PG | 1h 28m | Family, Christmas, Caper | 2026
Shaun Piccinino’s Las Vegas vacation Christmas-heist film “Double Trouble” is his first foray into family fare.
Stopping the Thieves
Two bored sisters, Charlotte (Madeleine McGraw) and Willow (Violet McGraw), while checking in with their parents at the Palms Casino for a vacation, discover that Charlotte’s crush, megawatt pop star Juniper (Jack Griffo), is also staying at the hotel for a special performance.
The girls, of course, sneak out of their hotel room. They try to return before their parents get back from taking a tour with their little sister.
Along the way, they get lost in the employees-only basement. As David, the security guard (Andrew Koji), is escorting them out, all three get caught up in a jewelry heist in progress. Someone’s trying to abscond with the gazillion-dollar, diamond-encrusted gauntlet that belongs to Juniper and which he intends to wear for his performance.
David is working at the hotel after leaving London and his daughter Emma. He is separated from his wife and is only allowed to video-call Emma. He’s also trying to outrun his past as a former operative. However, he runs into his past in the form of his slick and arrogant former partner, Robyn (Aziza Donnelly) who may or may not be in cahoots with the thieves.
David tries to stop the thieves but is outnumbered (David performs his own fight scenes thanks to his experience on the series “Warrior” and the currently playing “Street Fighter”). Can David, Charlotte, and Willow escape the thieves, recover the gauntlet, and deliver the thieves to justice?
‘Double Trouble’
The movie title does double duty. It refers, of course, to the sisters and their nonstop bickering. (They tell everyone it’s not arguing—it’s just their particular form of “sister-speak.”) It also means that when they pool their talents and work together, they’re double trouble for anyone having to deal with them. This being a children’s film, there are some “Home Alone”-type pranks that crop up as the girls work to thwart the thieves.
“Double Trouble” will bore parents silly but will hold younger-than-tweens’ attention. Naturally, in this day and age, kids are exposed to way too much, way too soon. The teen girls in revealing clothes, the cursing, and the obnoxious young pop star doing vodka shots are all things that occur in just about any film nowadays, and that young children shouldn’t really see.
While it’s commendable that the girls attempt to stop the thieves because their consciences demand it, they do a bunch of lying and sneaking around—again, par for the course. The main offender in this freshman film attempt is that the filmmaking quality is subpar.
On the plus side, the sisters, Madeleine McGraw and Violet McGraw, are actual sisters. Madeleine is known for her role in “The Black Phone” franchise and Violet for her role in the “M3gan” franchise. They play off each other well, thanks to their natural chemistry.
‘Double Trouble’
Director: Shaun Paul Piccinino
Starring: Madeleine McGraw, Violet McGraw, Azizi Donnelly, Jack Griffo, Andrew Koji
MPAA Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hour, 28 minutes
Release Date: Oct. 9, 2026
Rating: 1 1/2 stars out of 5
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