Unaccompanied Minors
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| Unaccompanied Minors | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for Unaccompanied Minors |
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| Directed by | Paul Feig |
| Produced by | Michael Aguilar, Lauren Shuler Donner |
| Written by | Jacob Meszaros, Mya Stark |
| Starring | Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly, Gina Mantegna, Quinn Shephard |
| Music by | Michael Andrews |
| Cinematography | Christopher Baffa |
| Editing by | George Folsey Jr., Brad E. Wilhite |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | December 8, 2006 |
| Language | English |
Unaccompanied Minors (also called: Grounded: Unaccompanied Minors) is a 2006 film directed by Paul Feig and starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly, Gina Mantegna, and Quinn Shephard. Unaccompanied Minors has been rated PG by the MPAA for mild rude humor and language. It is based on a true story by Susan Burton first told on the public radio show This American Life.[1]
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[edit] Taglines:
- "Six unaccompanied minors will become one unbelievable family."
- "Silent Night. Yeah, right!"
- "Six kids, snowbound in an airport on Christmas Eve, without supervision. Someone please call security."
- "All Flights Cancelled. Christmas Isn't!"
[edit] Plot
Six unaccompanied minors are stuck at an airport for Christmas Eve. The five minors try to make Christmas come true for Katherine Davenport, a young girl who believes in Santa Claus.
The five minors (Charlie, Spencer, "Beef", Grace and Donna) escape the UM room and are not taken to the hotel the airport is providing for the UM's. The airport locks up for the night, since the snowfall is so high. "Beef" escapes to find a tree for Katherine.
Meanwhile, the other four experiment with all the airport equipment (i.e. baggage claims, the lost luggage room, etc.). They are found and chased by airport personnel. They are caught and locked into separate rooms. Escaping again with the help of walkie-talkies, they make it over to the hotel in time to place a doll from the lost luggage room in Katherine's arms before she wakes up.
The minors return and find time to decorate the airport with decorations the manager (a non-believer) had locked away. "Beef" returns with the largest tree he could find (by trading his most prized possession—an Aquaman toy). The minors also find presents for everyone from the lost luggage room. Their kindness manages to change the manager's heart.
Also, Spencer's and Katherine's father, an environmentalist, drove from Pennsylvania to pick up his children. When his bio-diesel Benz broke down, he was forced to make the choice to either drive a Hummer or not get to his children in time. He arrives Christmas morning.
The children promise to keep in touch, and Grace, whose parents are out-of-town, is allowed to come home with the Davenports. Donna kisses Charlie, and "Beef" meets a girl, to whom he starts telling of his part in the decorations.
[edit] Cast
- Dyllan Christopher as Spencer Davenport: The leader of the group. He is always very protective of his sister, Katherine, and tries to make her childhood as good as possible. Lives out in California with his mom, while his dad lives in Pennsylvania. Tells his mom he loves her for the first time in a while at the end of the film.
- Tyler James Williams as Charlie Goldfinch: A rich kid who is looking to have a crime-free childhood to get into Harvard. He is not very strong and is usually for following rules. He has the biggest collection of 8-tracks in the state of Massachusetts. He also frequently needs to use the washroom.
- Wilmer Valderrama as Zach Van Bourke a.k.a. Van Dork: The main attendant at Hoover International Airport. Is responsible for seeing to the safety of kids flying solo. Quits by the end of the film when Mr. Porter admits he doesn't care about his opinion.
- Lewis Black as Oliver Porter: The moody manager of passenger operations at Hoover. He is not a real pleasant guy, which depends on the mood he is in (he was in a bad mood most of the film when his flight to Hawaii was canceled). He does not put up a lot of Christmas decorations at the airport, possibly because his wife left him five years earlier.
- Gina Mantegna as Grace Conrad: A rich girl who is divorced from her parents because they don't like having her around. Lives about twenty minutes from Hoover. She develops a relationship with Spencer by the end of the film. Once wore glasses with two ponytails.
- Quinn Shephard as Donna Malone: A rather rebellious eleven year old tomboy who often punches anyone who touches her. Into extreme sports. Gives Charlie her phone number (and his first kiss) at the end of the film
- Dominique Saldaña as Katherine Davenport: Spencer's younger sister who believes in Santa Claus but is afraid of him. Can sometimes speak in a way no one can understand. Really likes princesses.
- Brett Kelly as Timothy "Beef" Wellington: An obese 12-year old who is picked on by smaller kids for playing with an Aquaman Action Figure. Does not speak much. He gives up the Aquaman figure for a Christmas Tree.
- Wayne Federman as Airport Attendant
- Teri Garr has a cameo role
[edit] Trivia
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (June 2007) |
- The site of shooting for Hoover International Airport is actually the lobby of the Salt Lake City Public Library, which is equipped with a number of coffee shops, novelty stores, and metal detectors to resemble an airport's boarding-waiting area. However, the rows of chairs seen in the movie were brought in as props, as the lobby normally has only a few round tables.
- Three actors from a current TV show, the NBC series The Office, appeared in the film: B.J. Novak (Ryan Howard), Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor), and David Koechner (Todd Packer).
- Three people who have been on The Daily Show had roles in this movie: Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, and Lewis Black. Samantha Bee also appeared briefly in the movie as a TV reporter.
- A sitcom of Unaccompanied Minors is in the works[citation needed].
- The "guards in the hall" were played by Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, and Mark McKinney. All three were members of the Canadian sketch comedy show "The Kids in the Hall".
- In the gas station scene, The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) can be heard briefly.
- In the scene when Spencer and Katherine enter the Unaccompanied Minors room for the first time, Spencer says "It's like Lord of the Flies in here". This is comparing the scene to Lord of the Flies by William Golding, when a group of boys are stranded on an island and become savages.
- When Beef Wellington goes to buy a Christmas tree, the dealer offers him a tiny tree with few branches. Annoyed, Timothy says "What do I look like? Freakin' Charlie Brown!?" This is a reference to A Charlie Brown Christmas, when Charlie Brown buys a tiny, shabby Christmas tree.
[edit] Reception
Unaccompanied Minors was not an initial success at the box office, having earned only $16,655,224 domestically against its $25 million budget, not counting DVD sales. Its worldwide box office gross was $21,994,214. The film received generally negative to mixed reviews from critics, It has a "Rotten" rating of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 43 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
[edit] Notes
- ^ Episode #175: "Babysitting", This American Life.
[edit] External links
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