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 suitcases. 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 baggage. 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" |
|
| 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/actress | 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 | Flight Attendent |
| 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 |
External links[]
- Unaccompanied Minors Wiki
- Unaccompanied Minors at the Internet Movie Database
- Unaccompanied Minors at the Movie Database
- Unaccompanied Minors at Rotten Tomatoes
- Unaccompanied Minors at RetroJunk.com
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