Fred: The Movie – review

Fred: The Movie may sound like a cheesy Mr. Bean wannabe movie, but in the end turned out to be unique and highly contagious in laughter. The movie follows the main character, named Fred, and his daily adventures, which are shocking in a good way.  It starred Nick star Jennette McCurdy. This movie had something to offer for all age groups and can be a great film for family movie night.

Fred, who originally was a TV star on YouTube, took time to explain to new fans about his life and his family. That makes following him and his train of thought easier, since he jumps to many conclusions early on in the movie. I have seen previous Fred episodes on YouTube; I do feel that the movie may not be 100% true to the original series revolving around Fred. At times Fred seems like a normal teen in the movie, while in his series he plays a 6-year-old, which leads you to believe that he may not be normal. He always acts like a little child in the original videos, but then again they did write the movie to take place 9 years later than Fred’s original videos. But even with Fred being 15 in the movie, he does not always act like a 15-year-old. They made this change work and still kept all of the key characters in place (I believe that they may have even added one or two in the movie). They may have had to make a few changes in order to make Fred: The Movie work for Nickelodeon, like the fact that he is 15 in the movie, but I am happy to say that Fred still maintained his childlike charms in the movie. But I do wonder how this will affect his web series.

The humor in movie was outstanding, I figured that the humor would be a little dry and childish, but it was not. Fred has plenty of wild thoughts and can even be naïve at times. His friend Bertha(played by the very talented and lovely actress Jennette McCurdy) is one of the better characters next to Fred, of course. Together they almost seem like the whole movie should be about them only. Yet we do not get to see that much of Bertha, which is very sad because her character is one of a few nice ones in the movie. You can also see his mother and his “father.”

I loved how Fred jumped to conclusions and how he always had big ideas; I also enjoyed how he was never really worried about how silly he was or if he offended someone. I think that they captured childhood well in the movie, and they showcased the essence of Fred in a fabulous way. They showed just how much he dreams and that if he really wants something he will work hard to get it. Which in my opinion is a key thing that I do believe that this movie could teach older kids.

Can adults watch it and not be bored? Yes.  In fact, I think I laughed through ut the whole movie. I also think that this is one of the few movies that is completely family friendly on all sides. However, since it does deal with relationships, I do think that it is better suited for older kids, since younger kids may not like a storyline that deals with crushes. I do think that this is one of the better movies with humor that can be understood by all age groups 100% without being cheesy. I cannot wait for them to release this movie on DVD and Blu-Ray. I think Nickelodeon may have a hard time beating this movie, and they should give Fred a sequel since the story really has not ended. I even think that they should give him his own TV show. But I might be jumping to a conclusion here, and I assume we will find out how many viewers it had during its premier. But I hope that it did well enough that this will not be the last of Fred on Nick.

My favorite part of the movie were the characters of Fred and Bertha.  I think that they made the movie what it is, since they both showed that, yes, being an outcast can be cool. It is a good idea to teach that to teens, and I think that the movie did a good job conveying that. My least favorite part of the movie was that at times it was hard to judge which scene was Fred’s imagination or real life. It could be confusing because of that, but still it was a great movie, and I cannot wait to see it again already. Nickelodeon has a huge hit in their hands, or at least in my opinion.

For the ideal age group, I think 9 or 10 years old would be a good age for them to be okay with a movie that had to deal with personal relationships. Though as I stated above, this movie is one of those few exceptions that are actually good for a whole family, and if it would not bother younger kids to see a movie about teens, then it would be fun for them to watch it. I think that pretty much, it would be suitable for anyone, but I do understand that some parents may not wish for young kids to watch a movie about teenagers or even innocent teen crushes. But I can assure you that Fred: The Movie is something that is beyond what most movies about teens are. The movie will keep you on your toes, and the ending may shock some of you in a good way. But I do feel that the story does not end where they left it. It deserves to have a bigger and better ending.