Unaccompanied Minors (2006)

It's a crowdpleaser -- at least for crowds aged about 6 to 12.

Feig does wring out a few fleeting fun/heartfelt moments from the minors, and the movie's Christmas treacle is smoother than "Santa Clause 3's." But anyone old enough to go see this without a parent or guardian will have seen it all before.

Black's apoplectic fits and sardonic rants are strictly a bonus for the parents dragged along for the adolescent shenanigans.

A little charm and inventiveness would have gone a long way to tone down some of the picture's more obnoxious impulses.

The film is too busy hurling its cast from one labored slapstick setpiece to another to loosen up and allow them to have fun or be spontaneous.