I know that most of my posts here have been on the melancholy side lately. The first two months after Halloween are always the most difficult for me, as post-Halloween depression combines with basically being force-fed Christmas and then treated like there’s something wrong with me when I regurgitate it. (My attitude toward Christmas is at its absolute worst this year...I think the pandemic stress on top of it is just too much.) So, I decided I wanted to do a more upbeat post, and thought, what better way to get my mind on something else, than to do a movie review?
And, because I was wanting to do something more upbeat, why not choose a movie that’s meant to be fun?
So, today, we’re going to be talking about a movie I don’t see mentioned around the Halloween community much (or really at all):
Fun Size.
I didn’t pay much attention to this movie when it was first released. It came out in 2012, when Victoria Justice was at the height of her popularity thanks to Nickelodeon, and when I first saw an advertisement for it, on some kind of candy I bought on a whim at WalMart one night just to have something to eat on the way home, I wrote it off as just another flash-in-the-pan teen starlet being handed a role in a feature film just for the hell of it. I had no idea it even related to Halloween until I finally happened to catch a commercial on TV one evening. I’ll admit it piqued my interest, because as I’ve mentioned before, I will watch pretty much anything related to Halloween, but I didn’t think anyone would be willing to sit through it with me in the theater, which would probably be full of squealing tweens anyway considering who the star of the movie was, so I put it out of my mind.
A couple of years later, someone I knew through social media at the time just happened to mention having watched it on Netflix. I was suddenly reminded of my desire to see it myself, so I asked for her opinion and she said it was worth a watch. A few days later, I found myself both snowed in and sick with a bad cold, so I finally sat down and watched the movie for the first time.
I was pleasantly surprised by it, and from then on, it’s been one of my go-to Halloween movies.
Victoria Justice plays Wren DeSantis, a teenage girl hoping to go to college in New York City like her father, who recently passed away. In the wake of her father’s death, her mother (played hilariously by Chelsea Handler) has regressed to acting like a wild teenager herself, suddenly dating a much younger man and dressing more provocatively than her daughter, and her younger brother Albert (Jackson Nicoll, who is likely best known for his role in Bad Grandpa) no longer speaks, but delights in playing all sorts of elaborate pranks on everyone he possibly can, but especially big sister Wren.
The story begins on Halloween morning, when Wren unexpectedly gets invited to a party thrown by Aaron Riley, the most popular guy at school and her longtime crush. She is, of course, beyond excited, until her mother informs her that she herself is going to a party with her twenty-six year old boyfriend, so Wren will have to miss the party to take Albert trick-or-treating.
With her best friend April (Jane Levy) grudgingly tagging along by her side, Wren accompanies Albert through the streets of Cleveland, Ohio while also trying to figure out a way to get to the party after all. Albert wreaks all sorts of havoc, mainly of the candy-stealing kind, while out and about, finally prompting Wren to tell him it’s time for bed, but only after they go through the neighborhood haunted house. One thing of course leads to another, and Albert goes missing, beginning a frantic, adventure-filled search, while Albert goes on an adventure of his own after befriending a broken-hearted convenience store clerk called Fuzzy.
Meanwhile, Wren’s and Albert’s mother, Joy, didn’t realize she basically signed up for a college frat party, so we get to see an interesting side story about her coming to terms with her husband’s death and how she’s been coping. It’s heavy stuff for a movie marketed by Nickelodeon, but it proves that this movie really has something for everyone. Younger kids will enjoy Albert’s adventures, from a failed attempt to TP Fuzzy’s ex’s apartment, to inadvertently getting invited into a night club, and eventually pulling off the most elaborate “flaming bag of dog poop” prank in history on the guy who stole Fuzzy’s girl. Teens and tweens will enjoy Wren’s side of the story, as she navigates a crazy evening and ultimately has to choose between the high school heartthrob and the “geeky” friend who’s been crushing on her and devoted his Halloween night to helping her find her lost brother. And adults will likely take interest in Joy’s development and growth, and also the heartfelt end of Halloween night, when we finally get to hear Albert speak, and the family finally, truly, comes together.
I’m not sure what it is I enjoy so much about this movie, but it always gets a smile out of me, and even the occasional tear near the end. The trick-or-treating scenes get the atmosphere of Halloween night just right, with amazing decorations, and streets full of kids just bursting with excitement. The events of the kids’ evenings are, truthfully, kind of outlandish, but I think that’s what makes it so charming. I always had the sense, especially when I was younger, that anything could happen on Halloween night, and this movie portrays that, not in the usual supernatural sense that many movies about Halloween do, but just realistically enough to make you wonder if someone out there on Halloween could be having an experience just as unexpected.
So, if you’re looking for a new, fun, Halloween-themed movie to watch, this is an often (completely?) overlooked one that’s definitely worth a try. The imagery of the decorations alone will put you in Halloween mood, and you just might find yourself getting invested in the DeSantis family’s story.
Also, if nothing else, I have to thank this movie for introducing me to this song.
Stay spooky, my friends.
Comments
Post a Comment