December 30, 2006 Night at the Museum
Studio: 20th Century Fox Rating: PG for mild action, language and brief rude humor.
Have you ever wondered what happens in a museum when the lights go out?
A new Ben Stiller comedy answers that question as he leads a pretty good cast in "Night at the Museum."
Larry Daley (Stiller) is a divorced guy whose ex-wife is about ready to cut him off from their young son.
Daley is at the bottom of the barrel when he takes a job as a night watchman at a natural history museum.
But instead of paying attention as an old security guard (Dick Van Dyke) gives him directions about the job, Larry just wants to sleep.
Unfortunately for him he soon gets a very rude awakening.
It turns out a little bit of Egyptian magic causes everything in the museum to come alive at night.
Larry has to keep order and make sure all of the exhibits are in their proper place each morning before the museum opens for business.
"Night at the Museum" reminded me of "Jumanji." With magic bringing the creatures and historical figures on display to life Larry has to figure out how to keep it all together.
Stiller is pretty funny as he reacts to the incredible situations he finds himself in. Along with Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs play the old security guards who are being replaced.
Robin Williams makes an appearance as Teddy Roosevelt, Owen Wilson is a miniature cowboy and Steve Coogan is a tiny Roman general.
Besides keeping the building going, Larry finds himself attracted to a co-worker (Carla Gugino) and is eventually put into a position to save the museum.
"Night at the Museum" isn't very deep and it's full of both plot holes and historical inaccuracies but it is entertaining.
There are plenty of good scenes and funny moments offering a nice holiday ride.
On my rating scale, "Night at the Museum" hits a Triple.
PRIME PICKS HELL'S KITCHEN Tonight at 8:00 PM 8 Chefs Compete
The chefs create ethnic dishes with select ingredients; a team falls behind before dinner service begins
December 30, 2006
