Enfants non accompagnés

I had the misfortune of catching 'Grounded' the other day and found it to be a rather pointless little film not worth the ninety minutes or so it takes to view it, and I'm usually lenient on Christmas films. The film revolves around five kids of divorced parents, aged between twelve and fifteen, who are travelling alone before Christmas to visit their other parent. When the airport in snowed in, they go on a rampage with predictable 'Home Alone'-style tricks and out-smarting of airport staff.

I can't complain too much about the acting of the kids. It's nothing special but neither are they terrible, although it is only Tyler James Williams (better known as Chris, from the TV show 'Everybody Hates Chris') who stands out for his expressive ways and wide-eyed sweetness. The adult cast are forgettable since they barely make much of an appearance other than the brief scenes where they come across as inept losers in face of the kids' antics.

'Grounded' fails, largely, because the five kids are far too old to be carrying on like the eight-year-olds they are depicted as nor is there much of a point to their unruly behaviour. They were locked up because they acted like brats and don't deserve to be portrayed as heroes we should all hail. At least, in 'Home Alone', Kevin was not only just eight but he was justified in his tricks because he was defending his home. The toilet humour and the dumbed down show of kids outsmarting big, stupid adults only added to why this film is aimed at undiscerning youngsters under the age of ten. What didn't help elevate the film was the way it portrayed divorced kids as being 'special' and somehow less well-off than children of married parents when there are many well-adjusted kids of divorced parents out there who would be offended by this idea.

This film is pointless for anyone who's seen 'Home Alone', a superior Christmassy film about a kid trumping the adults. I can't see many folk past primary school-age who will find much interest in it.

When I was first considering seeing this film was when I saw that Lewis Black was in a leading role. How ever I was skeptical about how this film would play out, and if It would be like another ones like "Christmas with the Kranks." I was surprised at how funny this actually was, It had the perfect combination of adult humor and child humor which made it enjoyable for me. To those who feel that this film sucks, don't watch it to seriously. Its just supposed to be fun, so enjoy it. I'd recommend this film to almost any one, although it looks stupid its a fun and enjoyable watch. All in all I give Unaccompanied Minors a 4/5 or a 8/10 for IMDb's Sake. This is worth checking out.

You should know that I had decided I'd rather watch "Minors" than "Santa Clause 3" or "Deck the Halls," so going into the movie I was probably more lenient with it than I might have otherwise been...

But anyway, I saw this and I thought it was okay. It reminded me a little of Home Alone with more kids and antics. I thought the four main kids--the ones stuck in the airport--had good chemistry and went well together. The adults (Black, Valderrama), while they've done okay in other movies/shows, seemed to be "acting down." In fact, the whole movie kind of seemed that way.

These kids must be 13 or 14 but they're acting more like eight or nine. I'm sure it was as the director wanted but even the adults were talking slow and using lots of animated hand gestures. At the very beginning of the movie, one girl sits on a young, hip Santa's lap and tells him he "hot" and then the rest of the movie has the exaggerated and childish feeling of an episode of Blue's Clues. But, since I was ready to watch and enjoy this movie, I laughed at all the falling down, food-throwing, name-calling activity.

I noticed a theme. I think this theme or message is what some parents will like about the movie and what some might decide to steer clear of: children of divorce do well on their own, perhaps even better than kids whose parents are still married. My parents divorced when I was 14 and I don't really feel like it had a huge impact on my life but today's kids are... different. Maybe "divorce kids" will enjoy this divorce kid fantasy more than everyone else. Parents will approve of it because, even with the happy ending, the divorced parents in the film were still divorced in the end.

I got this as part of a cheap 4 disc set and was pleasantly surprised that it was better than I was expecting. Sure, there are a lot of gags and kid stuff, but it had some heart, that a lot of juvenile romps don't have. Trust me, it outranks a lot of the lame Christmas kids flicks that are out there.

Well, I do give it a medium rating...not bad and not good, but if adults park their brains outside the theater before going in, they'll find it fun. Sure, you have to overlook the way the kids are smarter than the adults and the fact that firstly the security guards aren't bright enough to be working airport security and even so aren't villains but just guys trying to do their jobs. Anyway, the acting is good and the script isn't bad if you don't think too hard about it. The movie is after all targeted for a junior high level audience, but the filmmakers are skillful enough to make it enjoyable for older viewers. Sure it's a reworking and multiplication of the Home Alone theme and Christmas setting. As other reviewers mentioned, there are echos also of The Breakfast Club and The Terminal. However, it's fluffy, harmless fun and there are worse movies out there right now. BTW, how did this get down to #2 on the worst list when Deck The Halls which isn't half as good is out there?