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The plot of Unaccompanied Minors is simplistic and the establishing shots are weak. There’s far too much slapstick for starters, writes
Ervell E. Menezes
Remember Tom Hanks stuck in the airport for days in Terminal? Well now we have a group of minors travelling by themselves stranded in an airport because of a blizzard. How they pool in their varied resources to outwit the system is what Unaccompanied Minors all about. It’s Christmas eve and Spencer (Dyllan Christopher) and his kid sister Katherine (Dominique Saldana) are ushered to the airport’s Unaccompanied Minors (UM) Room, a holding cell for dozens of parent-free kids from all over the country. Stifled in the mayhem that takes place there, Spencer makes a beeline for freedom along with four diverse companions—spoiled rich girl Grace (Gina Mantegna), trailer part tomboy Donna (Quinn Shephard), academic genius Charlie (Tyler James Williams) and comic-book geek Timothy a.k.a "Beef" (Brett Kelly). But in the bargain he loses little Katherine. So it provides the viewer a view of the inner workings, baggage-handling et al, of an airport terminal. Passenger Relations Officer Oliver Porter (Lewis Black) is also snowed in at the airport and missing his Hawaii holiday. So the irate official and his bumbling assistants are at the mercy of these mischievous kids. The plot is simplistic and the establishing shots are weak. There’s far too much slapstick for starters and director Paul Figg takes time to get these five UMs gell. In fact one wonders when the film will pick up. It does, in the latter half, if one braves it out till then. But by then the film has already nose-dived. Not all the Santa Clauses or the Yuletide cheer can save it. The bottom line of course is "holidays aren’t about where you are, but with whom you’re with" but it is too far at the bottom. What also comes to light is the number of broken homes among the minors. Why, there’s even a line "divorced kids (meaning divorced parents) are more resourceful kids than others." But these are only a few grains of wheat. The rest is all chaff, loads and loads of it and the new kids on the block are still finding their acting feet. Gina Mantenga is good looking and Dyllan Christopher has the talent but Lewis Black as the villain is quite gross. And so is the film. Avoidable.
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