When we were very young, my family went to a museum and were greeted
inside by a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was only a model, of course,
but that didn't stop my brother from being so freaked out that he ran
screaming from the building. I can only imagine what his reaction would
have been had he found himself face to face with the suddenly animated
T-Rex in Night at the Museum.
I first saw previews for this Ben Stiller
blockbuster back in June, and while it wasn't at the top of my must-see
list, I was still pretty intrigued. A-list cast, PG rating, havoc in a
museum... What's not to love? But I didn't catch the movie until it
played on my family's return flight from California last month. They
weren't the most ideal viewing conditions, squinting into the small
screen with a cloudy head brought on by motion sickness medication, but I
focused as best I could and managed to get the gist of it pretty well.
Larry Daley is the typical Stiller schmuck. His career history is
shoddy at best, to the point that his own son, Nick (Jake Cherry), who
lives primarily with his mother, looks down on him, so when he manages
to land a job as a night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, he
keeps it despite the very strange occurrences that plague him his first
night on the job, and of which the mysterious trio who hired him (Dick
Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs) gave him little warning.
The trouble? Everything in the museum comes to life at night. The T-Rex
bounds down the hallways, wanting to play catch. Teddy Roosevelt (Robin
Williams) distributes sage advice and makes eyes at Sacajawea (Mizuo
Peck). Ornery cowboy Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and ferocious Attila the Hun
(Patrick Gallagher) provide numerous headaches, and an ill-tempered
monkey launches himself upon Larry whenever he has the chance. How is
this happening? Is there a way to make it stop? Is it worth risking life
and limb for a measly ten bucks an hour?
It isn't long before
we discover the esteemed elder statesmen have a trick or two up their
sleeves, but it's long enough that Larry has formed an attachment to
some of his unconventional charges and is concerned enough about their
welfare to launch an offensive against the threesome's nefarious plans,
which means several overloaded action sequences packed with special
effects and more jokes involving the bodily functions of monkeys than
should be allowed in one movie.
It's a feast for the eyes,
albeit a very chaotic one, as characters from dioramas spanning the
centuries clash or cooperate with one another. There's little to cause
great offense, aside from the aforementioned potty humor, which one
comes to expect from Stiller but which is toned down considerably here.
He's a likable guy - much more likable, incidentally, than his
sanctimonious son - and though the love interest angle takes a major
backseat to the rest of the action, Rebecca (Carla Gugino), the apple of
his eye, seems like a decent potential match.
The cast
stand-outs, however, are the devious, hilarious trio played by Van Dyke,
Rooney and Cobbs - of whom the former two are among my favorite actors,
though I haven't seen much of either of them lately - and Williams in a
surprisingly serene role. He's the voice of reason in all the madness
that is the museum, without whom Larry (whom he insists on calling
"Lawrence") would be hopelessly lost. And yet he's only emulating the
real Teddy, so toward the end we see this strong mentorly figure steeped
in vulnerability, and it's really quite touching.
Williams
really is the factor that pushes this movie beyond pure silliness; that
sobering touch improves the film a great deal. Night at the Museum
is still a puffy piece of entertainment, and there's nothing wrong with
that, but thanks to a little help from an esteemed former president,
it's just a little bit more.
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