Last night a group of us sat down to watch Unaccompanied Minors on DVD.   For adults this story started off with some hope but quickly lost its appeal.   The kids did sit through the whole movie and it was truly kid safe.  For children ages 4 to 10, it kept their attention and was fun.  My four year old had some laugh out loud moments too. 

Now for the review on a grown up level.  If you are looking for something to rent for the kids, this will be safe and friendly rental.  But for us grown-ups, be aware that this movie is about 20 minutes longer than your patience.  

While I love Lewis Black (went to see him in concert a couple years ago) as a comedian, he has yet to really show his stuff on film.  He does a great job as a likeable and unlikable protagonist to a group of children caught in an airport during a snowstorm ...without any adult supervision.   It was a bit of a downer as the kids explained how they got there and their lives were not so great because of divorced parents, but more and more it seems this is the norm in our society.  So it only made sense that a rag tag group of unlikely friends would think of each other as family by the end of the film.   The plot was essentially one young man is separated from his sister whom is at a lodge right next to the airport on Christmas Eve and he wants to get her a doll from Santa before the night is out so her belief in the holiday is not destroyed.   While trying to escape the Passenger Relations Manager Oliver Porter played by Lewis Black they all learn about each other and eventually get the best of their adversary.  

Wilmer Valderrama of That 70's Show gets to play way against type here in a small role that he handles competently as Zach Van Bourke assistant Oliver Porter. Wilmer's role is lost though with no real purpose other than to be a good cop to Lewis Black's bad cop airline employee role.

A few sub plots exist but nothing that will add to this movie review in terms of you wanting to watch it for yourself.  If you have to sit through it, I'm sure you can.  It's not unwatchable, but the story is thin, the situations are not plausible and again the movie is just too long at 90 minutes.   This could have well been an after-school special it's so timid.