Unaccompanied Minors should be revisited over the holidays

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Christmas movies and shows are the best way to celebrate the holiday, and nothing beats childhood classics. However, I won’t be talking about this year’s new Spirited musical or even The Santa Clauses series. For me, Paul Feig’s Unaccompanied Minors is worth a revisit.

To be fair, Feig’s holiday comedy about five mischievous kids evading security guards at an airport during a blizzard is buried under the snow of more popular Christmas favourites and runs the risk of being forgotten by current content. 

The movie wasn’t received well among critics and audiences back when it premiered in 2006. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 30 per cent rating based on 91 reviews, and a 53 per cent audience score based on over 25,000 ratings. 

Regardless of this criticism, one reason to give this Christmas caper another go is because of the director himself. Feig is best known for the movies he’s done with his comedy partner-in-crime Melissa McCarthy, but it feels like that’s all he’s ever been known for. Unaccompanied Minors will be refreshing for weary viewers to see Feig tackle something other than a McCarthy comedy. 

The story’s musical spirit are holiday headbangers by early 2000s rock bands from the Groovie Ghoulies to even Simple Plan. Early 2000s rock music is making quite a comeback nowadays, so revisiting a comedy with songs from this nostalgic era is only fitting for the holidays. Plus, the soundtrack along with the kids’ antics make the film stand out as the rebellious rock star of Christmas comedies. That’s not half-bad for a Feig picture.

Another reason to revisit Feig’s movie is his unconventional choice of having the story take place at an airport. It’s an everyday location that’s rarely the main setting of Christmas movies. New York City, a family’s house, or the North Pole are typically the most popular places to set the scene. Seeing a holiday comedy at an airport bravely subverts the genre. 

Feig’s subversive holiday shenanigans still hold up for being unapologetically goofy. Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone goes grocery shopping while outwitting a suspicious cashier. The kids from Minors raid the unclaimed baggage warehouse and go to town with whatever they find, whether its musical instruments or nunchucks. This sounds like the absurd wonderland of the year compared to Culkin’s funny yet uneventful errand. 

The film uses the kids’ experiences to explore how overwhelmingly consuming the world of holiday travel can be from children’s perspectives. It’s not a theme focused much in other films. One can counter this claim with The Polar Express, but that animation’s immensely fantastical. Feig’s story delivers a reassuring distraction from the stress of airports by ironically filming in one. A magical train can’t do that.

Overall, it’s understandable if other holiday movies are still your default. Unaccompanied Minors is the runt of the litter when it comes to flicks to watch before opening presents on Christmas morning. This film should be revisited for being what it is: a comedy about kids and their airport gags during one of the most stressful times of the year. The movie is currently available on Crave.