Movie Reviews

For a live-action kids' flick, Unaccompanied Minors has a high pedigree. It's based on a story from NPR's Peabody Award-winning radio show "This American Life," and is directed by Paul Feig, the creator of the critically adored high school drama "Freaks and Geeks."

So, why is Minors still just another lame tween screwball comedy (emphasis on the "screwball," not so much on the "comedy")? Why are the characters straight out of central casting and the "life lessons" visible from miles away? Did some film executives get their Grinch-like little hands on the script and take out any ounce of originality?

The concept is promising: Five kids break away from their adult handlers and run wild in a snowed-in airport, constantly escaping the clutches of security and wreaking havoc. Each kid has their very own stereotype: There's the tough girl, the rich brat, the brainiac and the awkward fat kid. Protagonist Spencer (Dyllan Christopher) rounds out the gang as the dorky boy-turned-hero, and along the way, he and his new friends learn what real family is all about. Yawn.

The adults, on the other hand, are a breath of fresh air. Comic Lewis Black is hilarious as the grumpy passenger relations manager who will stop at nothing to catch the little rascals, and Wilmer Valderrama strikes the right balance of comedy and sympathy as his beaten-down assistant.

These actors pop up just enough to take the tedium out of the cliché-ridden script, a script that relies too much on fart jokes and golf cart chases to entice its impressionable audience. But the esteemed team behind Unaccompanied Minors should know better—even a six-year-old can appreciate a good story.