Reviewed by Lamar Kukuk
1/7/07
Children of the 80's such
as myself will recall the heyday of Amblin Entertainment, Steven Spielberg's
hit factory that churned out a couple dozen hit movies that followed the
formula he's hit on in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: crowd-pleasing
sci-fi fantasies the whole family could genuinely enjoy. The Back
to the Future trilogy, the Gremlins movies, Who Framed Roger
Rabbit? and The Goonies helped to define what escapist moviegoing
meant to our generation, and while my tastes have matured as I've grown
into my 30's, part of me still misses the simple pleasures of those innocent
adventures. And that's probably why I absolutely loved Shawn Levy's
Night
at the Museum.
Larry Daley (Ben Stiller)
has failed at everything he's ever tried. The would-be inventor/entrepreneur
behind “The Snapper” (it turns the lights on and off when you snap... if
only everyone could snap) finds himself at the end of his rope,
facing yet another eviction and threatened by his ex (Kim Raver) with losing
visitation rights for his son Nick (Jake Cherry) if he doesn't find a real
job. So, he takes the only thing he can get, as a Night Watchman
at the local Natural History Museum. The Museum has fallen on hard
times, and is looking to downsize their long-time trio of Security Guards
(Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobb) in favor of one younger, cheaper
one. What Larry doesn't realize until he's left alone for the night
is that a mysterious Egyptian tablet on display causes every last exhibit
in the museum to come to life after the sun goes down. Not only must
he learn the ropes of his challenging new job, but it's not long before
someone comes looking to steal the magical tablet.
Many sci-fi and fantasy movies
throw tens of millions of dollars at showing us things we've pretty much
seen before in the service of stories that aren't particularly original.
It's been a long time since I've seen a fantasy landscape as imaginative
and wondrous as the one in Night at the Museum. Among the
items on display: a wax dummy of Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams),
miniature dioramas of Cowboys led by Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and Romans
led by Octavius (Steve Coogan), Neanderthals, a rampaging T-Rex skeleton,
a talking Easter Island statue, faceless Civil War soldiers, walking Jade
statues from China and so much more, I can't even begin. The sequences
of chaos as the various people, creatures and animals of the museum fight
it out are pure delight. Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon's
screenplay packs in great character details for as many exhibits as possible,
resulting in a story filled to bursting with fun and memorable characters.
Credit Levy with not only
establishing a tone of Spielbergian wonder, but also taking a cast filled
with comedians and keeping them funny without overwhelming the story.
Stiller is as good as I've seen him, delivering the laughs but also showing
some heroic backbone when called upon. Williams brings the iconic
legend of Teddy Roosevelt to life, and is actually quite moving in his
best scenes. Wilson and Coogan are an absolute hoot as the feuding
miniatures, while Rooney is hilarious as the curmudgeonous Gus. And
Van Dyke, returning to the big screen for the first time in over 15 years,
perfectly blends charm and menace. It's hard to imagine a better
choice to play an unnaturally youthful old man: the 80-something
TV legend seems as frisky and agile as ever.
Night at the Museum's
story overflows with fun and excitement and even finds time to teach a
few lessons about the value of education and teamwork to the kids in the
audience without ever seeming preachy. I can only imagine the smiles
it will still bring to their faces when they approach their 35th birthdays
and look back on how they don't make 'em like this any more. |
