D+
Directed by Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy's super formulaic Ben Stiller vehicle is a pretty bad movie in many respects, but it's totally innoffensive and at times amusing so there is no point in lambasting it.
Stiller plays a hapless, divorced entrepreneur whose ideas never get off the ground, putting him in dire financial straights and prompting his ex-wife to threaten to take custody of their child if he doesn't get his act together. In an effort to keep his son, (Stiller) takes a job as a night watchman at the New York museum of Natural History only to find out that, surprise surprise, the museuems denizens come to life at night! Adventure ensues.
One of the problems with Night at the Museum, aside from its pedestrian pace and paint by numbers plot is the fact that any film which promises to have the its main character locked up in a natural history museum whose occupants come alive at night has basically bit off more than it can chew. Indeed, watching miniature Octavian and some cowboy played by Owen Wilson duke it out, although amusing, didn't float my boat when I could have seen a FULL SIZED Julius Ceasar face off against an equally full sized Adolf Hitler or Erik the Red. Seriously, the possibilities are endless and basing a film on such a premise is opening a Pandora's Box...of disappointment.
Although this film certainly deserves its "D," I can't with a good conscience, totally savage it because it means well and there are genuinely amusing moments sprinkled in throughout. "Night at the Museum" is a fine movie to toss on if your babysitting or otherwise trying to keep infants asleep, and I therefore recommend it for such times.
Shawn Levy's super formulaic Ben Stiller vehicle is a pretty bad movie in many respects, but it's totally innoffensive and at times amusing so there is no point in lambasting it.
Stiller plays a hapless, divorced entrepreneur whose ideas never get off the ground, putting him in dire financial straights and prompting his ex-wife to threaten to take custody of their child if he doesn't get his act together. In an effort to keep his son, (Stiller) takes a job as a night watchman at the New York museum of Natural History only to find out that, surprise surprise, the museuems denizens come to life at night! Adventure ensues.
One of the problems with Night at the Museum, aside from its pedestrian pace and paint by numbers plot is the fact that any film which promises to have the its main character locked up in a natural history museum whose occupants come alive at night has basically bit off more than it can chew. Indeed, watching miniature Octavian and some cowboy played by Owen Wilson duke it out, although amusing, didn't float my boat when I could have seen a FULL SIZED Julius Ceasar face off against an equally full sized Adolf Hitler or Erik the Red. Seriously, the possibilities are endless and basing a film on such a premise is opening a Pandora's Box...of disappointment.
Although this film certainly deserves its "D," I can't with a good conscience, totally savage it because it means well and there are genuinely amusing moments sprinkled in throughout. "Night at the Museum" is a fine movie to toss on if your babysitting or otherwise trying to keep infants asleep, and I therefore recommend it for such times.
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