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Unaccompanied Minors (called Grounded in the UK) is a 2006 Christmas-themed comedy film, directed by Paul Feig and starring Dyllan Christopher, Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Brett Kelly, Gina Mantegna, and Quinn Shephard. It is inspired by a true story by Susan Burton, first told on the public radio show This American Life under the title "In the Event of an Emergency, Put Your Sister in an Upright Position".

Synopsis[]

Five unaccompanied minors are stuck at fictional Hoover International Airport for Christmas Eve. The five minors try to make Christmas come true for Katherine Davenport, a young girl who believes in Santa Claus (even though she's afraid of him).

The five minors (Spencer, Charlie, "Beef", Grace and Donna) escape the UM room and make a mess in the airport. As they escape, each of them try to do things as if they were birds that just came out of their nests. Grace Conrad, a rich girl, exfoliates herself in the airport lounge; Beef transforms the emergency equipment room into his own amusement park; Spencer orders the heart attack special in the cafe and leaves it without paying; Charlie tries to be a karaoke boy at the toy shop; and Donna commits Grand Theft Auto destroying whatever comes into her way. And as a punishment, they are not taken to the hotel the airport is providing for the UM's. They were trapped again in the UM room which smells like a horse died in it. They again try to escape Van Bourke, the clerk who is guarding them, and they succeed. The airport locks up for the night, since the snowfall is so high. "Beef" escapes to find a tree for Katherine. While Beef is looking for a tree, he remembers the saying that his mother’s boyfriend told him, "Men are made, not born." This saying gives him a lot of courage to pursue himself to find the biggest tree for Katherine.

Meanwhile, the other four hide in the unclaimed baggage room, Mr. Porter sees their crumbs and follows them, but they are so good that they hide before Mr. Porter could notice. Charlie hides in one of the baggages. While Mr. Porter is walking, he bumps in the baggage where Charlie is in and he gets angry, he orders his men to put the baggage in the conveyor. Donna notices it and after Mr. Porter and his men were gone, she hurries to the conveyor to save Charlie. Spencer and Grace follow them until they reach the room where there are lots of unclaimed baggages. They experiment with all the luggage and find cool stuff. Spencer finds a doll and wants to give it to his sister as a Christmas gift. Charlie finds walkie-talkies with video recorder. They are found and chased by airport personnel. They make it over to the hotel in time, through destroying the vents and crawling in the ceiling, to place a doll from the lost luggage room in Katherine's arms before she wakes up. They are caught and locked into separate rooms. Escaping again with the help of walkie-talkies 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 & Katherine's father, an environmentalist, drives from Pennsylvania to pick up his children. When his biodiesel Benz blows up, he is 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.

Songs[]

Title Performed by
"Father Christmas" OK Go
"Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow" Jonny Polonsky
Ken Sluiter
"Rootin' Tootin' Santa Claus" Tennessee Ernie Ford
"Jingle Bells" The Singing Dogs
"Christmas Merry Christmas" MU330
"Silver Bells" Bing Crosby
Trudy Erwin
"All Aboard" Groovie Ghoulies
"The Chipmunk Song" Alvin & The Chipmunks
"The Sidewinder" Lee Morgan
"The Ho-Ho Song (S.A.N.T.A.)" Mike Andrews
David Reynolds
"'Slinky' Jingle"
"Please Come Home for Christmas B.B. King
"My Christmas List" Simple Plan
"25th December" Everything But The Girl
"Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas"
  • Acoustic: E
  • Electric: Eels with Butch Norton
Uncredited
"Joy to the World"
"Deck the Halls" Man (Startled by Decorations)
"O Tannenbaum"

Notes[]

  • At least five actors play Santa Claus in this movie.
  • Donna is prone to violence when touched, especially by men, which seems to suggest the possibility of her being a victim of sexual abuse. The scene where she's forced to take a picture with a creepy-looking Santa Claus imitator despite being 11 years old is an indication of this.
  • Brett Kelly also played another socially inept character known as "Thurman Murman" in the Bad Santa movies.
  • When Beef finally tries to buy the Christmas tree for Katherine, the dealer offers a small decripid tree reminiscent of the 1965 television special "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which the boy instantly rebuffs.
  • Teri Garr's role as Valerie's sister was uncredited in the movie. However on the DVD commentary, the cast and crew all cheer at the mention of her name.

Cast[]

Actor(s)/actress(es) Character(s)
Lewis Black Oliver Porter
Wilmer Valderrama Zach Van Bourke
Tyler James Williams Charlie Goldfinch
Dyllan Christopher Spencer Davenport
Brett Kelly Timothy 'Beef' Wellington
Gina Mantegna Grace Conrad
Quinn Shephard Donna Malone
Paget Brewster Valerie Davenport
Rob Corddry Sam Davenport
Dominique Saldaña Katherine Davenport
Jessica Walter Cindi
Rob Riggle Hoffman (Head guard)
Michelle Sandler Mary Lynn
David Koechner Ernie
B.J. Novak Desk Attendant
Mindy Kaling Restaurant Hostess
Kevin McDonald
Bruce McCulloch
Mark McKinney
Hall Guards
Dave 'Gruber' Allen Gas station attendant
Steve Bannos Xmas tree Salesman
Tony Hale Alan Davies
Cedric Yarbrough Melvin Goldfinch
Kristen Wiig Carole Malone
Nick Thune Handsome Santa
Heather Beers
Shelia Hunter (uncredited)
Flight Attendents
Allie MacKay Perky Presenter
Sandra Loh
Michael Maiello
UM Room Attendants
Wayne Federman
Annette Wright
Airport Attendants
Ben Falcone Mall Santa
Al Roker Himself
Stan Ellsworth Huge Hotel Guy
Stephen Liska Hotel desk Clerk
Lauren McKnight
Noah Bastian
Jetsetters
Shareece Pfeiffer Pretty Mall Girl
Darren Ewing Admiral's Club Host
Joe Lookinland
Brooks Bedore
Bullies
Lerin Porter Owen Marks
Gary Morgan
Jim Wilkey
Baggage Handlers
Hayden Holbrook
Benjamin Ho
Restroom Boys
Tyler Drewes Tough Kid
Kim Powell Ivy League Santa
Micaela Nelligan Beef's mom
Conrad Palmisano Santa
Haley Fife Pretty Beef's girl
Alisa Taylor
Ana Seabra
Mallory Bouchard
Girlfriends
Thomas M. Conroy Security Monitor
Uncredited
Dana Anquoe Airport Passenger
Jeffrey Barkey Airport Man
Teri Garr Valerie's sister
Bill Gillane Shopper
Juliette Hansen Airport Traveler
Sierra Jamison Elf
Jimmy Manning
Joshua McLerran
Travelers
Denali McKinney
Taylor Moulton
Unaccompanied Minors
Cal Nguyen Soldier
Greyson Richey Burping Boy
David Sandquist Airline Pilot
Brian Smyj Guard
Josh Twelves Wheelchair Traveler

External links[]

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