The Good

It's nice to see Brett Kelly from Bad Santa getting work.

The Bad

This movie.

Unaccompanied Minors is the lightly done, lightly told tale of Grace (Gina Mantegna), Spencer (Dyllan Christopher), Katy (Dominique Saldana), Beef (Brett Kelly), Donna (Quinn Shephard), and Charlie (Tyler James Williams). When the kids find themselves stranded in an airport, things get a bit dicey as they put in the care of Zach (Wilmer Valderrama). Zach's boss, Oliver Porter (Lewis Black), is determined to spend this Christmas with his wife. So he he gives Zach the job that would normally be his responsibility, and it is here that Zach's life is turned upside down. Add to this that there's a lot of "UMs" (Unaccompanied Minors) in their respective holding area, and we have a recipe that is both disasterous for Zach and highly fun for all the kids. The aforementioned minors escape their holding area and use the airport as their own adventureland. However, since this is a Christmas themed movie, it finds the time amidst all the mischief to make sure that that aspect is present and accounted for.

I hate to say it but I really didn't think that Unaccompanied Minors was that good of a film. Even for a lighthearted kid's flick, it seemed to take all the cliches that we are used to from movies of this ilk and mix them up around the Christmas holiday. What ensues is a film that looks like a movie, acts like a movie but seems to lack a depth of sincerity so important to a film of this nature.

Features

Charlie's Dance Reel

This features Tyler James Williams dancing in a music video-type setting. The chorus to the song he is dancing to is "I'm the real Santa." Mixed in with this are shots from the movie. Now, if I was 10 or really big fan of Everybody Hates Chris (the show Williams is the star of) I would probably really enjoy this. As it stands I watched most of this whole segment feeling a tad left out on the joke.

Commentary Track with Lewis Black, Director Paul Feig and Writers Jacob Meszaros and Mya Stark

Additional Scenes

7 additional scenes are available for your viewing pleasure. They have titles like "Mistletoe," "Dog Now" and "Snotty Beef." Essentially all this piece is are some site gags from Unaccompanied Minors that didn't make it into the final film. What impressed me the most about them was the quality of the scenes. At one point I got the impression that these scenes were cut in the film and then excised because they probably slowed it down.

Guards in the Hall

I figure that this section is Unaccompanied Minors answer to shows like Arrested Development and The Kids in the Hall. Basically, this showcases the guards from the movie riffing against one another doing world beat songs, playing musical chairs and other things that aren't very funny.

Video

They offer this movie in Widescreen and Full Screen Formats. Full Screen - This film has been modified as follows from its original version; It has been formatted to fit your screen. Widescreen Version - Presented in a "letterbox" widescreen format preserving the "scope" aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition. The look of Unaccompanied Minors was pretty slick in the Widescreen format. The images were sharp, the lighting soft and I didn't really notice any moments where things felt or looked overcompressed. I wouldn't say to watch this if you want to see a cinematic achievement, but this movie really doesn't look bad in any way.

Audio

Dolby Digital. English, French and Spanish - Dolby Surround 5.1. The soundtrack for this movie was layered with "hip" tunes and noises that were timed to compliment the myriad of site gags that popped up from time to time. Above all else, the audio for this movie was exactly what I expected it would be. It was a mix of younger, indy rock styled music, mixed in with strains that would remind us why we love Christmas movies to begin with.

Package

The front cover of this DVD gives us the main cast of Unaccompanied Minors making gang-like hand gestures, as the signs above them signal that all the flights are cancelled. On the back is a tiny description of what this movie is about, as well as some pictures of the ensemble cast, a Special Features listing, a credits list and system specs.

Final Word

I am somewhat bothered that I didn't take to Unaccompanied Minors more. I usually like films dealing with kids getting into present day adventures, but this movie never really grabbed me like I hoped that it would. Maybe it was too light, or perhaps it was too structured, but there was never a moment where I didn't know what was going to happen. I understand the kind of film that Unaccompanied Minors is, but that doesn't mean that it has to necessarily conform to to those stringent guidelines in such a cookie cutter manner.

On the whole I am sure that parents and their kids will probably really enjoy this movie. It is lighthearted, it doesn't really contain any objectionable material, and it's basically a good time for all involved. Still, I can't help wishing that Unaccompanied Minors would have pushed itself a little bit more. As it stands this movie plays as something that is all to easy to forget.

Unaccompanied Minors was released December 8, 2006.