Allow me to begin by stating that I loathe Ben stiller movies. I can recall liking 2 movies in which he is featured and he isn’t really the star in either of them- Royal Tenenbaums and Dodgeball. So, when I say I overall enjoyed this it is really saying something. Ben Stiller stars as a loser father who needs any sort of job possible so he won’t have to move and disappoint his kid yet again. See, the kid’s mothers has a new husband who is incredibly successful and played by the un-credited and perfect Paul Rudd, and Stiller’s character is intimidated by him. Stiller finds a job as a night security guard at a museum of natural history because the museum is getting rid of their 3 night guards and replacing them with just one single guard. The 3 night guards are crucial to the story of this film and are played with glee by Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs (A man with over 100 IMDB credits but no one has any clue who he is). The interesting thing about the museum is that all of the things inside come alive at night and run amuck on the premises. Owen Wilson pops up as a hilarious miniature cowboy with a serious complex over his height; Robin Williams is in pretty mellow mode as Teddy Roosevelt and then we have someone as Attila the Hun, Christopher Columbus and various other creatures. Also, there are two side plots involving Sacajawea.
To be honest, the first hour of the movie drags pretty hardcore and I was afraid it would never turn around but Ricky Gervais as the museum manager gives the movie a much needed shot in the arm and after his hilarious word fumbling performance the movie kicks into high gear. The last hour breezes by and when it is over you really feel as if you were just taken on a magical journey. The Special effects are excellent, especially the T-Rex, who is just a big dog and the winning spirit of Ben’s kid in the movie make it a worthwhile adventure. Of course it wouldn’t be a movie without a conflict and it doesn’t actually happen until the final 40 minutes and it involves stolen museum merchandise and the eventual team work of all the different beings within the walls of the magical museum. I am sure since it is a movie for kids or family, there is a message about taking pride in ones work and ownership of ones life, but to be honest, I wasn’t watching this movie for a moral or a lesson. I wanted to see Owen Wilson be his hilarious self and watch Ben Stiller get pimped slapped repeatedly by a funny monkey, both of which I got in spades, so I was a very happy camper.
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