free to dump this one in the bushes. Jeff Labrecque, Entertainment Weekly.Com

Considering the pedigree (director Josh Schwartz created the TV series "Chuck," and screenwriter Max Werner writes for "The Colbert Report"), it’s bewildering to find the movie is nothing more than a dead zone of forced jokes, unfunny sight gags and weak double-entendres. What’s worse, the movie sets up a nice emotional family situation, with Wren and her family still coping with her father’s recent death, only to toss it all out the window for a cheap gag just before closing credits. Sean P. Means, Salt Lake City Tribune

Overall, Fun Size is trying to cater to everyone and by doing so, annoys everyone. This could qualify as a movie of the week on say Nickelodeon (who produced this sucker) or Disney. And perhaps, the commercial break-ups would actually assist in the delivery, if that tells you anything. But this is not theater worthy material my friends. Even the tweens, for whom this is geared toward, will think this is too juvenile and cheesy.   Joe Belcastro, Shockya.com

"Fun Size" is rated PG and runs 90 minutes. It's showing at Beechwood Stadium 11 and at Carmike 12.

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