Unaccompanied Minors

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

A film that's funny and entertaining for kids and adults.

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.

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.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Crashes the slapstick of "Home Alone" into the youthful angst of "The Breakfast Club."

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.

Variety Staff (Not credited)

It's a crowdpleaser -- at least for crowds aged about 6 to 12.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Turns out to be entertaining but shticky.

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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

A noisy, not particularly charming collection of skits and skirmishes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

A Christmas headache looking for an audience.

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.

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.