Review: Night at the Museum

Ne’er do well dad Ben Stiller needs cash and a stable job in order to keep seeing his constantly disappointed son, and decides to take the position as night watchman at The Museum of Natural History in New York. His predecessors (an engagingly aggressive Mickey Rooney, twinkly-eyed Dick Van Dyke, and veteran African-American character actor Bill Cobbs) show him the ropes and hand him an instruction manual in case things go awry. And wouldn’t ‘ya know (through means that are quite frankly so beside the point that I won’t bother getting into), on his first night the displays in the museum come to life! Or is Stiller just losing his mind on those lonely nights on the job? Kim Raver is wasted as Stiller’s frowning ex, Carla Gugino is the pretty tour guide Stiller takes a liking to, Ricky Gervais is brilliantly insincere as always, playing Stiller’s condescending new boss, Robin Williams is Teddy Roosevelt (who seems halfway between Patch Adams and Clarence the Angel), and Owen Wilson is a cowboy who is forever warring with Roman soldier Steve Coogan.

 

It’s nearly there, but not quite. This likeable, well-meaning 2006 Shawn Levy (the remake of “Cheaper by the Dozen”, “Date Night”) family comedy might’ve been a “NeverEnding Story” for a new generation, were it not for the diluting effect that Stiller has in the lead. He’s actually well-cast, but his silly comic antics and ne’er-do-well dad shtick should’ve been either lessened or excised in favour of telling a kid’s fantasy story. Imagine what could have been if this were played mostly straight (and perhaps with Jeff Daniels or Judge Reinhold in the Stiller role). A jaded iPod-generation kid’s adventure whilst locked overnight in a museum, sounds like classic family movie material to me (replace this with a ‘reading is good’ message and you’ve got “The NeverEnding Story” basically). Instead we’ve got a PG-rated Ben Stiller comedy, and an OK one at that. Hey, it’s a lot better than “Jumanji”, at any rate, and we can all be thankful for that.

 

There’s some fine moments and ideas, and enthusiastic performances. Stiller’s well-suited to what the film wants to be, Gervais is playing Gervais -hilariously, meanwhile Wilson is pitch-perfect, Williams is a welcome presence, and Coogan is completely unconvincing. So it’s a bit of fun, but never as much as you’d like.

 

Rating: C+

 

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