Night at the Museum

I'm made of wax, Larry. What are you made of? Night at the Museum is directed by Shaun Levy and jointly written by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon who adapt from the book by Milan Trenc. It stars Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan. Plot sees Stiller as a newly recruited night security guard at the Museum of Natural History, who discovers that an ancient curse causes the animals and exhibits on display to come to life and wreak havoc. Not really one night at the museum, but three nights, it's a film that's enjoyable enough if expectation is set at the level for standard family action/comedy fare. All the elements for such are within, protagonist with something to prove to his son, magical animals and historical characters coming to life; and of course the general malarkey that comes with such a premise. Trouble is is that the premise is stronger than the execution. Sure it's energetic and Stiller makes for a likable loser-cum-hero type, and the effects will no doubt dazzle the kids, but it comes over as an excuse for the latter. Is it fun? Yes, yes it is, when it's in flow, but it does grow tiresome towards the run in and the pay off is as formulaic as it gets. It garnered enough coin to warrant a sequel, something that firms up the belief that the market for action/adventure/family movies is currently starved of portions. It's hoped that better directors, and better films, are forthcoming in this genre, so as to show the latest generation of fun seekers that efforts such as this are not high points. 6/10

"Daley" (Ben Stiller) is struggling to find a job that will allow him to keep his apartment and in contact with his young son "Nick" (Jake Cherry). Even the job finders have given up on him until, that is, there is a potential opening as a night watchman at the Museum of Natural History. His application is presented to the ostensibly kindly old "Cecil" (Dick Van Dyke) and his two cohorts "Gus" (Mickey Rooney) and "Reginald" (Bill Cobbs) and he gets the job! First night, doing his rounds, all fine until things start to move, to come alive, to chase him, attack him - he's terrified! His colleagues arrive for work in the morning and alert him to a few, now rather obvious, facts and next night he has to try and assert himself with his congregation of native Americans, Roman legionaries, megalomaniacs, dinosaurs, lions - yep, just about everything that you might expect to find in a museum like this. He's making progress - discipline is creeping in as he manages to manage his charges a little better each evening. He even feels confident enough to introduce them all to his lad. The scene is set, the lights are dimmed, and the time comes - but on this night there is nothing. They remain statuesque. What's occurring? Well that's where the mystery and a wee bit of comedy bring this amiable film towards it's denouement. Shawn Levy has assembled a decent cast for this Ben Stiller vehicle. The humour is gentle with some "creative" history interwoven into the characterisations of Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), curator "McPhee" (Ricky Gervais) and of course the three mischievous co-wardens. It's a smashing advertisement for just what museums can show us and if it encourages kids to go explore our past, then it will probably have done a more memorable job than the film itself ever will - but it's still an enjoyable enough watch.

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John Chard

CinemaSerf