Director: Shawn Levy
Story: Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant (based on the book by Milan Trenc)
Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Carla Gugino, Robin Williams
Music: Alan Silvestri
Time: 108 minutes
Bottom-line: An interesting and exciting film for youngsters; may receive mixed responses from adults
Shawn Levy brings out the next gen children’s film, in his 2006 movie, Night at the Museum. This film may be one of the decade’s best films for children, but not necessarily for adults/ parents. Starring Ben Stiller and Carla Gugino in the leads, this film is about a man, who gets a job as the night watchman at the Museum of Natural History.
The story follows Larry Daley (Stiller), a divorced man, in search of a job. He cannot find a stable job, and his ex-wife Erica, thinks that he might set a bad example for their son, Nicky (Jake Cherry). So, after searching for a job for many days, Larry finally gets a job as the night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, replacing three older guards, Cecil (Dick van Dyke), Gus (Mickey Rooney) and Reginald (Bill Cobbs). They warn him not to let anything in… ‘or out’.
On the first night, Larry discovers that everything in the museum comes to life. The artifacts that come to life include a big T-rex, a wax model of Teddy Roosevelt (Williams), a cowboy, Jedediah (Wilson), a Roman soldier Octavius (Steve Coogan) and several others. Through Roosevelt, he learns that all the artifacts come to life at night, and become still by sunrise. The rest of the film is about what Larry does to keep all the artifacts inside the museum throughout the night, and all the mishaps and comic incidents that happen along the way.
The main interesting thing about this film is the idea that all things come to life at night, and turn to figures by dawn. This is kind of Toy Story, where the toys ‘come to life’ when no one is looking. In a way this film is also like Groundhog Day, in the sense that no matter what Larry does, the artifacts always come to life every night. Like how Phil, in Groundhog Day, uses each day to become a better man, Larry uses each progressive day to understand the secrets of the museum and learn the skills of controlling the artifacts. However, though the ‘idea’ is good, the story itself is only a loose one. The story is just a collection of incidents that happen in the museum over a period of time.
The visual effects are good. The T-rex is kind of a stand out here; in fact, all the statues that come to life are shown superbly. Most of the comedy is from the objects at the museum, especially from the fights between Octavius and Jedediah, and from the doings of Attila the Hun. Almost every scene is funny, but one of the funniest sequences is the first night Larry spends at the museum. He, as well as the viewers, is oblivious to the fact that everything comes alive at night. He just casually fools around with the mechanisms of the museum, and then suddenly he realizes that everything is moving and alive. Most of the dialogues are funny; Stiller has plenty of funny lines, as do most of the other characters. In fact, once you start watching the film, laughter is guaranteed.
The acting is average. Ben Stiller does a lot of running and screaming, but that’s all he does. No one else has acted well either, except maybe Robin Williams and Owen Wilson. The comic tension and the slapstick comedy try to cover up the lack of acting, but it doesn’t quite work. As I said before, kids will find the film interesting because they look only for the comic part. As adults, you don’t really like slapstick comedy anymore, and you kind of feel that the film is a bore. This may be the reason why this film received below average ratings from other critics.
Overall, Night at the Museum is an excellent entertainer if you are a youngster (and that includes teens), but maybe an average film if you are an adult. A very funny story, plenty of funny dialogues and a good story make the film a joy ride. But the sequel may not be such a great entertainer. You may feel bored of seeing the exact same story, but well, some may like it and some may not. Watch the film with a light heart, and you will get your dose of entertainment.
My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 44%
Story: Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant (based on the book by Milan Trenc) Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Carla Gugino, Robin Williams
Music: Alan Silvestri
Time: 108 minutes
Bottom-line: An interesting and exciting film for youngsters; may receive mixed responses from adults
Shawn Levy brings out the next gen children’s film, in his 2006 movie, Night at the Museum. This film may be one of the decade’s best films for children, but not necessarily for adults/ parents. Starring Ben Stiller and Carla Gugino in the leads, this film is about a man, who gets a job as the night watchman at the Museum of Natural History.
The story follows Larry Daley (Stiller), a divorced man, in search of a job. He cannot find a stable job, and his ex-wife Erica, thinks that he might set a bad example for their son, Nicky (Jake Cherry). So, after searching for a job for many days, Larry finally gets a job as the night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, replacing three older guards, Cecil (Dick van Dyke), Gus (Mickey Rooney) and Reginald (Bill Cobbs). They warn him not to let anything in… ‘or out’.
On the first night, Larry discovers that everything in the museum comes to life. The artifacts that come to life include a big T-rex, a wax model of Teddy Roosevelt (Williams), a cowboy, Jedediah (Wilson), a Roman soldier Octavius (Steve Coogan) and several others. Through Roosevelt, he learns that all the artifacts come to life at night, and become still by sunrise. The rest of the film is about what Larry does to keep all the artifacts inside the museum throughout the night, and all the mishaps and comic incidents that happen along the way.
 |
| Stiller as Larry (left) and Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt |
The main interesting thing about this film is the idea that all things come to life at night, and turn to figures by dawn. This is kind of Toy Story, where the toys ‘come to life’ when no one is looking. In a way this film is also like Groundhog Day, in the sense that no matter what Larry does, the artifacts always come to life every night. Like how Phil, in Groundhog Day, uses each day to become a better man, Larry uses each progressive day to understand the secrets of the museum and learn the skills of controlling the artifacts. However, though the ‘idea’ is good, the story itself is only a loose one. The story is just a collection of incidents that happen in the museum over a period of time.
The visual effects are good. The T-rex is kind of a stand out here; in fact, all the statues that come to life are shown superbly. Most of the comedy is from the objects at the museum, especially from the fights between Octavius and Jedediah, and from the doings of Attila the Hun. Almost every scene is funny, but one of the funniest sequences is the first night Larry spends at the museum. He, as well as the viewers, is oblivious to the fact that everything comes alive at night. He just casually fools around with the mechanisms of the museum, and then suddenly he realizes that everything is moving and alive. Most of the dialogues are funny; Stiller has plenty of funny lines, as do most of the other characters. In fact, once you start watching the film, laughter is guaranteed.
 |
| Owen Wilson as Jedediah (left) and Coogan as Octavius |
The acting is average. Ben Stiller does a lot of running and screaming, but that’s all he does. No one else has acted well either, except maybe Robin Williams and Owen Wilson. The comic tension and the slapstick comedy try to cover up the lack of acting, but it doesn’t quite work. As I said before, kids will find the film interesting because they look only for the comic part. As adults, you don’t really like slapstick comedy anymore, and you kind of feel that the film is a bore. This may be the reason why this film received below average ratings from other critics.
 |
| Gugino as Rebecca and Cherry as Nicky |
Overall, Night at the Museum is an excellent entertainer if you are a youngster (and that includes teens), but maybe an average film if you are an adult. A very funny story, plenty of funny dialogues and a good story make the film a joy ride. But the sequel may not be such a great entertainer. You may feel bored of seeing the exact same story, but well, some may like it and some may not. Watch the film with a light heart, and you will get your dose of entertainment.
My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 44%
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