Fun Size - B-

Rated PG-13, 85 minutes

Teen comedy "Fun Size" is sweet but unoriginal

Victoria Justice

There aren't many films geared directly to teens, so it's nice when one comes along, even if it's really nothing new. "Fun Size" is for the preteen, 12-15 Nickelodeon set, who will most enjoy the comedy since its two leads are Nickelodeon stars; entertainingly bland yet mildly amusing, the premise is thin and predictable, but its target audience probably won't care. Wren (Victoria Justice) and her best friend April (Jane Levy) are invited to a Halloween party by Wren's crush, Aaron Riley (Thomas McDonell), but then Wren is also ordered by her mother (Chelsea Handler) to take her oddball little brother Albert (newcomer Jackson Nicoll) trick-or-treating on Halloween. When she goes to the party instead, she loses him and must find him before her mother finds out. So she ends up borrowing a car from nerdy Roosevelt (Thomas Mann) to find Albert. They embark on a high-stakes, all-night adventure to find Albert, crossing paths with outrageous characters every step of the way. Directed by Josh Schwartz, who created the TV shows "The O.C.," "Gossip Girl" and "Chuck," has assembled a cute, charming cast that makes "Fun Size" work even when the script and direction feel so lazy. Justice and Dallasite Mann are a fun couple, and there are some genuinely amusing moments (thanks to a chicken and a smelly bomb), though newcomer Nicoll walks off with the film as the portly, mute little brother who is much smarter than you might believe (stay over for the credits for a funny epilogue). As for the adults, it's nice seeing Handler playing Mom, and she's believable though toned down quite a bit from her late-night TV show. "Fun Size" mines the big party formula theme that so many teen movies since "Sixteen Candles" have and it plays out as you'd expect. Hardly revelatory stuff, but at 85 minutes it satisfies as one of those small fun size candy bars would: quick and sweet.

Wes's Grade: B-