Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Fun Size Blu-ray Movie Review

Gimmie a break.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 4, 2013

For those on a strict sugar-free diet (yeah, right), those who lack the willpower to venture down the bagged candy isle and come out without a mountain of sugar in the shopping cart (guilty), or for people who simply haven't gone trick-or-treating in some time (raises hand), "fun size," generally, refers to individually wrapped and very small two- or three-bite (or one, for the very adventurous) candy bars sold either in a big bag only with its own kind or mixed in a bag with other flavors manufactured by the same parent company (the Liebman household loves the big bags from Target that contain miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and single serve Kit-Kat bars. Gimmie a break! Gimmie a break! Break me off a piece of that Kit-Kat bar!). Mmmmm. So much sugary goodness, chocolate bliss, every bite an experience, can't eat just one, wrappers all over the counter, chocolate smudged on the face, bag half eaten, stomach rebelling, can't stop, oh, wait, yes, the movie, sorry. Almost forgot. Fun Size yada yada yada CHOCOLATE! OK. Focus. Focus. Get down off that sugar high, Marty. There's a movie to review. A movie. A "movie." As in, "that was a movie?" There wasn't even any candy product placement! In a Halloween movie! But there was a prominent (fake?) chicken joint. With a mascot that has sex with a car. More on that later. CHOCOLATE! OK, here's the easy lead-in: there's nothing "fun" in Fun Size, the latest Nickelodeon film that's inappropriate for kids, too crazy for adults, and too "uncool" for teenagers. Who is the movie for? Gimmie a break.

What came first? The chicken or the Volvo?

Cleveland teen Wren (Victoria Justice) is struggling to make it in a largely dysfunctional household. Things have mostly taken a turn for the worst since her father's death. Her mother Joy (Chelsea Handler) is dating a much younger man, and her little brother Albert (Jackson Nicoll) hasn't said a word since dad died. Wren desperately wants to escape to college; she has her eye on NYU, but mom wants her to remain local. The one bright spot in her life is her attraction to local high school hunk Riley (Thomas McDonell), and when she's invited to his Halloween party, she and best friend April (Jane Levy) can't wait to go. There's only one problem: mom wants Wren to take Albert trick-or treating while she goes to her own party with her boy-toy. When Wren tries to have it both ways, Albert becomes lost in the Halloween havoc and embarks on an adventure through town, encountering the best and worst Cleveland has to offer. As Wren, April, and two fellow students -- Roosevelt (Thomas Mann) and Peng (Osric Chau) -- search for Albert, all hell breaks loose in "the mistake by the lake." Can Wren find Albert, and maybe even true love, on the worst night of her life?

Now that the sugar has worn down, on to the review. As alluded to above, it's not quite clear who's the intended audience for this movie. It's a PG-13 Nickelodeon movie, which doesn't jive with what parents might think of the studio or the impression they might get from the colorful poster art and teen and child characters. In the opening minutes alone, there's a completely naked boy sitting on the toilet, a reference to "boobs," and a use of the word "bitch," from the mouth of a child no less. Later, there's even a broken robotic chicken mascot "having sex" with a Volvo, and a few more adult-oriented themes that kids won't get, anyway. Not that it's too much for teens or adults, but parents may want to shelter their young ones from it (the movie is rated PG-13, but that poster art sure does look deceiving). All that said, there's just not much here other than innuendo, strange themes, and a wayward plot. It's a classic "all hell breaks lose" sort of movie, but none of it's fun and little of it is really all that humorous. It finds a few scattered chuckles and tries way too hard to force laughs into its scenes. The drama and romance both come across as sappy and completely devoid of meaning; there's not a single surprise in the entire movie in terms of either. It's a largely woeful experience, but Fun Size is saved by a few random bits of goodness that elevate it a little bit above the bottom of the heap.

Probably the best thing about Fun Size are a few of the performances, namely from little Jackson Nicoll and one of this sidekicks in the movie, Thomas Middleditch, the actor who plays "Fuzzy." Nicoll is really quite charming, even as he says not a word. The expressions and emotions are simple but effective, but he conveys a broad range with a know-how beyond his years and with such natural ease and likability that he just melts the audience down and makes them forget, sometimes, what a wretched movie that has been built around him. Middleditch is quite good too in a part that seems inspired by Jon Heder but not quite so deadpan. The remainder of the cast never really quite excels above the cliché of their characters. Also on the plus side, the production is technically polished; the movie looks quite good and spares no expense in creating an expansive Halloween night free-for-all; good costumes, great decorations, and all sorts of little touches give the movie a nice air of time-and-place authenticity. It's too bad it couldn't pack in a better story, a superior script, and generally better performances to match.

Fun Size Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Fun Size, simply, looks fantastic on Blu-ray. Paramount's 1080p transfer produces brilliant colors in every scene. The picture delivers a lively, infinitely diverse color palette that showcases beautiful fall colors, Halloween orange, colorful costumes, and home furnishings with the effortlessness of a top-tier transfer. Details are just as striking. The neighborhood daytime shots practically steal the audience's breath; the perfect definition on leaves, grasses, pavement, home exteriors, clothes, and faces is nothing short of remarkable. Even nighttime shots are no problem for either the colors or the detail; neon signs glow brilliantly and textures remain perfectly crisp in every shot. Light grain remains over the image, and there's a general sharpness and clarity to the transfer than cannot be beat. Flesh tones are perhaps a touch warm, but black levels are perfect. There are no compression issues, no print wear, no digital manipulation; this is a striking image from start to finish.

Fun Size Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fun Size features a fun and full DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It plays music with a steady, crisp, entertaining presence along the front, defined by a balanced low end and pure surround support. In fact, the surrounds are quite active throughout, never overly aggressive but capturing a wide array of sounds that spring the stage to life and practically transform it into Halloween night Cleveland. Whether haunted house ambiance, screams, background thunder, or the light, satisfying din of excited children trick-or-treating around town, the track sonically shapes and defines every last little square inch of each of the film's shots, resulting in the illusion of very real sound authenticity. Dialogue is crisp and well-delivered from the center. This is a great little soundtrack that, along with the video, is the pride of this Blu-ray release.

Fun Size Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Fun Size contains the following supplements:

• Unwrapped: The Making of Fun Size (HD, 8:45): Cast and crew talk up the joy of working together, shooting at night in Cleveland, the basics of the story, the work of the cast, Director Josh Schwartz's performance behind the camera, and making the big chicken scene.
• Jackson Nicoll: Trouble Sized! (HD, 4:56): A closer look at Jackson, both his work on the film and his life away from it.
• Gag Reel (HD, 3:59).
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 5:33): School Parking Lot -- Alternate Opening, Fuzzy to the Rescue, Peng's Triumph, and Joy Leaves the Party.
• Music Video (HD, 3:56): "This Kiss" by Carly Rae Jepsen.
• Carly Rae Jepsen: Making of "This Kiss" (HD, 2:32): A look behind-the-scenes of the video.
• UV Digital Copy.

Fun Size Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fun Size brings to mind a number of other, better teen Adventure/Comedy movies, from Adventures in Babysitting to License to Drive. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near as good as most any of them. It's a hopelessly formulaic, dumbed-down movie with transparent plot lines, bad dialogue, and largely forgettable performances. Jackson Nicoll and Thomas Middleditch save the movie to a degree, but even their work can't elevate it too far from the bottom of the pile. Worst of all, it seems like a movie with no, or at best a very limited, target audience. It's too raunchy for little kids, too uncool for teens, and not good enough to please adults. "Fun size" is the perfect descriptor of its audience. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Fun Size does feature dazzling video and great audio. A few supplements are even included. Skip it.