BEFORE: And so we come to the end of Ben-Stiller-thon. I wish I could say it's been fun, but it really hasn't - mostly because I'd already covered most of the fun films like "Starsky & Hutch", "Tropic Thunder" and, umm..."Madagascar", yeah. But I've got high hopes for this one.
THE PLOT: Security guard Larry Daley infiltrates the Smithsonian Institution in order to rescue Jedediah and Octavius, who have been shipped to the museum for storage.
AFTER: I know it's a kid's movie, but there's a pretty high buy-in, if you ask me. As with the first film, you have to first believe in a magical Egyptian tablet that can animate a bunch of museum mannequins. Secondly, you have to believe that said mannequins are animated with the full knowledge of historical events - so the Teddy Roosevelt statue believes that he is the real T.R., and speaks as he would. OK, fine, I'm still with you...
Once you suspend disbelief to this extent, it's a certain kind of fun to watch Egyptian warriors, Russian cossacks and Chicago gangsters face off against cowboys, Roman soldiers and cavemen. It's the ultimate historical version of the "Who would win in a fight?" debate. Here we also throw in another U.S. president, a very famous General, a bunch of aviators, kangaroos, squids, monkeys, etc. etc. I once read a book that had all kinds of famous dead warriors from history waging war in hell, so it's kind of like that, only with more monkeys.
But here's where the plot lost me - in the original film, Ben Stiller's character was one of at least FOUR security guards at the Natural History Museum. Then he left to get his telemarketing/home shopping/inventing business going, and the nighttime events at the museum proceeded in his absence. Who was the night watchman while he was gone? Did that person fail to notice that the dinosaur skeleton comes to life each and every night, along with Attila the Hun, Sacajawea, etc.? Or was there a procession of security guards who worked one night each, all of whom were so frightened they left in a white-haired panic in the morning, never to return?
The same issue was raised once the sequel's action moved to the Smithsonian - which is really a collection of 19 museums, each of which comes to life as Stiller's character walks through it while holding the tablet. Shouldn't each of those museums have a nighttime security staff? And wouldn't they all be freaked out by the exhibits coming to life? We see exactly ONE security guard early on in the Smithsonian, and then NONE once the weirdness starts happening. What gives?
(I know, weird thing for me to focus on, right? I'm OK with Amelia Earhart coming to life, and flying a model plane across a museum, but my problem is with the fact that no one notices it.)
Perhaps the whole thing is the delusion of Stiller's character - but if that were true, the ending of the film would then make no sense. All I ask is that in a film in which "magic" is portrayed, a set of logical rules based on said magic is still obeyed. We hear an astronaut say the phrase "That's one small step for a mannequin..." - which is a great pun, but it implies that he KNOWS he's a mannequin! So how come the Pharaoh, Napoleon, and Al Capone don't?
Another NITPICK POINT: I support the idea of extended nighttime hours at the museum, but honestly, how realistic is it? Can a museum compete with primetime TV? Shouldn't kids be doing homework in the evening, and wouldn't parents be relaxing from their busy jobs? I just don't think you can justify the extra costs of keeping the museum open at night vs. the moderate bump in revenue. I realize that some museums have created sleepover events for kids due to the success of this film series, and that's great, but in the NatM fantasy film world, wouldn't kids start to wonder why the "animatronics" don't work during the day?
Still, it's the most fun I've had all week - when does "Night at the Museum: Trouble at the Louvre" come out?
Also starring Owen Wilson (also carring over from "Meet the Fockers"), Amy Adams (last seen in "Sunshine Cleaning"), Robin Williams (last seen in "Bicentennial Man"), Hank Azaria (last seen in "America's Sweethearts"), Ricky Gervais (last seen in "The Invention of Lying"), Christopher Guest (ditto), Steve Coogan (last heard in "Marmaduke"), Bill Hader (last heard in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"), with cameos from Jonah Hill (last heard in "How to Train Your Dragon"), Jay Baruchel (last seen in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"), Mindy Kaling, Craig Robinson (last heard in "Shrek Forever After"), Ed Helms (last seen in "The Hangover"), Clint Howard, George Forman, Thomas Lennon (last seen in "I Love You, Man"), Robert Ben Garant, and the voices of Eugene Levy (last seen in "Father of the Bride II"), the Jonas Brothers, Brad Garrett.
RATING: 7 out of 10 packing crates
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