Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred

YouTube sensation Fred returns in this slightly improved sequel that serves up more of the outrageous scenarios and pre-pubescent screeching that's made Fred (and Cruikshank) an Internet star. He's a hit with the tween set, much to the chagrin of plenty of parents who loathe both his flair for the dramatic and his use of his own variety of slang cursing. When it comes to this brand of comedy, you either love it or you hate it, and the line slices pretty close to the generational divide. Of course, that's partly due to the fact that tweens will pick out some of the stuff you might not notice, like spoofs of Twilight and cameos by some of their favorite actors from shows like So Random! and Supah Ninjas, but on the whole, it's just not a comedy style most parents will like.

If your tweens are already fans, there's little hope that they won't want to check out this sequel, but there is some good news. Compared to the original, this movie takes some care to tone down a lot of the content that was most unpalatable to parents. Fred's now the object of an innocent crush from a younger girl rather the instigator of a shockingly obsessive one, the issue of his mom's alcoholism never comes up (though she's still not Mom of the Year), he's more self-confident and less susceptible to bullying classmates, and overall, there are fewer episodes of his manic hyperactivity. What's more, the story incorporates some marginally positive messages about judging people, using the Internet responsibly, respecting differences, and taking ownership of your mistakes. Bottom line? It's still not really worthwhile, but at least it's a small improvement on the original.