It's not a masterpiece, it's not pretending it is, but it's fairly well written, with good characters for leads and the actors give their share, like good actors do when they're given good roles to act. It avoids almost entirely cartoonish characters, restricting them to the third or even fourth tiers. In fact the movie surprises with some unexpected depth at moments were a cheesy joke would've been easier. Very little slapstick, limited to specific scenes which call for some physical humor. And apart from some excess saccharine and cliché at moments, there's some solid story telling here, which I always appreciate. The two leading kids Gia (Gina) Mantegnia and Dylan Christopher got the looks and the talent to be going places if they just conduct themselves right. Lewis Black takes a cartoon villain and makes him human, and Paget Brewster and Teri Garr present some lovely background cartoons that complete a surprisingly nice movie.
Review of Unaccompanied Minors
