Night at the Museum

The girls both really, really wanted to see the new Ben Stiller flick, "Night at the Museum," because, as they explained, "everyone at school's seen it." So Lisa and I took them--because we wanted to get out of the house more than anything else.

How was it? A lot better than I expected. Stiller plays the same character he plays in all of his films, that is, himself--although there are some clever bits he pulls off during his second night on the job. There's the standard-issue framing device of divorced parents and the father desperately trying to connect with his young son, but clueless about how to do so. There's the obligatory love interest. And a museum in which all the displays come to life from sunset to sunrise. There's not much plot. Dick Van Dyke plays essentially the same character he voiced in the milquetoast "Curious George" movie, and that's not a good thing. Owen Wilson does what he does. Ditto Mickey Rooney and Robin Williams. And the filmmakers are apparently unaware that Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun were two entirely different people.

Overall, the films an over-the-top concoction of anachronisms and joke setups. It is, essentially, "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" remade without all the time travel. Or Bill and Ted. It's a goofy, entertaining popcorn flick that delivers what it sets out to deliver, and nothing more. The kids, naturally enough, are already asking when the DVD comes out so we can buy it.

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