Pretty Good

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Blistering performances.

How can you make a fantasy comedy and not nail even one joke?I honestly don't understand how you can consider this movie good.

Night At The Museum has Ben Stiller in a cash flow problem. One get rich quick scheme after another has fallen through and he needs a job just so he can keep joint custody of his son Jake Cherry. In a nice scene at the Employment office where Ben's real life mom Anne Meara he lands a job as the night watchman at the Museum Of Natural History. The job comes with a few hidden perks. Like since 1953 the exhibits come alive in the evening hours. All as a result of a tablet from ancient Egypt with a spell that was there. Acting as Empresario of the exhibits is Robin Williams as President Theodore Roosevelt who was instrumental in founding the museum.But previous night guards Bill Cobbs, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Van Dyke know about the nightlife and the tablet and they want it for themselves.I think the special effects kind of overwhelm the story though it's a good one. Stiller is fine as your every man Walter MItty like dreamer. Small wonder he wound up playing Walter Mitty later on.The film is a lot of fun and with a cast like this it would be a shame for the whole family to miss it.

Night watchman Ben Stiller takes slapstick abuse from an entourage of famous figures in New York's museum of natural history. There's a superficial subplot about an ancient tablet, responsible for the wax statues and figurines coming to life every night, but the film isn't all that concerned with making sense of it and neither am I. So we're basically left with a hundred minutes of easy sight gags, base caricatures and flashy effects, mixed with overplayed reaction shots and hand-rubbing evil villains. Oh, and there's an empty dash of sappy divorced father / distanced son bonding mush. I get it, this is a broad family comedy and I can't expect much. My six-year-old boys enjoyed it, and have requested it again since, so it hits the target audience. Plus it merits points for making a trip to the museum and a bit of archival fact-finding seem like less of a chore to younger viewers, so, yay education. Robin Williams is enjoyable as a self-conscious Teddy Roosevelt statue, and Mickey Rooney is hilarious in a set of fiery, brief guest spots, but that's about all that merits remembering. I'm in no hurry to sit through it again.

This movie is a movie to see in family. Your children will sure love it and if you still have your child soul, you will certainly like it as well.Ben Stiller is really hilarious as a night guard in a museum which suddenly comes alive every night because of a magical Egyptian tablet. He is also touching when he has scenes with his son trying to convince him and himself that everything will be alright. The rest of the cast is also brilliant and actually really funny, the Late Robin Williams in particular as Teddy Roosevelt, the 24th President of the United States, which brings his genius acting to the movie and gives it memorable times. The Museum Director is also hilarious as trying to give a picture as a big boss but who doesn't have a clue of what's going on in his own museum. Owen Wilson as Jeb and Steve Coogan as Octavius are also very funny because of their very small height but their huge ego. Yes this movie is definitely a good way to enjoy family time and have a serious laugh.