Review of FRED: The Movie (2010) by Huw W — 02 Jan 2011

This probably wasn't such a good idea... As a movie, "Fred" is shoddily produced and directed, working on the assumption the fanbase would be willing to pay for anything even remotely more sophisticated than a pixellated Internet stream.

Occasionally, though, it's just silly enough to yield a grudging snort. Take the cutaway to Fred and Judy on adjacent balconies, made over not as Romeo and Juliet, but Ashford and Simpson (ask your parents, kids); the fact this seven-stone weakling's dad should be played by ex-professional wrestler Cena, who sits around the Figglehorn house with his shirt off, casually beating up his son; or the development that sees a Sean Kingston song provide our hero with vital life information.

As the target audience might say: random. A major stumbling block for anyone over the age of 12 will be Fred himself. While there's something perversely admirable in the creation of a character specifically designed to drive grown-ups up the wall - whose very voice comes as payback for those high-frequency emitters installed around public amenities to prevent teenagers from loitering - as played by Cruikshank with the dial set firmly to 11, he's a one-boy walking embodiment of Joe Pasquale's "annoying song" routine.

Add some vaguely xenophobic notes, and I think you'll find a little Fred goes a very long way.