By Jae-Ha Kim
Amazon.com
Theatrical release: December 8, 2006
A comedy aimed at the inner kid in all of us, Unaccompanied Minors provides a few laughs and some good acting by its young thespian stars. But the hyuck fest doesn’t offer enough substance, or even some so-bad-it’s-good vignettes, to hold the viewer’s interest for long.
The film takes place at an anonymous midwestern airport that has been snowed in. A handful of minors traveling unaccompanied by parents or guardians are left under the supervision of an overworked and easily overwhelmed airport employee (Wilmer Valderrama, That ’70s Show).
At this airport, terrorism takes a back seat to the trouble caused by these little terrors. The kids are surprisingly good in roles that don’t ask them to do much more than be cute, obnoxious, and cute again. Tyler James Williams (“Everybody Hates Chris”) is particularly engaging as a brainy kid who’s got some good dance moves to show off.
As for the adult actors, none really stand out except for the “Kids in the Hall” trio (Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney), whose collective portrayal of bumbling security guards makes you laugh despite your better judgment.
