Pros: great premise; seamless CGI effects; funny and entertaining for kids; even has a lesson!
Cons: Ben Stiller; heavy-handed approach to back-story; lesson not likely to stick
The Bottom Line: Harmless, inoffensive and undemanding 'family' movie that will entertain the kids while parents marvel at the CGI effects and even laugh out loud at some of the antics onscreen.
Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.
We may deplore the long wait till the next instalment of Harry Potter and Narnia all we want, but the kids in our lives still demand to be taken to the movies during the holiday season. What is Christmas without a family movie, after all? But in this climate of cinematic mediocrity, the choice is best left to the kids. Our nephews and nieces picked Night at the Museum, and me and my husband heroically steeled ourselves to staring at Ben Stillers mug, blown up several storeys high, for nigh on two hours.
Larry Daley (Stiller) is a divorced dad, an irresponsible dreamer who bounces from job to job. When hes threatened with eviction yet again, his ex-wife declares their son cannot deal with any more disappointment. So Larry buckles down and takes on the graveyard shift at the New York Museum of Natural History where he assumes the mantle of security guard in place of three old-timers (Dick van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs)a down-sizing due to the museum being in financial straits.
Little does Larry know (but hes to find out on his very first night on the job) that the museum exhibits spring to life every nightfall, and has done so for some time now, ever since the arrival of an ancient Egyptian artifact. While Larry tries to keep order and prevent bloodshed (or would that be wax-melt?) between miniature cowboys and Roman centurians in neighboring diorama, Neanderthals in a nearby exhibit threaten to burn themselves in their quest for fire, while a frisky T. Rex demands to be appeased. All this, while staying one up on a thieving capuchin monkey.
Taking pity on Larry, a mounted Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) who spends his time making ox-eyes at Lewis and Clarks Native American guide, the beautiful Sagajawea (Mizuo Peck), gives him some advice: Only when we know our past are we best prepared for the future. So Larry starts to read up on various historical figures. However, his best intentions lead to even more chaos and hes almost fired. Will he lose his sons respect and affection? (yawn) And whos behind the theft of the ancient Egyptian artifact? (duh) Lets face it, theres no taxing your brain cells here. Thats not the intent of this movie. Its intent is to entertain, and that it manages to do in spades.
Some of the funniest scenes include the feuding between Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and Octavius (Steve Coogan), leader of the cowboys and leader of the Roman centurions respectively, as well as a hilarious scene featuring Larrys attempt to placate Attila the Hun. The museums director, a laughably inarticulate Ricky Gervais, subtly steals a few scenes from the po-faced Stiller (why, for pitys sake, is he a box-office draw?). There is also a love interest in the form of museum docent played by the beautiful Carla Gugino, stuck in her 900-page thesis on Sagajawea.
Production designer Claude Pare has re-created New Yorks Museum of Natural History (via the one in Vancouver, btw) into a surreal place, where lions roar, monkeys swing from jungle vines, and anachronisms aboundRoman centurions battling with cowboys from the Wild West, a terracotta soldier and a jade lion roaming the corridors through which Teddy Roosevelt gallops, Neanderthals rubbing shoulders with courtiers from the time of Christopher Columbus. Its chaos, but its controlled, and its done with humor and good cheer.
The important thing is that the kids will enjoy it, and adults will find that the seamless CGI effects and the humor are enough to make up for the blatant sentimentality and the fact that Stiller is present in almost every scene. Light-hearted, fun to watch, its the perfect way to entertain the kids for a couple of hours over the holidays. Plus, they might even learn the lessonhistorys not boring at all, quite the contrary. Its alive with magic and mayhem, and the people who shaped the world as we know it now, live and breathe in its hallowed pages.
Recommended:
Yes
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8
Ben Stiller leads an all-star cast including Robin Williams and Dick Van Dyke in this hilarious blockbuster hit. When good-hearted dreamer Larry Daley...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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