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Every once in a while a movie comes along that surprises you; the hype has been for another movie, and the lead actor in the "lesser" movie is one you've never really expected much from. Yet, you go watch it anyway, and wow.
Night At The Museum turned out to be that kind of movie. Ben Stiller is one of those actors whose typical roles rarely appeal to me. His usual brand of humor leaves me flat, and I would find myself thinking I've just wasted the cost of seeing the movie and the time that could have been spent doing something more entertaining. For myself, my wife and son, and a whole packed theater full of viewers recently, however, Stiller's latest proved to be a hit.
The premise is simple, even if it is far-fetched. Stiller plays Larry Daley, the divorced father of a 10 year old son. Daley is a dreamer, with fanciful ideas on how to make his fortune. He needs a steady job, though, to provide a stable environment for his son, so he takes the job as the new Night Guard at New York's Museum of Natural History. The three retiring guards, played by Dick Van Dyke (who proves during the closing credits he still has some of the song-and-dance man left in him), Mickey Rooney, and Bill Cobbs, are rather vague about what Larry can expect at night, except to tell him to let nothing in, AND to let nothing out of the museum.
To the film's credit, they don't take too long to get to the real fun of the plot, as Larry discovers on his first night that everything in the museum comes to life every night. This includes the skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the mannequins of characters throughout history from cavemen to Atilla the Hun, Christopher Columbus, Sacajawea, and Teddy Roosevelt (played wonderfully by Robin Williams). Even the miniature dioramas come to life, with Owen Wilson playing a cowboy from an old west scene, constantly at odds with the Roman Octavius (played by Steve Coogan) from the Roman Empire diorama next door.
The plot kicks into high gear when the retiring guards put their own plans for a comfortable retirement to work, while Larry fights to keep his job due to strange damages left in the museum each morning.
Night At The Museum is rated PG for mild language, comic violence, and some odd humor. The movie is intended as family fare, and does a good job of meeting that expectation. Don't think about the far-fetched premise, and just enjoy the movie. We're glad we did, and we anticipate picking this one up on DVD when it releases as well.
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