ScreenWize

If you thought that Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney belong in a museum, well you’re right! In this case the museum of Natural History in New York, where they work as the ageing night security guards Cecil and Gus. Downsized because of poor attendances, they - and their third geriatric colleague Reginald (Bill Cobbs) - are replaced by one man, the bumbling loser Larry Daley (Ben Stiller). But once the sun sets, the doors of the museum close, and the rest of town starts to sleep, Larry finds – much to his surprise - that the museum comes to life. Statues, stuffed animals, miniature models, T-rex skeletons and wax replicas – all with highly dysfunctional personalities and severe behavioural problems – are up and about, taunting Larry and threatening to trash the museum and Larry’s chance of keeping a steady job.

There are reasons why everything in the museum comes alive at night, but it’s best not to worry about them too much. Just sit back and enjoy he chaotic silliness as a bevy of stars (including Robin Williams, Steve Coogan, and Owen Wilson) run riot at Larry’s expense, along with a menagerie of computer generated animals, Attila the Hun, and a pack of Neanderthal pyromaniacs.

Ben Stiller is perfectly cast as Ben Stiller, the perennial straight man and fall guy, and if you’ve seen him before (Meet The Fockers, Mystery Men) you know what you’re in for. The best humour though, comes from some much more accomplished acting by Coogan and Wilson (playing miniature characters with gigantic chips on their shoulders), and from Ricky Gervais who plays the Museum’s enigmatic and conversationally-challenged director, Dr. McPhee. Williams, on the other hand, is surprisingly subdued as President Roosevelt, helping the hapless Larry out when things get too crazy.

Had the filmmakers just let us watch the comic madness of the ridiculous situation, Night at the Museum could have been more memorable, especially given the high quality of the computer-generated characters and effects , but – like many Hollywood family films of its type – the writers felt compelled to add a completely unnecessary and now very overused subplot of Larry’s redemption in the eyes of both his estranged son and a beautiful female co-worker. This turns a film with some good laughs into predictable run-of-the-mill Hollywood fare.

Rating:

Filed Under: Reviews by Simon