Night at the Museum (2006)

 Originally Written

Monday, May 28, 2007

Night At The Museum might look like an incredibly corny kid’s film on the outside, with a plot that's been ripped off from numerous films where inanimate objects come to life (especially at night) and reek havoc. It also might look like another incredibly crazy Ben Stiller movie where he once again does not have a whole lot of luck with animals (a running theme in most of his films). If you thought any or all of those then you'd be absolutely right, but surprisingly Ben Stiller hits it big with this cookie cutter film, and even more surprising I actually enjoyed it.

Ben Stiller plays Larry Daley, an aspiring inventor whose mind is brewing with all sorts of ideas only none of them pan out.  His closest success was the "Snapper" which allowed you to turn on and off lights by snapping your fingers. But unfortunately that didn't sell (probably because clapping is still easier), so Larry has had to jump from one job to the next trying to stay afloat. As a divorced father it's quite hard on his relationship with his son, who he doesn't see as frequently as he would like, because he's constantly having to move for his jobs. But Larry is about it get one more break at a decent job, something that might finally have a chance of lasting.

  

Larry accepts the job of night watchmen at the Museum of Natural History, ironically a job no one else has been able to keep! Larry quickly learns the reason for this when at night everything in the museum comes to life! Ready to quit the next morning Larry is persuaded to give it another shot when he sees the excitement on the face of his son about his new job. But Larry's got a lot of work ahead of him in attempting to manage everyone in the museum and gain the respect as the new guy, an experience that will also help him to become a more self confident person.

  

Night At The Museum is a cute film that the kids will surely love and most adults should also find entertaining. Ben Stiller delivers a regular dose of comedy as he always does and has quite a few humorous spats with longtime co-star Owen Wilson, Robin Williams and of course Dexter the monkey! The little trouble making monkey was by far the funniest part of the film and a great adversary for Stiller.

Overall, Night At The Museum is nothing new, its all been done before in different forms throughout numerous films but its compiled in an entertaining and interesting way that it almost feels new. It offers some quality family entertainment at everyone can enjoy and it even has a few twists in the second half of the film which make it all quite interesting. In the end, Night At The Museum isn't a film you’re going to want to watch numerous times but it’s definitely worth checking out at least once.

7/10