Night at the Museum

"Night at the Museum" is a mediocre comedy that is destined for repeat airings on the USA Network sometime soon. When I go to see a movie starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, and many other funny people, I expect to laugh. Those are as rare here as the T-Rex that chases Stiller's character around the museum.

Stiller stars as Larry, a divorced father of one who is always seeking greatness but is always finding far less in life. In an effort to create some stability while maintaining the support of his son, Larry takes a job as a night watchman at the Museum of Natural History. Much to his shock, everything in the museum comes to life at night. While the retiring night watchmen (including Van Dyke and Rooney) tell him what he needs to do to keep order, Larry finds it difficult to keep monkeys, dinosaurs, Romans gladiators, and cowboys in line. The only one Larry can turn to for guidance is Teddy Roosevelt (Williams).

There are side stories of potential love interests, of museum theft, and of achieving greatness, but all of these fall flat when put up against the special effects. To me, this felt like a combination of "Jumanji" and "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" but with very few laughs or sense of adventure. The very little kids in the theater seemed appeased with a movie featuring a monkey and a dinosaur, but beyond that nobody left raving about the film. Yes, it entertains in a mindless way and is harmless in its delivery. It could have been so much more. I'd recommend against spending your "Night at the Museum." I give it a C.

"Night at the Museum" is rated PG with a running time of 108 minutes.