Night at the Museum
Posted by Maggie Van Ostrand (maggie@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 12, 2007 Share
Apparently, this fantasy was also experienced by screen writers Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon from Milan Trenc’s book, proving that little kids can be right. The animals and mannequins DO come alive at night, at least when Ben Stiller is the night watchman.
Night at the Museum, directed by Shawn Levy, is definitely a family picture and, in addition to Stiller as Larry Daley, stars Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney,Bill Cobbs, Ricky Gervais, Kim Raver, Owen Wilson (in an uncredited star turn) and Carla Gugino. There was a nice scene with Stiller’s mom, Anne Meara, playing Debbie, a woman at the unemployment office who supplies him with the job lead.
The premise is that three old timer guards (Van Dyke, Rooney, and Cobbs), are being downsized due to budget cuts, and will be replaced by one person (Stiller) who is forced to take a steady job so he can continue his relationship with 10-year-old son Nick (Jake Cherry) and ex-wife Raver.
What the devilish old timers fail to tell their replacement is that the an ancient curse brings to nightly life all creatures and exhibits, including Teddy Roosevelt (Williams) and his horse, and Attila the Hun (Patrick Gallagher), not to mention tyrannosaurus rex (called “Rexie”) who likes to chase bones, particularly one of his own.
Larry figures out a way to control the nightly chaos and become a hero in the eyes of his son, though for some time, it looks as if his son thinks he’s a failure. Some very funny stuff from Stiller, outwitting both sides in the Civil War Exhibit, finding a way to keep T. Rex happy, and dealing with a mischievous monkey, Dexter.
Special FX and Visual FX people must’ve had a ball with this one, and their results are nothing short of wonderful and exciting — something for everyone.
While I did not find this to be a laugh-out-loud film, it had enough action to hold my interest most of the time.
Read more articles by Maggie Van Ostrand
