UNACCOMPANIED MINORS (GROUNDED)

US, 2006, 90 minutes, Colour.
Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dillon Christopher, Brett Kelly, Gina Mantegna, Quinn Shepherd.
Directed by Paul Feig.

The title indicates the target audience (around 12 years of age or so). It also indicates how it should be seen. Parents and grandparents may want to flee the cinema and leave the shenanigans to the unaccompanied minors.

It’s a Christmas story – or, rather, like Christmas with the Kranks, Deck the Halls and others – it is, rather, a Christmas tree, decorations, Frosty the snowman, Santa Claus and Christmas presents story. Christmas Eve brings on a blizzard that grounds all planes. In the mayhem of rounding up the children and supervising them, five of them get out and cause problems all over the airport. A lot of the behaviour and humour is brattish, some crass touches and poking its tongue out at adults.

Of course, by Christmas morning they will be little angels, doing nice things for others and discovering friendship and bonds with each other (they all come from divorce homes).

The minors will enjoy it – and the seniors will hope they grow out of it!

1. The audience of unaccompanied minors for whom this film was made? The entertainment for twelve-year-olds? Entertainment for adults – or not?

2. The basic premise: Christmas, the children of divorced families, travelling unaccompanied, Christmas Eve, the blizzard, the closing down of the airports, the airport authorities coping, the children misbehaving, acting like brats, the mayhem? The presupposition that the curmudgeon could change into Santa Claus? That the children could actually befriend one another, become a family themselves – and bring cheer to everyone!

3. The introduction to the families, the broken homes, the parents? Valerie Davenport and her sister? Her anxiety? Her husband living far away, his old car, his driving to get the children? The children who didn’t know their parents or were ignored by their parents?

4. The airport, the blizzard, closing down? The crowds? Zac and his looking after the children, the airport courtesy? Putting all the children in the one room – and the mayhem inside?

5. The focus on the small group, Charlie and his fainting with his father, and his father fainting, at the prospect of meeting Santa? Spencer and his sister, her tantrum with Santa, his taking her to the airport, losing touch with her? Timothy Wellington, his size, his playing with his soldiers? Grace, the girls, flirtatious, her living near the airport but not telling anyone, her parents not interested in her? Donna, bad temper and cantankerous? An unlikely special five?

6. Their getting out of the room, their various adventures, Spencer and his overeating? Timothy and his being on the wagon and the others joining in, the crashes?

7. Oliver, as head of the airport, not having had a holiday for fifteen years, his assistants? Seeing him off to Hawaii, his dreams, the blizzard and his staying? Cantankerous? Final confrontation with the children? Ticking them off? Their escaping again, his change of heart, their persuading him to be understanding? His getting out the decorations? Becoming Santa Claus?

8. The kids together, running into the guards, their being rounded up and put into cells? The surveillance? Spencer and his being smart, using the mobile phones to jam the surveillance? Their all getting out through the roof? Donna and her fear of confined spaces, Charlie helping her? The final meeting with Oliver, their change of heart, what they realised about themselves, towards one another? Charlie and Donna as a twosome? Spencer and his attraction towards Grace?

9. The Christmas celebration for all the passengers, their waking up, the children finding the decorations, putting them out, Oliver as Santa Claus?

10. The Davenports and the father coming to get them, the mother reassured? The happy ending? Their keeping in touch?

11. Christmas without Christ? American Christmas as sentiment, gifts, decorations and Christmas trees?