Night At the Museum (2006)

"...a fun ride, and the big payoff...is even more gratifying.  Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
"Wonderfully energetic.  Connie Ogle, Miami Herald
"...dazzling computer-generated sequences...some of the best comedians in the business.  Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
"A fantastic holiday toy that, amazingly enough, doesn't require batteries.  Stephen Cole, The Globe and Mail
"Stuffed with smart performers doing graciously silly work...  Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Editor's Note Ben Stiller plays Larry Daley, a down-on-his-luck divorced father in this family-friendly tale directed by Shawn Levy (JUST MARRIED, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN). Larry has lots of ideas and dreams, but none of them come to fruition. In an attempt to prove his stability to his ex-wife (Kim Raver) and his son, Nicky (Jake Cherry), Larry accepts a job as a night guard at the Museum of Natural History. But the elderly night guards who hire him (played by entertainment legends Mickey Rooney, Dick Van Dyke, and Bill Cobbs) fail to mention one crucial detail: when the museum is closed, everything inside comes to life. From Attila the Hun to miniature Roman soldiers, African mammals to Neanderthal men, and Egyptian mummies to dinosaur skeletons, the museum teems with lively activity. Now it's Larry's job to control the mayhem and show his son that he is, indeed, a great man after all. There might be a moral to this story, which is based on the book of the same name by Milan Trenc, but the screenplay and action remain light and breezy. Stiller is perfect as Larry, particularly in scenes with a sneaky monkey who repeatedly gets the better of him. Brief appearances by Anne Meara (Stiller's real-life mother) and Paul Rudd add to the fun. Carla Gugino plays a museum docent, Ricky Gervais portrays the incomprehensible museum director, and Robin Williams moonlights as a wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt that comes to life. Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan are particularly amusing as a bickering miniature cowboy and a Roman soldier.

	Ben Stiller
	Carla Gugino
	Dick Van Dyke
	Mickey Rooney
	Owen Wilson
	Paul Rudd
	Ricky Gervais
	Robin Williams
	Alan Silvestri - Original Music By
	Ben Garant - Screenplay
	Bob Ducsay - Executive Producer
	Don Zimmerman - Editor
	Guillermo Navarro - Cinematographer
	Michael Barnathan - Producer
	Michael Diner, et. al. - Art Director
	Milan Trenc - Based On Book By
	Shawn Levy - Director
	Thomas Lennon - Screenplay

Sight and Sound
"[A]miable, painless and quite capable of entertaining the kids." 03/01/2007 p.66

Ultimate DVD
3 stars out of 5 -- "A likeable comic fantasy for the family....You'll be admiring the craftsmanship of this visual CG feast..." 05/01/2007 p.82

ReelViews 6 of 10
With a cast featuring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Ricky Gervais, one has a right to expect something amusing from Night at the Museum. Oddly, not only is the movie unfunny, but it rarely tries for laughs. The only jokes in the production belong to Ben Stiller, and they fail at least as often as they work. Night at the Museum isn't just not funny, it's not fun. There's some impressive computer animation, to be sure, but it's eye candy, and a steady diet of any candy becomes nauseating after a while. Night at the Museum fails to offer much in the way of sustained entertainment unless the stagnant story of a loser Dad redeeming himself in his son's eyes is likely to cause paroxysms of delight...Night at the Museum will play a lot better to children than adults. I suppose there's a upside to that. Families can attend the movie together. - James Berardinelli

Reel.com 8 of 10
Night at the Museum starts with a great premise: What would happen if all of the exhibits in New York's Museum of Natural History sprang to life after hours? As long as it sticks with that story and the one about the three elderly security guards pulling one over on the newbie, this silly comedy delivers...Also raising the comic stakes and threatening to run away with the movie are the three senior citizens whose frisky behavior is not exactly geriatric. Admittedly, Rooney's shtick can get tiresome, but Cobb is smooth, and Van Dyke's timing is as sharp as ever--although the fact that director Shawn Levy waits until the closing credits to let the man dance is a crying shame. Van Dyke is an artist and a living legend; let him strut his stuff...The exhibits are fantastic, creating the perfect setting for the magic that is unleashed at night...Watching the bones of a T. Rex play fetch just never gets tired. - Pam Grady