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Unaccompanied Minors
Warner Bros. Pictures

Unaccompanied Minors reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 43 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
5.2 out of 10
based on 22 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 14 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for mild rude humor and language

Starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly, Gina Mantegna, Quinn Shephard, and Paget Brewster

It's Christmas Eve and a huge blizzard has shut down the airport. Among the stranded travelers, five "unaccompanied minors" are determined to max out their holiday by running wild inside and outside the airport. Without a parent in sight, the rambunctious five outwit and outrun an airport official (Black) and his gullible assistant (Valderrama). The kids turn Christmas at airport into holiday pandemonium and, along the way, prove that the holidays aren't about where you are, but who you're with. (Warner Bros.)


GENRE(S): Comedy  |  Family/Kids  
WRITTEN BY: Jacob Meszaros
Mya Stark
 
DIRECTED BY: Paul Feig  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: August 7, 2007 
Theatrical: December 8, 2006 
RUNNING TIME: 87 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
A film that's funny and entertaining for kids and adults.
Read Full Review
67
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
It may not advance the art form, but it's a movie with pleasures for the whole family, and nowadays that's saying something.
Read Full Review
67
Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
When it works, it's decent family fun; the kids are incredibly sharp. But the script's not as sharp as they are, and not everyone brings his A-game.
Read Full Review
63
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Crashes the slapstick of "Home Alone" into the youthful angst of "The Breakfast Club."
Read Full Review
63
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
There isn't an original moment in the mix, but it's not as crass or vulgar as much of what passes for "family friendly" entertainment, and it keeps the precocious pop-culture references to a blessed minimum.
Read Full Review
60
Variety Staff (Not credited)
It's a crowdpleaser -- at least for crowds aged about 6 to 12.
Read Full Review
58
Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirshling
Feig does wring out a few fleeting fun/heartfelt moments from the minors, and the movie's Christmas treacle is smoother than "Santa Clause 3's." But anyone old enough to go see this without a parent or guardian will have seen it all before.
Read Full Review
58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Black's apoplectic fits and sardonic rants are strictly a bonus for the parents dragged along for the adolescent shenanigans.
Read Full Review
50
The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
The film is too busy hurling its cast from one labored slapstick setpiece to another to loosen up and allow them to have fun or be spontaneous.
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50
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Not for the faint of heart, the movie is unsettling and startlingly true to life. At least that’s how it seemed to me. To the minors I happened to be accompanying, it seemed to be reasonably good fun.
Read Full Review
50
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Turns out to be entertaining but shticky.
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50
The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
A little charm and inventiveness would have gone a long way to tone down some of the picture's more obnoxious impulses.
Read Full Review
50
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
A noisy, not particularly charming collection of skits and skirmishes.
Read Full Review
40
Washington Post Desson Thomson
Unaccompanied Minors, a sort of junior league version of "The Breakfast Club," never achieves the universal appeal of John Hughes's 1985 film about youth and authority.
Read Full Review
40
Village Voice Luke Y. Thompson
Anyone who has ever actually been stuck in a terminal with rowdy youngsters will not likely choose to pay money to revisit that experience on-screen.
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40
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Unaccompanied Minors isn't likely to become a frequent flyer but it could strike a chord among children of divorce for many holiday seasons to come.
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40
Empire Helen O'Hara
Great performances from the young cast just can't make up for the overly familiar plot and pre-teen excesses of the action.
Read Full Review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole
Why bother suffering through 90 minutes of bad company for a few moments of holiday cheer? Especially when you can still stay home alone and watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" somewhere on TV.
Read Full Review
38
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
If the writers had the guts (and the jokes) to fashion a bittersweet comedy with a fully earned happy ending, Unaccompanied Minors probably wouldn't have been made. As is, it's a prefab slapstick-'n'-pathos stew that doesn't taste like anything.
Read Full Review
38
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
A Christmas headache looking for an audience.
Read Full Review
25
San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
A half-baked script by Jacob Meszaros and Mya Stark admittedly gives Feig little to work with. But his young cast is capable of a lot more than is required of them in this so-called comedy.
Read Full Review
12
New York Post Kyle Smith
89 minutes go by like 89 hours. Not just 89 regular hours either: 89 hours of being stuck in an airport. During a blizzard. While Lewis Black sleeps drooling on your shoulder.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 5.2 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Roberto R. gave it a10:
It's the best picture ever have a lot of entretening moments with thing that makes the audience laugh and great efects.have an amazing young actors all of them the best one is Quinn Shephard as Donna I love that rol that she made.

Saul R. gave it an8:
A briskly paced, well crafted feel good comedy for the holidays, highly enjoyable for the whole family if one is able to get over the implicit anti-Semitism of a Christmas movie. While Lewis Black is a bit over the top, the performances by all the young actors are quite good. There are not enough superlatives to describe Tyler James, who consistently outdoes his material and leaves the audience wanting more. Gina Mantegna is one to watch, and Wilmer Valderrama gives a surprisingly effective performance.

peter k. gave it a10:
I had a wonderful time watching this film. I really don't understand it's low imdb rating. I thought the five young leads all gave really great preformances, partucularly Quinn Shepard as Donna.

Arnold F. gave it an8:
I am an adult and I really enjoyed this movie. The kids were excellent. The camaraderie among them was great.

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