Unaccompanied Minors (2006)

A group of unaccompanied minors bond while snowed in at the midwestern Hoover International Airport during the holiday season and ultimately create a makeshift holiday themselves.

Director:

Paul Feig

Writers:

Jacob Meszaros, Mya Stark

Stars:

Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Gia Mantegna

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lewis Black	...	Oliver Porter
Wilmer Valderrama	...	Zach Van Bourke
Tyler James Williams	...	Charlie Goldfinch
Dyllan Christopher	...	Spencer Davenport
Brett Kelly	...	Timothy 'Beef' Wellington
Gia Mantegna	...	Grace Conrad (as Gina Mantegna)
Quinn Shephard	...	Donna Malone
Paget Brewster	...	Valerie Davenport
Rob Corddry	...	Sam Davenport
Dominique Saldaña	...	Katherine Davenport
Jessica Walter	...	Cindi
Rob Riggle	...	Head Guard Hoffman
Michelle Sandler	...	Mary Lynn
David Koechner	...	Ernie
B.J. Novak	...	Desk Attendant

Storyline

Spencer and his little sister, Katherine, are flying to Pennsylvania for Christmas with their dad. While changing planes, a blizzard moves in and cancels all flights out of Hoover Airport: they must stay in a basement room with the other unaccompanied minors. Spencer and four others - a chubby boy, a non-stop-talker, a surly girl, and a rich kid - go AWOL and get in trouble with Mr. Porter, the Christmas-hating airport supervisor. The five misfits spend the night evading and enduring Porter's punishments, discovering all sorts of things in back rooms, making sure Katherine gets her visit from Santa, and finding among themselves a new kind of family.

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Plot Keywords:

airport | christmas | blizzard | pennsylvania | walkie talkie | 

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Taglines:

Six kids, snowbound in an airport on Christmas Eve, without supervision. Someone please call security.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild rude humor and language

Details

Official Sites:

warnerbros

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 December 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Menores sin control

Filming Locations:

Echo, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£240,378 (UK) (15 December 2006)

Gross:

$16,647,384 (USA) (2 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, Donners' Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Guards in the hall: Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, and Mark McKinney all used to be on the Canadian sketch comedy show The Kids in the Hall .

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Goofs

When Katherine escapes from Mary Lynn, she still has makeup on and her hair is in braids, but when she is found sleeping on the sofa in the lobby, she has no makeup on and her hair is unbraided and looks as though it was never touched.

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Quotes

Spencer Davenport: Nachos. Oh, my mom never lets me eat those, you know? So, an order of those. She's banned all sodas from the house, so extra, extra, extra-large root beer.
Restaurant Hostess: My mom never let me eat mozzarella sticks.
Spencer Davenport: Mine either. Two orders. On to dessert, huh?
Restaurant Hostess: You don't have a tapeworm, do you?

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Connections

References Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Father Christmas"
Written by Ray Davies
Performed by OK Go
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Strictly for under tens

I had the misfortune of catching 'Grounded' the other day and found it to be a rather pointless little film not worth the ninety minutes or so it takes to view it, and I'm usually lenient on Christmas films. The film revolves around five kids of divorced parents, aged between twelve and fifteen, who are travelling alone before Christmas to visit their other parent. When the airport in snowed in, they go on a rampage with predictable 'Home Alone'-style tricks and out-smarting of airport staff.

I can't complain too much about the acting of the kids. It's nothing special but neither are they terrible, although it is only Tyler James Williams (better known as Chris, from the TV show 'Everybody Hates Chris') who stands out for his expressive ways and wide-eyed sweetness. The adult cast are forgettable since they barely make much of an appearance other than the brief scenes where they come across as inept losers in face of the kids' antics.

'Grounded' fails, largely, because the five kids are far too old to be carrying on like the eight-year-olds they are depicted as nor is there much of a point to their unruly behaviour. They were locked up because they acted like brats and don't deserve to be portrayed as heroes we should all hail. At least, in 'Home Alone', Kevin was not only just eight but he was justified in his tricks because he was defending his home. The toilet humour and the dumbed down show of kids outsmarting big, stupid adults only added to why this film is aimed at undiscerning youngsters under the age of ten. What didn't help elevate the film was the way it portrayed divorced kids as being 'special' and somehow less well-off than children of married parents when there are many well-adjusted kids of divorced parents out there who would be offended by this idea.

This film is pointless for anyone who's seen 'Home Alone', a superior Christmassy film about a kid trumping the adults. I can't see many folk past primary school-age who will find much interest in it.