After decades of Halloween-in-the-movies being synonymous with the deeply troubled Michael Myers and his long knife comes Fun Size, Josh Schwartz' PG-13 comedy celebrating the more traditional pleasures of cat costumes, candy and copping a feel.
Wren (Victoria Justice) would rather go to the cute guy's party with her bestie (Jane Levy), but her mom (Chelsea Handler) makes her look after her little brother Albert (Jackson Nicoll). Albert is a ... challenging kid. He makes his on-screen debut looking like a mini shock-comedian/performance artist, sitting naked on the can, wearing weird goggles and refusing to speak.
Before you can say "boo," Wren and Albert get separated in a sea of neighborhood Halloweeners. Albert goes on a series of adventures under the respective oversight of a convenience-store clerk, a party chick and douchebag (Johnny Knoxville). Meanwhile, Wren pairs up with the Harold and Kumar of Cleveland — a pair of love-sick nerds dressed as Aaron Burr and E.O. Wilson, respectively — and searches for Albert.
Fun Size seems to split the difference between underlining the Importance of Family and Responsibility — and having its laughs eschewing the very same. And by "laughs," I mostly mean pratfalls, face-mugging and entirely predictable comic plot developments.
