In the history of family Christmas films, only a few come to mind as “top tier” or become “must-watch” movies every Christmas. Films in this category include “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Jingle All the Way.”

Some may question the last one, but if a Phil Hartman and Arnold Schwarzenegger combo is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

There is another tradition every year in which several holiday flicks hit the screen hoping to take the money of families looking for a source of entertainment. Usually these movies are a mix of other films with an overall Christmas theme. This year’s “Unaccompanied Minors” falls in the second category.

If there were a formula to create this movie, it would be two cups “Breakfast Club,” one tablespoon of “Home Alone” and one teaspoon of “The Terminal.”

The basic plotline is this: A giant snowstorm comes on Christmas Eve and grounds all of the airplanes at the fictional Hoover International Airport in Chicago (I just want to interject that this has been the basic plot setup for almost every Christmas movie ever, including two this year).

All of the travelers are trapped in the airport for the night, and all of the minors traveling alone are kept in the large concrete “prison” that is the unaccompanied minors’ room.

Not wanting to be “locked up,” a team of five children, who all come from split parents, decide to break out and wreak havoc on the airport. After being captured by the airport security and airport manager Oliver, played by Lewis Black, the children continue to break out of increasingly difficult security measures in an attempt to make a special Christmas for those stuck in the airport.

The high points in the flick consist of brief cameos from several members of both “The Office” (American version) and “Arrested Development.” The film’s director, Paul Feig, has directed episodes for both series.

Overall the film is long, soft and corny with nutty chunks in it. The end result is to a defecation of celluloid, something that often appears in the holiday season.

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