|
 Good-hearted dreamer Larry Daley, despite being perpetually down on his luck, thinks he's destined for something big. But even he could never have imagined how big, when he accepts what appears to be a menial job as a graveyard-shift security guard at a museum of natural history.
Rating: PG
Stars: Ben Stiller and Robin Williams
Director: Shawn Levy
What does one do when they’re sitting with the likes of Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Shawn Levy, Robert Ben Garant and Jim Rygiel, just to name a few movie makers, who are no strangers to fantasy, fun, humor and the ability to always have their finger on the pulse of an audiences’ need for light-hearted entertainment? I got it! You make a fantasy movie about displays in a museum coming to life at the stroke of midnight, causing havoc and mischief, which seems to almost always get magically cleaned up by morning.
Ben Stiller, who always seems to play the mild-mannered, everybody’s good guy, once again portrays this same character as Larry Daley. Larry, is a divorced man, who comes to the realization that he needs a “fallback” job, as his son, Nicky, played by Jake Cherry, explains to him. Larry’s life is precarious and unstable, due to his own belief that he was meant to do something really big with his life. Not that there’s anything wrong with thinking that way- just don’t quit your day job. So, Larry goes to the employment agency, where Debbie, played by Ben Stiller’s real life mom, Anne Meara, interviews him. She sends him to interview for the position as night watchman at the Museum of Natural History. Here’s where the movie begins to accelerate. You find yourself identifying with Larry, rooting for him to win the battle and get the museum displays under control. Larry realizes he can’t do it alone so he calls upon the aid of Teddy Roosevelt, played marvelously, as usual, by Robin Williams. As the movie’s plot begins to unfold, one starts to feel as if they’re watching a long playing episode of Scooby Doo meets the old 1980’s flick, “Mannequin”. Larry meets the three old museum guards played by Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs, who have an ulterior motive for hiring Larry as their replacement. Apparently, the likes of Attila the Hun, portrayed by Patrick Gallagher, Octavius, played reasonably well, by British comedian, Steve Coogan, a dinosaur, played by himself and Sacajawea, that’s Sacajaweeea, long “E”, come to life at the stroke of midnight, by a magical force, produced by an ancient, priceless, 24 carat gold Egyptian tablet. The movie had some good moments, like when Larry goes into the area where miniature models show re-enactments of historical events, such as the railroad construction, during the period in United States history, known as Manifest Destiny. Another miniature display showed the expansion of the Roman Empire and another showed the building of a Mayan pyramid. Larry is captured by the miniature people from the Manifest Destiny display, and is tied up much like Gulliver from the classical tail, Gulliver’s Travels. Yes, Larry does eventually break free, only to do battle with the leader of the Manifest Destiny movement, portrayed by Owen Wilson, whose performance left a bit to be desired. The movie, as a whole, makes for a good adventure to bring children over the age of six to see. I say this, simply for the fact that some of the visual effects may be too much for younger children, hence the PG rating. Also, there is a scene with an ill-mannered monkey from the African exhibit, who, let’s see, what’s the politically correct way to say this, rains on Larry with his “golden showers”. Another place where I think the movie stooped to lower levels was when Owen Wilson’s character faces Octavius and says, “I can’t quit you”- an obvious jab at the all too famous line, from academy award winning movie “Brokeback Mountain”. Another pun, that I don’t think too many members of the audience recognized as a poke at President Bush, was when British comedian Rick Gervais’ character, Dr. McPhee was trying to use the expression, “Fool me once, shame on you…” Yet, another place in the movie a double entendre is used. Teddy Roosevelt catches Larry having a slapping fight with the African monkey and Teddy asks, “Why are you slapping the monkey?” In addition to some of the antics that were not so gracefully delivered, Mickey Rooney’s character, Gus made me want to jump through the screen, roll him up into a giant golf ball, place him on a golf tee, take any one of Tiger Wood’s clubs and well, you know, swing away. Gus is one of the three guards trying to steal the Egyptian tablet. He’s ornery and is constantly insulting Larry with name calling like, “Hey butterscotch,” “You, cupcake”, or “Listen up lunchbox!” You can see why I wanted to play a cruel game of golf with him, and I’m normally not a violent person. The theme of the movie can be summed up by Teddy Roosevelt’s line, “Some men are born into greatness, others have it thrust upon them.” In Larry’s case, he is a member of the latter group. Teddy helps Larry rise to the occasion and in doing so, Larry regains his son, Nicky’s respect. Another theme is “Face your fears, it will make you stronger.” This reflects a quote made by Teddy’s distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt. She however didn’t make it into the movie. Her scenes must be lying on the cutting room floor. Ah, but I digress. For the most part, I’d say this movie would definitely peek the interest of children, between the ages of six to twelve, to learn more about the historical figures shown in the film, which is a good thing. It’s a fun and educational movie and would probably be good to show in an elementary school, if it wasn’t for some of the aforementioned puns and slap stick. After leaving the theatre, I decided to randomly poll a couple of members from the audience and get their opinion of the movie. I asked Brian and Hassan, high school students from Miami, on a scale of one to ten, ten being a great movie, how would they rate “Night at the Museum?” They said they’d give it a seven. As I converted the scale to letter grades, I realized I agreed with their opinion. I too would give this movie a B-. I guess when you have people such as Chris Columbus and Mark Radcliffe, both who worked on the block busters, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, making a fantasy movie, perhaps you expect, well, a little more…ehem…magic?
|
